News and Trends
- OverDrive hit its one billionth loan. The library-focused digital distributor debuted in 2003 and celebrated its most recent milestone on Feb. 10. Readers borrow an average of 12 digital titles every second via OverDrive. Learn more from the announcement.
- What happens to books whose authors are accused of sexual harassment? The New York Times looks at how books by novelists, journalists, and children’s authors are affected. Read Alexandra Alter.
- A new, if limited, pilot survey of world publishing is here. It’s by the International Publishers Association and the World Intellectual Property Association (WIPO). Read more at Publishing Perspectives.
- Editors at work: An interesting entry in Copenhagen’s literary festival put editors onstage to work over copy live while the audience watched. Marie Bilde has the story at Publishing Perspectives.
Book Reviews and Recommendations
- BookBub has debuted book recommendations from authors. This is a free way for authors to engage with readers and fans: posting a recommendation on their BookBub author profile page. (More broadly, we notice that BookBub seems to be taking steps to become a more social/community-oriented site.) Learn more at their blog.
- Barnes & Noble launches a book-discovery app. Browsery works on iPhone and Android devices, and it’s like a cross between Quora and Goodreads. Read the press release.
- The New York Times Book Review has a new monthly column on graphic novels and comics. The news was quite welcome, given the elimination last year of bestseller lists for graphic novels. Read the announcement.
- In case you missed it, there’s a new romance column, too. It’s quarterly, written by Jaime Green. Learn more in Shelf Awareness.
New Imprint Alerts
- Hay House now has a business imprint. The first titles from Hay House Business will launch in 2019. Learn more in Publishers Weekly from John Maher.
- HarperCollins is launching Harper Inspire. It’s a UK-based Christian imprint that will produce five books a year and also manage titles from the Marshall Pickering imprint. The first titles release this June. Read the announcement.
- If you produce Facebook videos, you may be able to receive payment in the future. Facebook is rolling out a video subscription feature in which fans or supporters pay $4.99/month for access. Learn more at Recode from Kurt Wagner.
- How publishers are monetizing their Facebook groups. DigiDay looks at how publishers are making the best possible use of their groups in the ongoing effort to see a tangible payoff from Facebook engagement. Read Max Willens.
- Use Facebook Insights to create a buyer persona (an ideal customer type) for free. The Social Media Examiner steps you through the process. Take a look.
Bookselling
- Publishers Weekly looks back at Amazon’s year-old policy change on “winning” the Buy button. What has the fallout been after the much-maligned move, and how are publishers coping? Read Jim Milliot.
- It’s the second renaissance of indie bookselling, not the first. Longtime industry vet Mike Shatzkin looks at the now familiar storyline regarding the rise of the independent bookstore and points out a renaissance that predates the current one. Read at his blog.
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.