News
- F+W Media’s book division has been acquired by Penguin Random House. The deal includes 2,000 backlist titles and includes the Writer’s Digest Books imprint, among many others. The rest of F+W Media (its magazines and online communities) will be sold later this week. Read in Publishing Perspectives.
Reports from BookExpo
- Here’s the AP take on BookExpo. Since there’s not much breaking news coming out of the show, the Associated Press focuses on cost and supply issues, complicated by the possible Trump tariff on books printed in China. Read Hillel Italie.
- Publishers Weekly looks at the biggest books coming out of the show, as well as high-level industry talking points. This is a good, all-around summary of the show’s vibe this year. Read Jim Milliot.
- Learn about current issues affecting independent booksellers. Just as in prior years at BookExpo, members of the American Booksellers Association gathered for a meeting and airing of concerns and grievances. John Mutter offers summaries of the annual meeting and the town hall in Shelf Awareness.
- BookCon receives mixed reviews from attendees. BookCon is the consumer-facing show that takes place on the weekend after BookExpo. Attendees are mainly females in their 20s and 30s; some were disappointed by fewer giveaways and swag than in prior years. Read Claire Kirch in Publishers Weekly.
- BookExpo’s exhibit floor this year included non-book merchandise and gifts. During a panel to discuss selling sideline items, booksellers pointed to cards, candles, and cacti as being popular. Read Alex Mutter at Shelf Awareness.
Culture and Politics
- An author sues her publisher for canceling her book after she tweeted a complaint about a Metro worker. Natasha Tynes was placed on leave from her job and hospitalized, and she accuses her publisher, Rare Bird Books, of causing emotional distress. Read Deanna Paul and Lindsey Bever in The Washington Post.
- A Budapest publisher is fueling far-right extremism. Its books are sold through mainstream US outlets such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Read Tess Owen in Vice.
Trends
- Magazine writers ride high on Hollywood’s “peak content” wave. Studios that once paid less than $10,000 for a magazine story option are now paying double—or more. Read Rob Williams at MediaPost.
- Is “viral book” an oxymoron? The Columbia Journalism Review looks at the desirability of landing a book deal based on a viral article—since there’s little evidence that virality translates to book sales. Read Becca Schuh.
- Writing cross-genre novels: trends, marketing, and insights. Yes, cross-genre novels are marketable, but you still need to know where your novel fits. Read Esther Rabbit at Draft2Digital.
Digital Media
- YouTube is turning its back on independent creators. The company has tremendous influence over what its users watch, but its algorithms are as inscrutable as Amazon’s. Read Simon Owens at Medium.
- Tim Ferriss, who runs a very popular podcast, is testing a listener-supported model. Ferriss rakes in a considerable amount of advertising money every month, but he might earn more through his fans. Read Amira Valliani at Medium.
- Learn how a major magazine publisher is using IGTV. They emphasize personalities and micro-content. Read Leah Wynalek at Publishing Executive.
Libraries
- Library patrons buy books more often than those who don’t visit the library. That’s according to research from BookNet Canada. Read in Publishing Perspectives.
- Students are borrowing fewer books from university libraries. For example, at Yale, there’s been a 64 percent decline in the number of books checked out by undergraduates over the past decade. Read Dan Cohen at The Atlantic.
Self-publishing
- There’s a new process for getting a Library of Congress Control Number. The Library of Congress has launched a new online system, called PrePub Book Link, for requesting LCCNs. David Wogahn outlines the new process.
- The Selfies Award comes to the US. First awarded in the UK in 2019, the prize for self-published work (sponsored by IngramSpark, Publishers Weekly, and BookBrunch), will open to US authors for 2020. It costs $50 to enter. Learn more at their website.
Amazon
- Amazon is shifting smaller suppliers over to the Marketplace. Marketplace is a more competitive environment where sales happen one at a time directly to consumers; suppliers accustomed to wholesaling to Amazon are not eager to shift over. Amazon denies any large-scale change is taking place. Read Spencer Soper at Bloomberg.
Marketing Toolbox
- Learn seven book-promotion trends that emerged from BookExpo. We can confirm: these things were discussed. Read at the BookBub blog.
- How to promote your author event. It’s a very useful reminder checklist—to do your due diligence. Read Ainsley Sparkes at BookNet Canada.
- Tactical crowdfunding: use Kickstarter for quick capital. Learn strategy and tactics for funding your expenses related to cover design, audio editions, and merch. Read MCA Hogarth at the Nink newsletter.
- Use crossovers to promote your self-published series. A novelist describes a marketing strategy that mashes together characters from two different series. Read Jeffery Haskell at PublishDrive.
New Imprint Alerts
- Little, Brown’s new illustrated imprint is Voracious. It launches this fall and is driven by “an appetite for food, but more broadly for enjoyment and pleasure, for meaningful new experiences, for narrative and self-improvement and the things that tickle our brains.” Learn more at their site.
- Clover Press will release graphic novels, art books, and other works. It is a joint venture with IDW. Read Calvin Reid in Publishers Weekly.
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.