- Penguin has merged its Berkley imprint into the unified Putnam and Dutton group. For now, the imprints will remain distinct, but have more integrated editorial and production departments. Publishers Weekly reports, “On its surface the changes look as though Penguin Random House is trying to cut back its number of mass market titles, which have lost much of their market share to e-books.” When asked, Penguin said they remain committed to publishing mass-market paperbacks, while continuing to “refine the size of the list in order to ensure optimum results per title.”
- A career novelist explains her decision to stop working on a successful packaged series (permission required).Author Julie Hyzy has written a detailed and thoughtful post about ending her work on the White House Chef mystery series. It’s a fascinating and bittersweet story for anyone who has seen publishers or imprints change after the death or departure of a key figure—or a change in ownership.
- Here’s a high-level look at the dynamics now shaping the publishing industry. Industry consultant Mike Shatzkin has written both a brief history of book publishing—a look at how it has adapted over the years—and a predictive look at the Silicon Valley forces that will push it to adapt in the years ahead. A note that gets buried but that really caught our attention: “Google Plus author pages are nearly as important as Amazon author pages.”
- In October 2015, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Google’s book scanning is legal. (In this earlier issue of The Hot Sheet, we recapped why that’s important.) The Authors Guild recently announced it is appealing to the Supreme Court. Few anticipate the court will hear the case, since it accepts fewer than 1 percent of appeals. The Washington Post has the best article on the situation—they were given advance access to the Authors Guild writ.
- Actor Emma Watson has started a feminist book club at Goodreads. Expect a small surge in Goodreads user signups.
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.