News and Trends
- Family Christian bookstores are closing after 85 years in business. The chain has 240 stores in 36 states, with more than 3,000 employees. However, this development shouldn’t be taken as commentary on the sales performance of religious books, which have recently been strong in the US. Read more in Publishers Weekly.
- In 2015, digital sales of graphic novels and comics constituted about 9 percent of overall sales. This figure is down by 10 percent from 2014. Publishing Trends reviews trends in the market.
- The problem of getting into US libraries isn’t known only to self-publishers. International translators are coming together to form Global Literature in Libraries Initiative (GLLI) to try to flag English translations of books from other languages for harried librarians. Read more in Publishing Perspectives.
- In Germany, the deadline has just passed for authors to grant publishers the right to keep copyright revenues the court says must be returned. By May or June, we should know just how much publishers must pay back, and it could be up to €300 million. Publishing house job losses and even bankruptcies are feared. Read more at Publishing Perspectives.
Traditional Publishing
- After a reduction in the number of bestseller lists at the New York Times, more changes lie ahead for the publication’s books coverage. New York Times Book Review editor Pamela Paul elaborated on her vision at a recent industry meeting. In short: expect fewer straight-up reviews. Learn more in Publishers Weekly.
- Author Patricia Cornwell has taken her latest Jack the Ripper nonfiction book to Amazon Publishing’s Thomas & Mercer imprint. She says it’s worth the problem of getting an Amazon book into bookstores to take advantage of Amazon’s Kindle in Motion enhanced ebook tech. Read more at Publishing Perspectives.
- Barack and Michelle Obama signed book deals with Penguin Random House for an estimated $60 million. The books will be published under the Crown imprint, and part of the advance will be donated to charity. Read more in the New York Times.
- HarperCollins has launched BookGenie and Epic Reads, two bot-powered book recommendation engines available through Facebook Messenger. Both provide book recommendations through one-on-one chatting. Learn more in Publishers Weekly.
Indie Authorship
- Mythbusting the Amazon algorithm: What do you know—or think you know—about how Amazon’s algorithms work? It’s possible you’ve fallen for one of the many myths. Read more in Self-Publishing Review.
- Cozy mystery author Elizabeth Spann Craig is now turning down traditional publishing deals. One reason why: she’s making more money as an indie author. Read more at her blog.
- Soon you’ll be able to reach Kobo Plus via Draft2Digital. As we reported in our most recent issue, Kobo Plus is launching an ebook subscription service in Europe. Authors can participate by distributing directly with Kobo, but Draft2Digital is working on a supply line as well. Learn more at the Digital Reader.
- More than 100 book promotion sites: Dave Chesson has compiled a table of sites where you can promote your ebook for free or pay. Visit Kindlepreneur and get ready to close the pop-ups.
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.