Earlier this week, I was interviewed by Jason Allen Ashlock about my new digital magazine Scratch, and how things have changed in the magazine publishing world since my days at Writer’s Digest.
Here’s a bit of what I had to say:
It’s more difficult to turn a profit on a magazine, whether print or digital. People expect they can get quality information for free, and the magazine package (or experience) isn’t as valuable as it once was. People cherry pick a lot, rather than committing to single publications or outlets. I suspect that if and when Scratch becomes sustainable for the long term, it will be a result of additional content and services we develop, not subscription revenue.
It’s a wide-ranging conversation, and I also touch on:
- good and bad trends in author education
- exciting changes in the publishing industry
- a digital-inspired publishing effort that inspires me
Many thanks to Jason for the excellent questions. Read the full interview.
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.
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