The Business of Being a WriTer Permissions, A Survival Guide Susan M Bielstein The Craft of Research Wayne C Booth, Gregory G Colomb, Joseph M Williams, Joseph Bizup, and William T FitzGerald The Chicago Guide to Fact-Checking Brooke Borel Writing Abroad Peter Chilson and Joanne B Mulcahy Immersion Ted Conover The Art of Creative Research Philip Gerard Getting It Published William Germano What Editors Do Peter Ginna, editor Storycraft Jack Hart Behind the Book Chris Mackenzie Jones A Poet’s Guide to Poetry Mary Kinzie Developmental Editing Scott Norton The Subversive Copy Editor Carol Fisher Saller The Writer’s Diet Helen Sword The Business of Being a Writer Jane fr iedma n The University of Chicago Press Chicago and London The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637 The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London © 2018 by Jane Friedman All rights reserved No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations in critical articles and reviews For more information, contact the University of Chicago Press, 1427 E 60th St., Chicago, IL 60637 Published 2018 Printed in the United States of America 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 ISBN-13: 978-0-226-39302-5 (cloth) ISBN-13: 978-0-226-39316-2 (paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-226-39333-9 (e-book) DOI: https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226393339.001.0001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Friedman, Jane, author Title: The business of being a writer / Jane Friedman Other titles: Chicago guides to writing, editing, and publishing Description: Chicago ; London : The University of Chicago Press, 2018 | Series: Chicago guides to writing, editing, and publishing | Includes bibliographical references and index Identifiers: LCCN 2017038268 | ISBN 9780226393025 (cloth : alk paper) | ISBN 9780226393162 (pbk : alk paper) | ISBN 9780226393339 (e-book) Subjects: LCSH: Authorship— Economic aspects | Literary agents | Authors and publishers Classification: LCC PN161 F744 2018 | DDC 808.02— dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017038268 ♾ This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper) For my mom, because when I announced my intention to study creative writing in college, she never suggested I pursue something more lucrative ConTenTs Introduction / ParT one: firsT sTePs Making a Life as a Writer / Can You Make a Living as a Writer? / The Art of Career Building / 15 Generating Leads, Gaining Exposure / 28 Pursuing an MFA or Other Graduate Degree / 36 ParT TWo: undersTanding The PuBlishing indusTry / 41 Trade Book Publishing / 43 Magazine Publishing / 53 Online and Digital Media / 64 Literary Publishing in the Twenty-First Century / 71 ParT Three: geTTing PuBlished / 81 Book Publishing: Figuring Out Where Your Book Fits / 83 10 Understanding Literary Agents / 91 11 Researching Agents and Publishers / 98 12 Book Queries and Synopses / 106 13 The Nonfiction Book Proposal / 117 14 Working with Your Publisher / 128 15 Self-Publishing / 137 16 Publishing Short Stories, Personal Essays, or Poetry / 143 17 Traditional Freelance Writing / 150 18 Online Writing and Blogging / 160 ParT four: The WriTer as enTrePreneur Laying the foundation / 171 19 Author Platform / 173 20 Your Online Presence: Websites, Social Media, and More / 180 21 Turning Attention into Sales / 195 22 The Basics of Book Launches / 208 ParT five: hoW WriTers make money / 223 23 Starting a Freelance Career / 227 24 Freelance Editing and Related Services / 233 25 Teaching and Online Education / 239 26 Contests, Prizes, Grants, Fellowships / 245 27 Crowdfunding and Donations / 253 28 Memberships, Subscriptions, and Paywalls / 257 29 Advertising and Affiliate Income / 261 30 Pursuing a Publishing Career / 266 31 Corporate Media Careers / 269 Afterword / 277 Appendix 1: Contracts 101 / 279 Appendix 2: Legal