Barnes & Noble
- CEO James Daunt says Bookshop is dangerous for independent bookstores. It’s not much of a surprise he might find the online retailer dangerous, given that Barnes & Noble has never been that great at online sales and realized only modest ecommerce growth during the pandemic. But Daunt’s warning was directed to independents. He believes they give up a valuable direct connection between themselves and customers if they use Bookshop. However, Bookshop does pass along customer data to bookstores if the customer opts in to such communications. Read Sian Bayley at The Bookseller (subscription required).
- Barnes & Noble will revamp and rename Sterling. Barnes & Noble purchased book publisher Sterling in 2003; since then it has mainly taken its marching orders from the retailer. Now, the publishing division plans to rename itself and operate more independently. Read Jim Milliot in Publishers Weekly.
Audio
- Storytel and Spotify have entered into a partnership. This may have huge ramifications for the future of audiobooks if the partnership between these two Swedish companies becomes more intertwined and cozy. Storytel offers a half million audiobooks and ebooks through its stores and is now making that content available to Storytel subscribers within the Spotify platform. (The two accounts must be linked for it to work.) This is further breaking down the platform barriers between music, podcasts, and audiobooks. People in the US can’t subscribe to Storytel, but Storytel’s partnership with Spotify, which does operate in the US, brings that eventuality much closer than before. Mark Williams at The New Publishing Standard speculates on what might happen.
- Publishers have “once in a generation chance” with audio and subscription services. Experts in the audio industry warned that if publishers don’t get on board with subscription services, platforms such as Spotify will produce content themselves and take away opportunities for publishers to find new audiences. Read Sian Bayley at The Bookseller (subscription required).
- Slate launches an audiobook store. It includes titles from the Big Five publishers, all of which can be listened to through your podcast app. The article reveals that Slate has earned more than $1 million through its book affiliate business. Read Ashley Carman at The Verge.
Amazon
- Amazon stands to gain from recent privacy changes in advertising. More companies are shifting their ad budgets toward Amazon because that’s where people are shopping. Read Michael Waters at Modern Retail.
- A guide to banned keywords on Amazon. There are some words that you shouldn’t put in your title, subtitle, Amazon page description, or metadata. Read Miral Sattar.
Marketing Toolbox
- Three things you didn’t know about ebook retailer rankings. Learn more about the factors that affect Amazon and Apple discoverability. Read Ricardo Fayet at BookBub.
- Also at BookBub: Instagram book promotion ideas. This is your standard BookBub roundup with lots of examples and inspiration. Read Shailee Shah.
- How a book gets adapted into TV and film. This panel of three authors and one editor will appeal more to the literary fiction crowd. Read Chaya Bhuvaneswar at Lit Hub.
- Zoom is expanding its ability to host complex events. A writing conference near you may soon take advantage of Zoom features coming this summer: selling tickets, tracking attendance, and hosting informal chats (a lobby). Read Ian Carlos Campbell at The Verge.
- A book reviewer urges authors not to contact reviewers. That even applies in the case of a good review. Read Namera Tanjeem at Book Riot.
Culture & Politics
- New York governor Andrew Cuomo received more than $5 million for his memoir focused on leadership lessons learned during the pandemic. His previous book sold only a few thousand copies. Meanwhile, Cuomo’s publisher, Penguin Random House, canceled promotion and plans for a paperback earlier this year due to numerous controversies surrounding him. Read at The New York Times.
- The story behind Stacey Abrams’s fiction-writing career. Writing novels is not just a side hustle for Abrams. Read Ayana Mathis in The Atlantic.
- Are unions the answer to diversity in publishing? Duke University Press recently organized, and more of the media than ever is turning to unions for fair pay. Read Tina Vasquez at Workday Minnesota.
Guidance for Writers
- Two scams to watch out for: Writer Beware reports on Goodreads extortion and bogus conference speaking solicitations. Read Victoria Strauss.
- A guide to Twitter pitch sessions. A chapter of the SCBWI offers an overview of the major Twitter pitch events for authors. Read Jocelyn Rish at SCBWI
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.