News
- The Association of American Publishers has released industry sales figures for 2019. All combined, traditional publishers’ revenues were up a bit more than 1 percent versus 2018. The ebook format saw declining revenue of nearly 5 percent in 2019, with an overall five-year decline of 30 percent. (That trend promises to be reversed in 2020. See closing image in today’s issue.) Learn more at the AAP.
- The Alliance of Independent Authors comments on the Mark Dawson case. Last month, the indie author bought his book in bulk to get on a UK bestseller list—a placement that was later corrected by Nielsen when word spread about his actions. Dawson’s move is against ALLi’s code of standards for members. Read more at their site.
Publishing During a Pandemic
- Children’s booksellers plan for uncertain fall. Some booksellers are letting customers indicate where demand lies, taking a wait-and-see approach before placing orders. If you’re an author with a children’s book (or even an adult title) releasing soon, don’t miss this piece. Read Alex Green in Publishers Weekly.
- It’s time to radically rethink online book events. Maybe we should stop doing virtual readings and instead consider pet readings, a short film festival, or wildly unprofessional PowerPoints. Read Kate Reed Petty at Electric Lit.
- An in-depth look at a children’s nonfiction publisher that’s doing incredibly well right now. Callisto Media just started publishing children’s books two years ago. Its most successful book this year, My First Learn-to-write Workbook, has sold nearly a half million copies. Read Karen Raugust in Publishers Weekly.
- How The New York Times has changed its book review process. Since its offices are closed, the country’s preeminent review outlet must now use digital review copies. Spoiler alert: they prefer print review copies. Read Adriana Balsamo at The New York Times.
- New York publishing employees are unlikely to return to their offices in full force before 2021. And industry events set for early next year are already moving online. Read Jim Milliot in Publishers Weekly.
- NPD reports on ecommerce trends during COVID. NPD, which also tracks US book sales, has an insightful report on the increase in online sales of all kinds, with older shoppers moving to ecommerce and staying there. Learn more.
- Will we still write in cafes when this is all over? Take a literary and historic stroll through writerly cafe use. Read Emily Temple at Lit Hub.
- Powell’s closes its airport store permanently. The store first opened in the late 1980s and recently celebrated its 30th anniversary at the airport. Read Shelf Awareness.
International
- Learn about the consequences of COVID on the book market in Europe. This free white paper from the Federation of European Publishers offers a look at how and where sales have declined, even though reading increased. Download the PDF. Or you can read a summary of the report by Ed Nawotka at Publishers Weekly.
- And here’s another report on the consequences, focused on just the UK publishing industry. Top-line takeaway: academic lists likely to be hardest hit. Get the report (requires an email address).
- Book sales bounce back in Italy. The market is down by 11 percent versus last year, and bookstore sales have bounded back. Read Ed Nawotka in Publishers Weekly.
Trends
- Indie fiction podcasters are suspicious of well-funded studios. Studios assemble audio projects with well-known screen actors, hoping to sell the IP for big bucks to film and TV producers—resulting in “fast fashion meant to sell, not last.” Read Wil Williams at Hot Pod.
- The Dummies series is a billion-dollar business that sells one book every five seconds. Next year marks the 30th anniversary of the books with the distinctively ugly yellow-and-black covers. Read Tim Elliott in The Sydney Morning Herald.
- A code-obsessed novelist builds a writing bot. Vikram Chandra’s software, Granthika, helps others write the kind of complex novels that he does. Read Andrew Leonard in Wired.
Libraries
- New report in Canada shows that library use increases book sales. BookNet Canada has released a free report on library use that explores the intersection of library use and book buying. Read.
- US library supporters urge action from Congress. The Library Stabilization Fund Act would authorize $2 billion in federal support for libraries. Read Andrew Albanese in Publishers Weekly.
- Penguin Random House extends temporary ebook and digital audio terms for libraries. Until the end of the year, libraries can license ebooks and digital audio under more flexible and cost-effective terms. Read Andrew Albanese in Publishers Weekly.
- Libraries play a vital role in restoring the economy. During economic downturns, there is much higher use of libraries. Read Kerry Gold in The Globe and Mail.
- What’s popular in libraries right now: backlist titles. The Panorama Project highlights titles that are popular right now but that have limited availability in public libraries to meet demand—pointing to opportunities for publishers and booksellers. Review the titles.
Culture and Politics
- The #MeToo conversation happening around Bouchercon, MWA, and the International Thriller Writers. An in-depth look at the recent troubles in the crime fiction community. Read Jay Stringer at Book & Film Globe.
- Trump has permanently changed the publishing industry. The industry is awash with bestsellers about or related to Trump, and it’s not likely to end when he leaves office. Read Alex Shephard in The New Republic.
- Bolton’s legal fight continues. The Department of Justice has moved to seize the author’s royalties and advance. Read Andrew Albanese at Publishers Weekly.
- Tim Bray and Christy Hoffman encourage the unionization of Amazon workers. A former VP at Amazon and the general secretary of the UNI Global Union write a New York Times op-ed calling on Amazon and the rest of Big Tech to change and allow workers to unionize. Read.
- Taking what Oprah built and making it new. A new generation of Black thought leaders are creating book clubs that create a space free of the white gaze. Read Iman Stevenson in The New York Times.
- The power of the flawed bestseller list. Learn how the bestseller was invented by The Bookman. Read Elizabeth Della Zazzera in Lapham’s Quarterly.
- The latest VIDA Count is in. In 2019, only three publications tracked by VIDA published at least 50 percent women and nonbinary writers. Take a look.
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.