Traditional Publishing
- Popular nonfiction relies on the “malcolm.” As in Malcolm Gladwell. “A malcolm is a lengthy anecdote used to begin a chapter, before the author gets to the actual point they’re trying to make.” But they’ve become overused, and it’s hard to find a story that people haven’t heard before. Read Stian Westlake at Medium.
- A list of Canada’s top 20 independent publishers. Kids’ and education publishers predominate. Read Ken Whyte at SHuSH.
Children’s Publishing
- Audio is the fastest growing format in children’s books. Also, digital text sales—Webtoon—is considered an important platform to watch in the future. Even though it’s just 2 percent of the market, it grew 80 times faster than the rest of the comics and graphic novel space. Read Nathalie op de Beeck at Publishers Weekly.
- Diversity increases in children’s literature. The latest Cooperative Children’s Book Center stats have been released, and in 2022, about 40 percent of published children’s books were by a person of color. Read Claire Kirch in Publishers Weekly.
Self-Publishing
- Why authors might not want to use Shopify for direct book sales. The article discusses the limitations and offers alternative solutions. Read Monice Leonelle at Author Analyst.
- Kindle Unlimited versus wide is a false debate. This is a very long business read, but it might allay authors’ anxiety that there is a “right” choice. Read Michael Evans at Subscriptions for Authors.
WGA Strike
- TV’s streaming model isn’t going away, but it’s also proving problematic. This is a long read on the problems that Hollywood faces and dynamics affecting the ongoing strike. Read Josef Adalian and Lane Brown at Vulture.
- SAG-AFTRA has voted in support of a strike if they don’t reach a deal with the studios. SAG-AFTRA is Hollywood’s actor union and also includes podcast hosts and audiobook narrators. However, according to Amrita Khalid at the Verge, “Most podcast and audiobook contracts under SAG-AFTRA would not be considered ‘struck’ work. This is in contrast to the ongoing WGA strike, where writing on scripted fiction podcasts covered by WGA isn’t kosher, and striking members are not allowed to work on non-union projects. … Which means that for performers looking to work during a Hollywood strike, the audio world may become their go-to destination.” Read at the Verge (scroll down for the item on audiobooks and podcasts).
Scandals
- The latest on Scribe Media: The publishing services company that recently imploded is trying to convince its clients that business will continue as usual. But freelancers for the company say they are owed thousands of dollars. Browse the Reddit thread. Meanwhile, the person put in charge after the CEO’s departure has just resigned; the comments on her LinkedIn announcementreflect clients who’ve paid a lot of money and received nothing, as well as competing services swooping in to get their business. If you’re looking for even more, check out Sam Lacrosse’s post. Get the popcorn.
Book Banning
- President Biden names point person on book bans. A person in the Dept. of Education will organize responses to book bans at the state level. Read Andrew Albanese in Publishers Weekly.
- Free library card for teens. Is your local or school library removing or limiting access to books? Teenagers anywhere can get access to the Brooklyn (NYC) Public Library offering of 300,000 ebook titles and 200,000 audiobooks. Sign up here.
Book Reviews
- A list of outlets that pay freelancers for book reviews: There are 74 of them, all listed with contact information, word count, pay rate, and more. Read Adam Morgan and Chelsea Leu.
- Learn about the New York Times Book Review under its new editorial leadership. The team includes more than 20 editors, critics, and reporters. It’s focused on growing its digital readership and launching new digital franchises. Read Sophia Stewart at Publishers Weekly.
AI
- Amazon is using AI to generate summaries of customer reviews. There has been no announcement yet; users have noticed it through A/B testing. See Aakash Gupta’s Twitter thread.
- A prominent book designer will use AI in a limited way for covers. Damonza, one of the most popular designers used by self-publishing authors, recently released a statement on how he will use AI in client work. However, clients can still prohibit use of generative AI for their covers when working with him. Clients who are okay with AI use will receive a 10 percent discount. Read.
- Kindlepreneur’s book description generator now includes an AI editing option. Want to see if you can improve your book description at Amazon or other retailers? Kindlepreneur has added an AI tool to its book description generator to help you make improvements. It’s optional.
- A new chapter by a manga master (now dead) has been generated by ChatGPT. It’s to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his series. Read Casey Baseel at Japan Today. (h/t to reader Emmy)
- How to get good results out of ChatGPT. This advice comes straight from the horse’s mouth (OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT). Read.
Culture & Politics
- Remember the bestselling thriller novelist who said his book was rejected by the Big Five because he’s white? Richard North Patterson wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal in April, detailing all of the rejections he received. In short, some editors said the work was great, but they could not publish a white author writing from the perspective of non-white characters. Now critic Laura Miller has read the novel (released by conservative house Post Hill Press). She wonders if editors “might not have been passing the buck, as editors have been known to do. Perhaps it’s easier to blame the scolds of social media and the junior staff than it is to tell a onetime ace that he’s lost his fastball just as his comeback attempt has begun.” Read at Slate.
- Selling Russian rights—it’s getting complicated. UK authors are receiving enticing bids for foreign rights to their books but feel they can’t accept the money. Read Vanessa Thorpe at the Guardian.
- A brief history of YA and what the category has become. This starts off with the recent rediscovery of Judy Blume and ends up becoming a thought-provoking look on how YA has moved away from stories that treat growing up as a process of character formation, as seen in books like Little Women and the Anne of Green Gables series. Read Rita Koganzon at the Point.
- The persecution profiteer: An academic makes the argument that the proliferation of “four fire emoji” creators—people who are successful at capturing attention—often employ sensationalism and moral outrage, which turns them into propagandists. Read Renée Diresta at Noema.
- Could a Cormac McCarthy happen today? An expert on the history of the conglomeratization of publishing considers McCarthy’s track record of poor sales and wonders how or if such a figure would break out today. (While the history here is fascinating, a million forms of this argument are made all the time, yet great authors still emerge, generation after generation. The sky is not falling.) Read Dan Sinykin at the New York Times.
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.