Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

Help Existing


Aug 23, 2022

This week, I'm joined by publishing industry expert Jane Friedman to talk about the strange business of books: how authors make a living off their books (SPOILER: keep dreaming), the impact of Amazon on the market, contentious e-book lending, why 98% of books sell under 5,000 copies, and much more.

This is a super interesting episode for writers, sure, but also for readers. There are a lot of misconceptions about the business of books, and this is a crash course on how readers can be better allies to authors.

Speaking of allyship, in the intro, I also asked listeners to consider donating to my Venmo @rachel-krantz so that I can make Season 2 of Help Existing. Here are some additional incentives:

--The first ten people to donate $30 or more can claim a signed UK edition of OPEN.

--The first five people to donate $50 or more can claim an Unbound Babes vibrator.

--Anyone who donates $150 or more can get a one-hour session with me consulting on the topic of their choice--writing, pitching, meditation, or whatever else you want to talk about. 

Thanks so much for listening, and to anyone who can give! 

--

Jane Friedman has 20 years of experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in business strategy for authors and publishers. She’s the editor of The Hot Sheet, the essential industry newsletter for authors, and has previously worked for Writer’s Digest and the Virginia Quarterly Review

Jane’s latest book is The Business of Being a Writer. In collaboration with The Authors Guild, she wrote The Authors Guild Guide to Self-Publishing.

In addition to being a professor with The Great Courses, Jane’s expertise has been featured by The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, and many other outlets. She offers a free newsletter, Electric Speed, published since 2009, that has more than 25,000 subscribers.