News and Trends
- What does Frankfurt tell us about the current state of trade publishing? Consultant Mike Shatzkin parses comments from two major publishing CEOs and concludes there’s an elephant in the room no one is talking about. Read at his blog.
- Magazine conglomerate Hearst is acquiring Rodale Inc. Rodale is a book and magazine publisher with strong direct-to-consumer marketing ability. Hearst has agreed to buy the entire company, but multiple book publishers have said they’d be interested in bidding for Rodale Books if Hearst wants to offload it. Learn more in WWD from Alexandra Steigrad.
- Dutch bookstores are at war with Kobo Plus. Earlier this year, Kobo launched its ebook subscription service, Kobo Plus, which now has 100,000 subscribers. This fall, in partnership with Dutch publishers, Kobo Plus has announced digital-first publication of two books by bestselling Dutch authors—and one of the books launches an exclusive series. But bookstores are retaliating. Find out more from Mark Williams at the New Publishing Standard.
Amazon
- Amazon recently rank-stripped some romance authors. In what may be an effort to crack down on clickfarms and bots in Kindle Unlimited, Amazon is rank-stripping titles their system perceives to be engaging in fraudulent activity—but their system may be generating false positives. Indie author David Gaughran comments at length on what’s happening and who’s affected.
- Amazon has released a major update of its Kindle app. One of the new community features is better integration of Goodreads. Learn more from Amazon’s press release.
Marketing Toolbox
- Indie author marketing strategies should be customized based on whether you’re exclusive to Amazon or selling wide. Indie author David Gaughran details two paths to selling books based on whether you’re enrolled in Kindle Unlimited (and thus exclusive to Amazon). Read at his blog.
- The Smart Author podcast debuts from Smashwords. Mark Coker says that the first eight episodes will teach best practices that most indie authors don’t yet implement. Learn more at the Smashwords blog.
Diversity and Race
- The 2016 VIDA count is out. VIDA is a nonprofit organization that looks at the lack of diversity in the literary landscape. Their annual diversity survey of writers published in major magazines and literary journals is meant to increase awareness of and attention to the issue. Take a look at their latest count.
- Recently, Kirkus modified its YA book review of American Heart due to public outcry. The episode demonstrates the ongoing contentious environment surrounding YA books and race. Read more in the New Yorker from Nathan Heller.
- What is the editor’s role in ensuring books are inclusive and sensitive? An editor argues that she is as responsible as authors for fixing (or scrapping) books that demonstrate inclusivity problems. Read Jennifer Baker in Electric Literature.
New Imprint Alerts
- Several editors are leaving Workman to start a new imprint (so far unnamed) at Macmillan Children’s. The imprint’s new publisher, Daniel Nayeri, says it will be “a collaboration of makers in the communal pursuit of creating art objects for great and terrible children.” Learn more in Publishers Weekly from John Maher.
- Little, Brown is establishing a new imprint devoted to health, lifestyle, psychology, and science. Publisher Reagan Arthur says in the announcement, “We’re eager to increase Little, Brown’s presence in this growing market.” John Maher of Publishers Weekly has the details.
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.