For many years now, it’s been possible for Amazon customers to follow authors they like, then receive notifications when those authors have new work releasing. (The Follow button is featured on author profiles—here’s an example.) While it’s not possible for authors to see or contact those followers, earlier this month Amazon started revealing to authors just how many followers they have. You’ll need to log in to your Amazon Author Central account to find the figure. Learn more.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
