Traditional Publishing
- A book designer—who has become a TikTok phenom—criticizes how traditional publishers choose covers. On TikTok he regularly shares his cover design process for publisher-clients and now has a sponsorship deal with Adobe. He suggests publishers read the comments section on his posts. That’s because publishers can make stunningly bad decisions about cover design, often by chasing a current bestselling look with little regard for what readers respond to. Read Sophia Stewart at Publishers Weekly.
- Don’t make George R.R. Martin finish Game of Thrones if he doesn’t want to. Especially if he’s not excited about it. The results might end up being worse than an unfinished series. Read Maddy Myers at Polygon.
- A history of small presses run by women. A scholar finds a lack of documentation or recognition of women in independent publishing between the 1950s and 1980s. A book on the topic is forthcoming. Read Stephanie Anderson at Post45.
Money Talk
- The probability of writing and publishing a bestseller is vanishingly small. Yet authors often believe they will beat the odds. One author says, “There are so many books that you’ve never heard of that did not sell well, and you read it and you’re like, this is amazing, this is a wonderful book. Even when you do everything right, it’s just very hard to get it to scale.” Read Ken Whyte at SHuSH.
- Did this bestselling book turn out to be a failure? Here’s one author who did beat the odds: His nonfiction book has sold a quarter million copies. Yet he remains unsure whether the effort will become profitable. He measured dollars spent versus dollars earned, even assigned value to followers and subscribers gained. It’s an ambitious post-mortem that few authors undertake and shows the imperative—for each and every project—for authors to examine their goals and motivations for publishing. Read Tiago Forte at Forte Labs.
- Notes on a first royalty check. A nonfiction author with a Big Five publisher earns out her advance and receives her first check for nearly $2,000. She’s content. Read Catherine Baab-Muguira at Poe Can Save Your Life.
- A startup Canadian publisher that crowdfunds: Nine Ten Publications focuses on content in the craft and DIY space and only publishes Canadian authors. It’s surprising how many publishers don’t use this model. Read Jarin Pintana at Green Book Alliance.
Canada
- Indigo’s CEO says the retailer will now focus on books. It’s like watching a replay of Barnes & Noble’s reinvention, which started in 2019: Chain bookseller goes private and returns to its roots as a bookseller. Will Indigo see a turnaround, too? That’s clearly the hope. Read Cassandra Drudi at Quill & Quire.
- Canada sees increased participation in book clubs and reading groups. Attending book clubs in the highest numbers: 18- to 29-year-olds. Read Ainsley Sparkes at BookNet Canada.
UK
- An online retailer of used and remaindered books sees sales increase. Books2Door in the UK reports that sales are up nearly 40 percent this year versus last year. The key drivers? The TikTok shop that Books2Door opened in March 2023 as well as book box subscriptions. Read Ed Nawotka in Publishers Weekly.
Culture & Politics
- The New York Times examines the collapse of the RWA. If you’re looking for all the backstory in one place, here it is. Read Robert Ito.
- Serialized storytelling is gaining ground on TikTok. But is anyone really earning money from it? Is anyone selling licensing rights or signing book deals as a result? The article doesn’t say. Read Madison Malone Kircher at the New York Times.
AI
- Ingram blocks book on AI by publishing industry vet. Thad McIlroy’s new book on AI was caught in Ingram’s content filters just before book launch; he received one of their well-known catalog integrity notices and had to make an appeal to have the block lifted. Fortunately, the block was lifted in time for his launch. (Would lower profile authors be so fortunate?) Read Ed Nawotka at Publishers Weekly.
- Informa (who owns academic publisher Taylor & Francis) strikes a deal with Microsoft for AI training. It’s a multi-year, nonexclusive deal that will initially pay more than $10 million for works that it has the rights to. Authors were not consulted, but often publishers such as Taylor & Francis require authors to agree to a permanent copyright transfer. Read Wellett Potter at The Conversation.
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.