Trends
- Brand building on TikTok: “[What does] a long-lasting writing career look like in the age of BookTok? Are we going to see established writers jumping genres, breaking with convention, and experimenting creatively while newer authors chase trends in order to grow their initial audience? Are these signs that there is an appetite for new ideas in romance? Are we seeing romantasy fatigue?” Read Alyssa Morris at Romancing the Phone.
- Book clubs become popular among younger generations. Gen Z and Millennials are creating social scenes built on reading and discussing books, with a focus on off-screen connections. Read Angela Yang at NBC.
- UK publisher turns toward fiction, moves away from nonfiction. Harvill Secker is rebranding as Harvill and will publish in established genre fiction categories going forward. It will close its nonfiction imprint Square Peg. The Bookseller reports that Harvill’s adult trade nonfiction sales were at their lowest point for six years last year. Read Heloise Wood (subscription may be required).
- Agent Richard Curtis explains the death of the mass market paperback: They carry a very low profit margin, paperback book displays have disappeared, and (of course) ebooks have become preferred. Read at Inside Agenting.
- How men are cashing in on romantasy: There’s a growing world of book-themed fantasy balls where you can dance with your favorite established character. Read Decca Muldowney at The Verge.
- Love stories with non-sentient objects: “There’s a new, exciting, micro-trend in both literary and genre fiction reflecting the dramatic culture shifts of the post-Covid era: meet the sentience gap romance.” Read Celia Mattison at Lit Hub.
Traditional Publishing
- Zando is profitable because of romance sales. Zando, which released its first books in 2021, started out with partnerships with Gillian Flynn and Sarah Jessica Parker. But it was the company’s entry into the romance market, with the Slowburn imprint, that made the big difference to its financials last year. Their first romance series with Brynne Weaver was initially self-published before Zando entered the picture. Read Jim Milliot in Publishers Weekly.
Culture & Politics
- Learn more about the effects of canceled NEH grants. Library programs, literary programs, and storytelling programs are significantly affected in every state. Read Katina Rogers at Slate.
AI
- How TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, became an AI powerhouse. Why does TikTok hook you so well? Because of AI learning. Read Meaghan Tobin at the New York Times (gift link).
Libraries
- What are the most popular digital comics circulating in libraries? Distributor Comics Plus reveals which titles are doing well, such as the perennial favorite Milk & Mocha Comics Collection (Andrews McMeel). Read Guy LeCharles Gonzalez at Comics Plus.
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.