News
- There’s a Goodreads troll problem. Sock puppet accounts can be created easily—using well-known author names—to leave targeted negative reviews. Learn more from Jason Sanford.
Bookselling
- How authors buy their way onto The New York Times bestseller list. Bulk purchases by authors or their representatives can drive placement on the list. Sarah Nicolas explains at BookRiot.
- China blocks US books. Novels and nonfiction titles alike have been delayed without explanation, cutting off US authors and publishers from China’s vast market. Read Lin Qiqing and Paul Mozur at The New York Times.
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens was published in the summer of 2018—and has now sold four a half million copies. The first printing of the debut novel was a mere 28,000 copies, and no one expected what would come next. Read Alexandra Alter in The New York Times.
- How Barnes & Noble became the good guys. A writer reflects on the changing fortunes of the chain bookstore since the 1990s. Read Miles Klee at MEL Magazine.
Trends
- US digital publisher benefits from the growing popularity of Japanese “light novels.” The publisher, J-Novel Club, posts a series of chapters on its website first, then sells the book via online retail. Read at The Japan Times.
- While some consider fan fiction a joke, it’s teaching kids important skills in learning how to write. Scholars have been studying fanfic authors, and the results are encouraging. Read Cecilia Aragon at MIT Technology Review.
- Playwrights find that TV writing pays the bills. More top playwriting programs are preparing students to write for the small screen—and TV writers’ rooms are scouting those classrooms for new talent. Read Elizabeth A. Harris at The New York Times.
- Is it the beginning of the end for the great white male writer? In the 2010s, the publishing industry began to come to terms with its lack of diversity—and the results are plain. Read Claire Fallon at The Huffington Post.
Libraries
- Need an explainer on the ebook war between libraries and publishers? The Boston NPR station tackles the history and evolution of the relationship. It’s a great read if you remain confused about what’s going on. Read Gabrielle Emanuel at WGBH.
- The ALA issues an update from the library community on the Macmillan ebook embargo. It’s now been two months since the embargo took effect. We’ll be keeping an eye on ALA’s upcoming meeting later this month, where Macmillan CEO John Sargent is hosting an “informal forum.” Read Timothy Inklebarger at the ALA blog.
- Britain has closed more than 800 libraries. Sharp cuts to local authority funding have led to the loss of 17 percent of Britain’s library branches since 2010. Read Alison Flood in The Guardian.
Marketing Toolbox
- What everyone needs to know about the Amazon Buy box. The marketing team at Ingram elucidates the factors that contribute to “winning” the Buy box and when publishers especially should be concerned about it. Read at the Ingram 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.