Issues / 287 Appendix 3: Recommended Resources / 293 Acknowledgments and Credits / 297 Notes / 299 Index / 309 inTroduCTion Thousands of people dream of writing and publishing full-time, yet few have been told how to make that dream a reality Working writers may have no more than a rudimentary understanding of how the publishing and media industry works, and longtime writing professors may be out of the loop as to what it takes to build a career in an era of digital authorship, amid more competition— and confusing advice— than ever Even instructors who are well informed and up to date on the practical aspects of a writing career may believe their job is to teach the art and craft, or feel that students shouldn’t allow business concerns to influence their voice or direction as writers The Business of Being a Writer takes it on principle that learning about the publishing industry will lead to a more positive and productive writing career While business savvy may not make up for mediocre writing, or allow any author to skip important stages of creative development, it can reduce anxiety and frustration And it can help writers avoid bad career decisions— by setting appropriate expectations of the industry, and by providing tools and information on how to pursue meaningful, sustainable careers in writing and publishing on a full-time or part-time basis Because writing degrees may have little or no impact on earnings potential or industry knowledge, this guide is as much for students— or graduates— of undergraduate or graduate writing programs as it is for writers working outside such programs Despite ongoing transformations in the publishing industry, there are fundamental business principles that underlie writing and publishing success, and those principles are this book’s primary focus Writers who learn to recognize the models behind successful authorship and publication will feel more empowered and confident to navigate a changing field, to build their own plans for long-term career development One underlying assumption in this guide is that many creative writers— particularly those pursuing formal degrees— want to build careers based on publishing books It seems like common sense: literary agents sell and profit from book-length work, not single stories or essays; and getting { Michael Ellsberg, “How to Connect with Powerful and Influential People,” March 6, 2014, http://www.ellsberg.com/awesomeness-fest Chris Guillebeau, “279 Days to Overnight Success: An Unconventional Journey to Full-Time Writing,” 2009, 31–32, http://chrisguillebeau.com/files/2009 /04/279days.pdf Becky Tuch, “All Work and No Pay Makes Jack a Dull Writer,” Various Small Flames, May 24, 2014, https://variousmallflames.wordpress.com/2014/04/24/all -work-and-no-pay/ Paul Graham, “How to Do What You Love,” January 2006, http://www.paul graham.com/love.html 10 Richard Wiseman, The Luck Factor: Changing Your Luck, Changing Your Life: The Four Essential Principles (New York: Miramax/Hyperion, 2003) ChaPTer With thanks to Kevin Smokler Jane Friedman, “An Interview with Richard Nash: The Future of Publishing” (blog post), September 22, 2015, https://janefriedman.com/an-interview-with -richard-nash/ Roxane Gay, Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body (New York: HarperCollins, 2017) Debbie Ridpath Ohi, “Inkygirl,” Instagram, accessed July 4, 2016, https:// www.instagram.com/inkygirl/ Robert Lee Brewer, “Poetic Asides” (blog), Writers Digest, accessed June 17, 2016, http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides Jane Friedman, “Book Publishing Statistics,” Pinterest, accessed June 17, 2016, https://www.pinterest.com/janefriedman/book-publishing-statistics/ Austin Kleon, Show Your Work! 