Educational publisher Pearson, one of the biggest publishers in the world, announced late in July that it’s launching an app that gives US students access to all of its 1,500 titles for a monthly subscription fee of $14.99. The Financial Times notes (subscription required), “After years of disappointing digital investments, Pearson must face down skepticism about its consumer appeal and competition from innovators as it attempts what in other sectors has been a painful shift to subscription models.” In 2017, competitor Cengage launched its own subscription model for $69.99 per semester. For deeper insights, read Rick Anderson in The Scholarly Kitchen.
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.
