News
- Becoming by Michelle Obama is breaking sales records at 1.4 million copies sold in its first week. Barnes & Noble says it was the best opening week for any adult book in over three years—since Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman. Vanity Fair calls it a “publishing unicorn.”
- Barnes & Noble plans to open 10 to 15 new stores in 2019. About 75 percent will replace larger stores whose leases have expired; the others will be in new locations. Learn more in Shelf Awareness.
Trends
- A debut novel has been boosted by a celebrity book club. Sales of Where the Crawdads Sing by 69-year-old Delia Owens have so far exceeded a quarter of a million copies, and digital sales have split equally across ebook and audio. The secret to the book’s marketing momentum? Reese Witherspoon’s book club. Read Tobias Grey in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
- An author discusses crime-and-horror crossovers. When horror is paired with mystery, the two genres can pull in opposite directions. Read author MR Carey at Crime Reads.
- Do podcasts and audiobooks compete? The line is becoming rather blurry between the two digital-audio darlings. Publishing Trends studies the landscape, with a look at new, old, and continuing publishing initiatives. Read Lorraine Shanley.
- Penguin Random House will shutter two of its reader-focused websites. One is for the science fiction and fantasy reader community; the other is more general interest. Read John Maher in Publishers Weekly.
Innovations
- Patreon is experiencing serious growth. The site includes more than 100,000 creators, who will earn an estimated $300 million from the site this year. That’s double what the company paid last year. The fastest growing creator group? Video. Read Tom Dotan at The Information.
- Happy birthday, Lightning Source. This year the print-on-demand service launched by Ingram turns 20 years old. It has revolutionized the business model for publishers and independent authors alike. The company’s global catalogue exceeds 15 million titles. Read Jim Milliot at Publishers Weekly.
Culture and Politics
- Is it okay if George RR Martin doesn’t finish A Song of Ice and Fire? Opinions vary, but Ross Johnson takes an accepting stance at the Barnes & Noble blog. (Those responding in the comments do not.)
- The radicalization of bedtime stories. Parents are buying picture books with politically progressive messages for their children. Read Joe Pinsker in The Atlantic.
International
- China is developing its children’s book market. Modern picture books have been in China for only about 15 years. Chinese publishers have brought in many foreign titles while developing authors and illustrators at home. Learn more in Publishing Perspectives from Hannah Johnson.
Marketing Toolbox
- How to turn a viral article into a book. While we don’t recommend trying to make anything go viral, you’ll find some interesting case studies here. Read Rachel Kramer Bussel in Forbes.
- The ultimate guide to promoting a book launch. BookBub offers an extensive guide that you can read at their site or download. Read Diana Urban.
- How to grow your podcast. A big secret to better numbers is offering transcripts—ideally, edited ones. Read Jaclyn Schiff in Pod Reacher.
New Imprint Alert
- Author Simon Sinek launches a new imprint. Optimism Press will be housed under Portfolio (known for business books) at Penguin Random House. Read more in Publishers Weekly from John Maher.
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.