Jane Friedman
Publishing industry analyst and educator (The Business of Being a Writer) sharing nuanced insights for authors on business models, marketing, and industry trends.
Essential Tips for Authors Ordering Wearable Merchandise
I have to admit, I've thought about doing apparel, especially for AWP. Some useful insight here into how to prepare from someone who specializes in wearable merch. From a Philadelphia shop: https://janefriedman.com/what-authors-need-to-know-about-ordering-wearable-merch/
Make Your Omniscient Narrator Opinionated, Not Neutral
Are you writing your novel in omniscient POV (the "god like" POV)? Though all-knowing, an omniscient narrator need not be neutral. It will often make a stronger impression on the reader if they’re opinionated. Insight from @garbobookcoaching: https://janefriedman.com/nailing-omniscient-pov-5-guidelines-to-captivate-not-confuse-readers/
Short Scenes Overload Setup, Starve Payoff.
If a scene is only a page or two long, the reader spends most of their time orienting and very little time inside the scene. The ratio of setup to payoff is off. They’re doing more work for less reward. Seth...
Turn Small Accountability Moments Into Transformative Memoir Insights
Esther Harder invites you to think about your transformation in the context of memoir: Believing [unassailable belief] because of [context], I [action]. When [description of obstacles impeding you], I [action]. I knew [dream of achieving goal], but I never would have...
Authors Needn't Shame Over Unclear Book Sales Data
I'm willing to go out on a limb and say no author should ever feel embarrassed by their book sales figures. Here's a primer on what book sales data is available and what it tells us about the economics of the...
We Notice Meaning only After It Passes
"It’s strange to understand why you’ve read something only after you’ve finished reading it, and to realize weeks later why you spent so much time thinking about the woman at the next table in the pastry shop instead of giving your undivided...
Repetition Creates Subtle Microtension in Storytelling
Microtension is story tension on a micro level, or in small, barely noticeable increments. And repetition of words is one of the most common way to produce it. Insight from C.S. Lakin: https://janefriedman.com/creating-microtension-through-repetition/
Memoir Healing Reveals Two Hidden Narrative Challenges
Some memoirists have undergone awful experiences, then they heal and sometimes achieve incredible things. That healing journey is remarkable, yet if you're writing a memoir about it, you'll encounter two problems in trying to create a narrative from it. @lisacooperellison discusses:...
BookCon Highlights Publishing's Author‑Indie Consumer Shift
This year's BookCon definitely underlines one of the greatest transformations in book publishing in the last 10 years. It is more author-driven, indie-driven, and consumer-driven than ever before. BookCon can succeed and grow; the industry-facing BookExpo remains as dead as...
Write Disability Characters Carefully; Understand Their Daily Reality
Writing a main character with serious physical challenges—ones you do not have—carries great risk because their daily experience is so different from your own. That can be hard to keep up for 350 pages, let alone a series. Here are three...
Librarians Confront AI's Pitfalls and Potential Benefits
Librarians already deal daily with the problems presented by AI: catalogs increasingly filled with low-quality AI-generated work and the burden of countering false or misleading information. But there are also opportunities to use AI to support their mission. The BISG recently...
Finish Your Memoir Even When You Want to Quit
"Reliving my dark, dramatic coming of age story all over again—in a kind of high-speed time-lapse—got my scoliosis spine all flared up. ... So, for the sake of my health, I shelved it." That's when Anne Pellicciotto's writers group asked her,...
Don’t Pay for Bookstagram Followers: It’s Counterproductive
"It quickly became apparent that building a following on Instagram required a volume of work that I was disinclined to undertake. Bookstagrammers, on the other hand, seemed to provide a way to potentially outsource this labour to someone else." Author...
Readers Crave Insider Memoir Writing Guidance, Says Free Workshop
Author @melissafraterrigo designed and hosted a free memoir-writing workshop for anyone who purchased her forthcoming book, and discovered that many readers were eager for an insider’s perspective on how to draft a memoir. Here's how she did it: https://janefriedman.com/teach-your-book-designing-a-class-around-your-memoir/
Three‑Star Reviews Signal Neutrality, Not Rejection
"I’d be lying if I said my first three-star review didn’t give me pause. I stared at it longer than I care to admit, rereading it as if some hidden meaning might appear. ... What did they miss? What could...