Audiobooks and digital audio
- Apple is offering basic analytics to podcast creators. It’s a pretty big deal and the first time analytics will be available for podcasters. Read more in Recode.
- Audible (owned by Amazon) has created a $5 million fund for emerging playwrights. The investment points to how well Audible must be doing and the ongoing demand for original audio content. Read in the New York Times.
- ACX is now open to authors (and other rights holders) in Canada and Ireland. ACX helps authors produce audiobooks and distribute and sell them via Audible. Until recently, ACX was only available to authors in the US and UK. Learn more at the ACX blog.
News and trends
- The most successful international translations of literary fiction are coming from independent publishers. A discussion at BookExpo analyzed and celebrated the “Elena Ferrante” model. Learn more in Shelf Awareness.
- Are literary novelists “invading” the science fiction genre? The line is becoming harder to draw between the two genres—or has it always been hard? Read Laura Miller in Slate.
- TV adaptations must learn when to play “by the book.” Lit adaptations can run into more turbulence than the producers or creators expect. Read more in Variety.
Traditional publishing
- What is the biggest challenge in university-press publishing? US-based editors speak out. Read in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
- Penguin Random House has acquired Out of Print Clothing, a company that produces T-shirts and merchandise featuring book-cover art and literary-themed designs. In its press release, PRH says it intends to “greatly expand its author- and imprint-brand-based merchandising capabilities.” In 2014, the company’s annual sales were estimated at around $5 million. Read the press release.
Self-publishing
- Ebook distributor Pronoun now offers library distribution. They’ve partnered with OverDrive and Bibliotheca. Learn more, or read our last update on Pronoun if you’re unfamiliar with them.
- ALLi offers a rating system for awards and contests for self-published books. Check the reputation of any competition before you spend money on entry fees. Find out more at the ALLi site.
- What makes a six-figure author? Written Word Media has conducted an informal survey of mostly independent authors to see what qualities they share in common. High title count is one. Learn more.
- Learn the latest about the fake book problem at Amazon. Indie author David Gaughran shares the latest analysis and effort to address bad actors in the system. Read at his blog.
Marketing toolbox
- How authors can best work with independent bookstores. A panel at BEA offered advice for both traditionally published and self-published authors. Read in Shelf Awareness.
- Top book marketing takeaways from Book Expo. The folks at BookBub attended BookExpo and have summarized key findings helpful to authors. Read at their blog.
- Why books are rejected for a BookBub featured deal. A couple of the reasons include poor cover and lack of wide distribution or availability. Read more at the BookBub blog.
- Also: BookBub now offers pre-order alerts. You can now pay BookBub to send a dedicated email to all of your BookBub followers. Only open right now to US authors with at least 1,000 followers. Learn more.
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.