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered (New York: Workman Publishing, 2014), 23 Friedman, “Interview with Richard Nash.” See TheJohnFox.com and CliffordGarstang.com 10 Yiyun Lee, “A Letter from Yiyun Lee.” A Public Space Oct 1, 2013 http:// apublicspace.org/blog/detail/a_letter_from_yiyun_li 11 Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander, The Art of Possibility (Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press, 2000) ChaPTer George Haven Putnam and John Bishop Putnam, Authors and Publishers: A Manual of Suggestions for Beginners in Literature (New York: Knickerbocker Press, 1904), v For an example of the type of conversation that occurs after every merger/ acquisition, see Boris Kachka, “Book Publishing’s Big Gamble,” New York Times, July 9, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/opinion/book-publishings-big -gamble.html 300 } notes to pages 18–45 Author Earnings (website), “Apple, B&N, Kobo, and Google: A Look at the Rest of the Ebook Market,” October 2015, http://authorearnings.com/report /october-2015-apple-bn-kobo-and-google-a-look-at-the-rest-of-the-ebook-market/ “Traditional Print Book Production Dipped Slightly in 2013: New Report Also Shows Print-on-Demand Experienced a Steep Decline after Years of Stunning Growth,” ProQuest press release, August 5, 2014, http://www.bowker.com/news /2014/Traditional-Print-Book-Production-Dipped-Slightly-in-2013.html Porter Anderson, “Glimpses of the US Market: Charts from Nielsen’s Kempton Mooney,” Publishing Perspectives, May 20, 2016, http://publishingperspectives com/2016/05/us-market-kempton-nielsen/ For the Nielsen BookScan 2004–2013 report, see “Kids Books Matter More in Print and in Store, as Teens Warm Up to eBooks— and Lose Interest in Reading,” Publishers Lunch, January 13, 2014, http://lunch.publishersmarketplace.com/2014 /01/kids-books-matter-print-store-teens-warm-ebooks-lose-interest-reading/ Daniel Menaker, “What Does the Book Business Look Like on the Inside?,” New York Magazine, November 16, 2013, http://www.vulture.com/2013/11/daniel -menaker-on-publishing-industry-insanity.html Jane Friedman, “Book Publishing P&L Statement,” Google Docs, posted August 8, 2016, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UvtNSvsrT7YrYTjHId _rmjLAuUbQizSaTvnk7tLehlU/ Michael Meyer, “About That Book Advance . . . ,” New York Times, April 10, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/books/review/Meyer-t.html 10 Lucien Febvre and Henri-Jean Martin, The Coming of the Book: The Impact of Printing 1450–1800, trans David Gerard, ed Geoffrey Nowell-Smith and David Wootton (London: Verso, 1976), 161 11 “Sold by Subscription Only,” on website for the exhibition The Business of Being Mark Twain, 2010, http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/twain/exhibition /subscription/index.html ChaPTer Stuart Elliott, “Magazine Association Renames Itself,” New York Times, July 30, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/01/business/media/01adco.html ?_r=0 Lyon N Richardson, “Biographical Note,” in The American Magazine; or, A Monthly View of the Political State of the British Colonies (New York: Columbia University Press, 1937) John William Tebbel and Mary Ellen Zuckerman, The Magazine in America, 1741–1990 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991), 60–62, chap Ibid., 141 Ibid., 246–47 Jeffrey A Trachtenberg, “Magazines Try New Tactic: Money Back If Ad Fails to Deliver,” Wall Street Journal, October 12, 2015, http://www.wsj.com/articles /magazines-try-new-tactic-money-back-if-ad-fails-to-deliver-1444683026 notes to pages 45–5 { 301 “US Online and Traditional Media Advertising Outlook, 2016–2020,” MarketingCharts (website), June 14, 2016 http://www.marketingcharts.com/ traditional/us-online-and-traditional-media-advertising-outlook-2016-2020-68214/ “Digital Will Represent 37% of US Total Media Ad Spending,” eMarketer.com, September 13, 2016, https://www.emarketer.com/Article/US-Digital-Ad-Spending -Surpass-TV-this-Year/1014469 Kenneth Olmstead and Kristine Lu, “Digital