In our most recent issue, we suggested that end-of-year results for brick-and-mortar bookstores would likely be disappointing. Complicating matters further: shipping delays to bookstores, as reported by Alex Green and Claire Kirch at Publishers Weekly. Apparently bad weather and heavy shipping volume have led to UPS delays. Furthermore, since the beginning of November, NPD BookScan reports a print sales decline of about 6.5 percent compared to last year. Booksellers blame the lack of a blockbuster title (such as last year’s hit, Becoming by Michelle Obama) to drive store traffic.
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.
