Traditional Publishing
- There’s a new imprint at Macmillan: Celadon Books. The editors at the helm are Jamie Raab and Deb Futter, who recently left Grand Central Publishing. The imprint will publish 20 to 25 books a year, including idea-driven narratives, works about politics, and novels that “straddle the line between commercial and literary.” Learn more in the New York Times piece by Alexandra Alter.
- Atria has launched a new imprint—Skybound Books—to co-publish sci-fi, fantasy, and horror with Skybound Entertainment (known best for the TV adaptation of The Walking Dead). Read the press release.
- In partnership with Japanese publisher Kadokawa, Hachette has launched an imprint for middle-grade graphic novels: JY. Starting in the fall, it will publish approximately twelve books a year. Read more from Calvin Reid in Publishers Weekly.
- The hidden risks of writing a cookbook: New York magazine’s Sierra Tishgart explores the dark side of cookbook publishing for chefs. Take a look.
Self-publishing
- Do you know all the rules governing Amazon KDP? ALLi has rounded up all the rules by category. Read the list by John Doppler.
Marketing Toolbox
- What happens when you make half of your novel available for free on Medium prior to your pub date? Hopefully, it leads to more sales. Follow the experiment of author Rob Reid.
- Savvy authors know about the power of Facebook groups—but the dynamics may change soon. A New York Times piece by Kevin Roose offers insight into the new emphasis by Facebook on its private groups, but what might be more important to know is how the game is likely to change. Read Kirsten Oliphant’s take on the future of Facebook groups.
- Why might your book promotion be struggling? Ricci Wolman at Written Word Media offers seven tips based on experience working with authors on promotions. Learn more at Joanna Penn’s site.
News and Trends
- In the latest news on Barnes & Noble’s fading fortunes, Sandell Asset Management, an activist investor with a meaningful ownership stake in B&N, asserts that a buyer should step forward to save the 633-store chain by taking it private. The idea has been met with skepticism from industry observers. Sandell’s letter is here.
- In another move that could mean more revenue for its writers, Wattpad has announced its biggest European publishing partnership to date. Hachette Romans in Paris will produce books from the Wattpad site for the French market. Find out more at Publishing Perspectives.
- There’s a new award for first-time translators (and their editors). Star British translator Daniel Hahn has created and funded the award using his winnings from the International Dublin Literary Award. Read more at Publishing Perspectives.
- The adult coloring book fad is officially over. Barnes & Noble has told its buyers to stop buying coloring books, with rare exceptions. Read more in Dead Tree Edition.
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.