News— Revenues Fact Sheet,” in State of the News Media 2015, Pew Research Center, April 29, 2015, http://www journalism.org/2015/04/29/digital-news-revenue-fact-sheet-2015/ 10 Michael Rosenwald, “The Digital Media Industry Needs to React to Ad Blockers . . or Else— ,” Columbia Journalism Review, October 2015, http://www cjr.org/business_of_news/will_ad_blockers_kill_the_digital_media_industry php 11 David Griner, “U.S Newspapers Make $40 Billion Less from Ads Today Than in 2000,” AdWeek, October 24, 2014, http://www.adweek.com/news/press/us -newspapers-make-40-billion-less-ads-today-2000-160966 12 Jeffrey A Trachtenberg, “Prevention Magazine Takes Radical Step: No Print Ads,” Wall Street Journal, April 3, 2016, http://www.wsj.com/articles/prevention -magazine-takes-radical-step-no-print-ads-1459714328 13 Matt Weinberger, “BuzzFeed Pays Facebook Millions of Dollars to Promote Its Clients’ Ads,” Business Insider, August 12, 2015, http://www.businessinsider com/buzzfeed-native-advertising-is-paying-off-2015-8 14 William Pfaff, “The Decline of the New Yorker,” Chicago Tribune, March 10, 1998, http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-03-10/news/9803100023_1_new -yorker-magazine-newhouse 15 Tebbel and Zuckerman, Magazine in America, 320–21 16 Jeremy W Peters, “Web Focus Helps Revitalize the Atlantic,” New York Times, December 12, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/business/media /13atlantic.html 17 Tim Baysinger, “Old New Yorker Stories Are Being Turned into Compelling Short Films for Amazon Prime,” AdWeek, February 16, 2016, http://www adweek.com/news/television/old-new-yorker-stories-are-being-turned-them -compelling-short-films-amazon-prime-169650 ChaPTer “Salon (website)” (under heading “Business Model and Operations”), Wikipedia, June 24, 2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Salon_(website) &oldid=726731038 Mark Hoelzel, “Video Ad Spending Is on a Tear— Here Are the Most Important Trends Shaping the Industry,” Business Insider, March 6, 2015, http://www businessinsider.com/digital-video-advertising-aggressive-spending-and-growth -2014-9 Mary Meeker, “2016 Internet Trends Report,” Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers 302 } notes to pages 6–65 (website), June 1, 2016, http://www.kpcb.com/blog/2016-internet-trends-report, slide 44 On the challenges of ad-supported digital publishing, read Glenn Fleishman, “Why Isn’t the Magazine Free with Ads? Volume,” Glenn Fleishman Writes Words about Things (blog), October 24, 2013, http://glog.glennf.com/blog/2013/10 /24/why-isnt-the-magazine-free-with-ads Dao Nguyen, “How BuzzFeed Thinks about Data, and Some Charts, Too,” BuzzFeed, February 18, 2016, http://www.buzzfeed.com/daozers/how-buzzfeed -thinks-about-data-and-some-charts-too Thompson has also written some of the most insightful posts on changing business models for internet-era publications Start with his “Popping the Publishing Bubble,” Stratechery, September 16, 2015, https://stratechery.com/2015 /popping-the-publishing-bubble/ Cited in Martha Woodmansee, The Author, Art, and the Market: Rereading the History of Aesthetics (New York: Columbia University Press, 1994), 28 Chad Wellmon, “Why Google Isn’t Making Us Stupid . . or Smart,” Hedgehog Review 14, no (Spring 2012), http://www.iasc-culture.org/THR/THR_article_2012 _Spring_Wellmon.php Marc Fisher, “Who Cares If It’s True?: Modern-Day Newsrooms Reconsider Their Values,” Columbia Journalism Review, March 3, 2014, http://www.cjr.org /cover_story/who_cares_if_its_true.php?page=all 10 Jane Friedman, “An Interview with Bo Sacks on the Magazine Industry” (blog post), Spring 2014, https://janefriedman.com/an-interview-with-bo -sacks/ 11 ProPublica, https://www.propublica.org/; Pacific Standard magazine, https://psmag.com/ ChaPTer Martha Woodmansee, The Author, Art, and the Market: Rereading the History of Aesthetics (New York: Columbia