“How Long Is This Sustainable?” Department
- New York magazine is now publishing some of their free newsletter content via Substack. Why? For better visibility and promotion of their brand and content. We’re reaching the point where Substack is seen as more of a social media marketing company than an email newsletter platform. Since Substack makes money from paid newsletters, not free ones, can Substack continually support everyone using it for marketing and promotion purposes—when many may prefer to monetize in ways that don’t give Substack a cut? How does this end well? Read Hanna Tameez at Nieman Lab. Substack is not quoted in this piece, but I imagine behind-the-scenes conversations must be taking place, e.g., Substack asking New York magazine what they will charge for within the Substack ecosystem so both parties benefit.
Marketing & Promotion
- Clear, actionable guidance on how to start with short-form video: A novelist and content creator discusses how she develops TikTok videos and what advice she has for beginners. Read Leigh Stein’s interview with Sanibel at Attention Economy.
Bookselling
- Barnes & Noble and independent booksellers: It’s both/and not either/or. It was Independent Bookstore Day recently, and Barnes & Noble (as well as Amazon) decided to run their own promotions as well. YA author Scott Reintgen has a long thread on why it’s okay (and necessary) to support both Barnes & Noble and indie stores. I’ll add: It’s not the early aughts. Indie stores and B&N aren’t mortal enemies any longer. Read.
- What’s a bookseller to do with BISAC codes? Most bookstores say they don’t need the granularity of BISAC codes. Instead, they pay attention to the qualities of the book and where it can best be merchandised in their store. Read Claire Kirch in Publishers Weekly.
Culture & Politics
- The new wave of literary parties: Learn about the literary event scene in the UK, which includes performances and dancing. “Literature is so good for scene making,” says one writer and event host. Read Sinéad Campbell in The Guardian.
- Group chats rule. Two recent articles discuss the influence of group chats among thought leaders in tech. One is about the sociopolitical moment these chats operate in and their influence on current events; the other is more of a service piece if you ever think about starting a group chat. (If you start one on the publishing industry, please invite me.) Sociopolitical: Read Ben Smith at Semafor. Pragmatic tips: Read Sriram Krishnan at Substack.
AI
- AI is good enough to guess your location from a bland photo. This is fairly astonishing and has profound implications for privacy. Read Simon Willison.
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.