Episode 44: Jane Friedman and the business of writing

In this week’s episode, we talked to Jane Friedman, an expert in the publishing industry who has written with much insight, candor and calm about the business of writing and publishing. In her spare time, Jane writes creative nonfiction, which has been included in the anthologies Every Father’s Daughter and Drinking Diaries.

Jane describes herself as sitting at the intersection of several communities, giving her a 360-degree view of the changes now shaping writing and publishing. She sees herself as serving as a bridge between these communities. She was so knowledgeable about the publishing industry and about writing, and we loved talking to her about:

  • her tips for which writing-related activities can help to make the most impact in building your persona as a writer, even if you have limited time,
  • why you might make more from your readers than your publisher,
  • why she’s optimistic about the potential for writers to make money,
  • tips for understanding marketing yourself as a writer, and
  • the research about writing and money that she wishes someone would do.

We found her blog post about what she made during her first year of freelancing – including tips for how to make the transition – extremely helpful.

Jane has 20 years of experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in business strategy for authors and publishers. She’s the co-founder of The Hot Sheet, the essential industry newsletter for authors, and has previously worked for F+W Media and the Virginia Quarterly Review. Her newest book is The Business of Being a Writer (University of Chicago Press); Publishers Weekly said that it is “destined to become a staple reference book for writers and those interested in publishing careers.” Also, in collaboration with The Authors Guild, she wrote The Authors Guild Guide to E-Publishing.

In addition to being a columnist with Publishers Weekly and a professor with The Great Courses, Jane maintains an award-winning blog for writers at JaneFriedman.com.

You can find Jane at that website, her subscription newsletter Hot Sheet (with Porter Anderson), Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (other social media links are on her website). Her latest book is The Business of Being A Writer.

You can listen to the episode right here on this page, or get Marginally on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or wherever get your podcasts.

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Theme music is “It’s Time” by Scaricá Ricascá.

 

In this episode

Jane’s take on the Kindle Unlimited and free content issues (Publishers Weekly)

Kindle’s advertising arm (an older – 2012 – article by Joanna Penn on how she found it back then)

The gig economy (Forbes stats from 2018 here)

Consolidation in the publishing industry in the 1970s-1990s (and before)

Barnes & Noble (and an interesting piece on the book industry’s relationship with Barnes & Noble)

Jane’s subscription newsletter, Hot Sheet (co-produced with Porter Anderson)

Patreon

Authors and dedication pages for patrons

Jane’s blog post about what she made in her first year of freelancing

Joanna Penn’s 2018 book sales by format, genre, vendor and country

Newsletter outlining earnings from publishing (from Susan Dennard’s mailing list)

Episode 43 about income surveys

Jane’s blog post about income surveys that we referenced in Episode 43