Skyhorse acquired world rights to the Woody Allen book—the one that Hachette canceled last month—and published it on March 23. As of today, only the ebook edition is available, not the print; Publishers Lunch reports (subscription required) that 75,000 copies were printed. Meanwhile, that same week, Skyhorse announced significant staff cuts and cited declining sales caused by coronavirus. Not that long ago, in spring 2018, Skyhorse cut 25 percent of its staff and said it would draw down its title count. Still, in early February of this year, it announced a new romance imprint.
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.