University Press, 1994), 28 Hamilton Nolan, “The Problem with Journalism Is You Need an Audience,” Gawker, January 14, 2016, http://gawker.com/the-problem-with-journalism-is-you -need-an-audience-1752937252 John William Tebbel and Mary Ellen Zuckerman, The Magazine in America, 1741–1990 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991), 249–50 Ibid., 22 “The Business of Literary Publishing in the Twenty-First Century” (panel S248), AWP Conference, Seattle, WA, March 1, 2014, https://www.awpwriter.org /awp_conference/event_detail/1784 Elizabeth Day, “Will Self: ‘I Don’t Write for Readers,’” Guardian, Aug 5, 2012, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/aug/05/will-self-umbrella-booker -interview Will Self, “The Novel Is Dead (This Time It’s for Real),” Guardian, May 2, 2014, notes to pages 65–73 { 303 https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/may/02/will-self-novel-dead-literary -fiction Travis Kurowski, “In Exile and against Criticism: The Paris Review and the Branding of Contemporary Literature,” in Paper Dreams: Writers and Editors on the American Literary Magazine, ed Travis Kurowski (Madison, NJ: Atticus Books, 2013), 191–206 Cited in “6Qs: Richard Eoin Nash, Social Publisher,” interview by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez (blog post), September 29, 2009, http://loudpoet.com/2009 /09/29/6qs-richard-eoin-nash-social-publisher/ 10 Chris Fischbach, “Literature Is Not the Same Thing as Publishing,” Virginia Quarterly Review blog, May 23, 2014, http://www.vqronline.org/essays-articles /2014/05/literature-not-same-thing-publishing 11 See comment section in Joy Lanzendorfer, “Should Literary Journals Charge Writers Just to Read Their Work?,” Atlantic, October 25, 2015, http://www theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/10/why-writers-are-paying-to-get -published/411274/ 12 Richard Nash, “What Is the Business of Literature?,” Virginia Quarterly Review 89, no (2013), http://www.vqronline.org/articles/what-business -literature 13 Michael Nye, “Stubbornly Submitting to a Literary Magazine Is Good,” Missouri Review (blog), April 28, 2015, http://www.missourireview.com/tmr-blog /2015/04/stubbornly-submitting-to-a-literary-magazine-is-good/ 14 Susan Gabriel, Facebook comment, May 17, 2015, https://www.facebook com/jane.friedman/posts/10153292595297417?comment_id=10153300251037417 ChaPTer Chad W Post, “Three Percent: The Nonfiction Gap,” September 19, 2011, http://www.rochester.edu/College/translation/threepercent/?id=3613 ChaPTer 10 William Heinemann, “The Middleman as Viewed by a Publisher,” Athenaeum Journal of Literature, Science, the Fine Arts, Music, and the Drama, no 3446, November 11, 1893, 663 Mary Ann Gillies, The Professional Literary Agent in Britain, 1880–1920 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007) ChaPTer 12 Rebecca Ruiz, “‘Fight for What You Believe In’: How Best-Selling Authors Battled Rejection,” TODAY, August 22, 2013, http://www.today.com/popculture /fight-what-you-believe-how-best-selling-authors-battled-rejection-6C10971491 Jessica Strawser, “The Market for Memoirs,” Writer’s Digest, October 5, 2010, http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-goal/get-published -sell-my-work/the-market-for-memoirs 304 } notes to pages 73–112 ChaPTer 16 Gettysburg Review, “Guidelines,” accessed July 8, 2016, http://www.gettys burgreview.com/submissions/guidelines/ ChaPTer 17 Charles P Daly, The Magazine Publishing Industry (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1997), “Writer Submission Guidelines,” Runner’s World, December 20, 2006, http:// www.runnersworld.com/about-runners-world/writer-submission-guidelines ChaPTer 18 Felix Salmon, “The Problem with Online Freelance Journalism,” Reuters, March 5, 2013, US edition, http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2013/03/05/the -problem-with-online-freelance-journalism/ Alexis C Madrigal, “A Day in the Life of a Digital Editor, 2013,” Atlantic, March 6, 2013, http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/03/a-day-in -the-life-of-a-digital-editor-2013/273763/ Jakob Nielsen, “How Little Do Users Read?,” Nielsen Norman Group (website), May 6, 2008, https://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-little-do-users-read/ Farhad Manjoo, “You Won’t Finish This Article,” Slate, June 6, 2013, http:// www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2013/06/how_people_read _online_why_you_won_t_finish_this_article.html Michael Barthel et al., “The Evolving Role of News on Twitter and Facebook,” Pew Research Center, July 14, 2015, http://www.journalism.org/2015/07/14/the -evolving-role-of-news-on-twitter-and-facebook/ Jesse Mawhinney, “37 Visual Content Marketing Statistics You Should Know in 2016,” Hubspot, January 13, 2016, http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/visual -content-marketing-strategy ChaPTer 19 Kevin Kelly, “1,000 True Fans,” “The Technium” (blog), March 4, 2008, http:// kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/ ChaPTer 20 Tad Friend, “The One Who Knocks: How Bryan Cranston Made Himself a Star,” New Yorker, September 16, 2013, http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013 /09/16/the-one-who-knocks ChaPTer 22 Roger C Schonfeld and Brian F Lavoie, “Books without Boundaries: A Brief Tour of the System-Wide Print Book Collection,” Journal of Electronic Publishing 9, no (August 31, 2006), doi:10.3998/3336451.0009.208 Mary Houlihan, “A Novel Approach,” Chicago Sun-Times, June 10, 2013 notes to pages 145–213 { 305 Jeffrey A Trachtenberg, “The Mystery of the Book Sales Spike,” Wall Street Journal, February 22, 2013, http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323864 304578316143623600544 Dorie Clark, “Make Your Book a Bestseller: Platform Building Tips from Michael Hyatt,” 2014, http://dorieclark.com/make-your-book-a-bestseller-platform -building-tips-from-michael-hyatt/ Tim Ferriss, “How Does a Bestseller Happen? A Case Study in Hitting #1 on the New York Times,” August 6, 2007, http://fourhourworkweek.com/2007/08 /06/how-does-a-bestseller-happen-a-case-study-in-hitting-1-on-the-new-york -times/; Darren Rowse, “Tim Ferriss Interview— Part I,” ProBlogger, April 26, 2007, http://www.problogger.net/tim-ferris-interview-part-i/ ChaPTer 23 Cited in Meredith Lee, “Popular Quotes: Commitment,” Goethe Society of North America (website), March 5, 1988, http://www.goethesociety.org/pages /quotescom.html ChaPTer 24 Paul D McCarthy, “Developmental Editing: A Creative Collaboration,” in Editors on Editing: What Writers Need to Know about What Editors Do, ed Gerald Gross, 3rd ed (New York: Grove Press, 1993) ChaPTer 25 John Warner, “To Potential MFA Students: There Are No Academic Jobs,” Inside Higher Ed, September 14, 2014, https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/just -visiting/potential-mfa-students-there-are-no-academic-jobs ChaPTer 26 “Writers Selected for Amtrak Residency Program,” Amtrak Stories (blog), September 24, 2014, http://blog.amtrak.com/2014/09/writers-selected-amtrak -residency-program/ ChaPTer 27 See Jane Friedman, “Q&A about Crowdfunding for Authors with Bethany Joy Carlson” (blog post), May 24, 2016, https://janefriedman.com/qa-bethany-joy -carlson/ ChaPTer 28 Mathew Ingram, “Can a Little-Known Blogger Turn His Site into a Business by Selling Memberships? Ben Thompson Is Sure Going to Try,” April 17, 2014, https://gigaom.com/2014/04/17/can-a-little-known-blogger-turn-his-site-into-a -business-by-selling-memberships-ben-thompson-is-sure-going-to-try/ Ibid 306 } notes to pages 219–258 Mathew Ingram, “Ben Thompson: The One-Man Blog Isn’t Dead, It’s Better Than Ever,” GIGAOM, February 2, 2015, https://gigaom.com/2015/02/02/ben -thompson-the-one-man-blog-isnt-dead-its-better-than-ever/ Ben Thompson, “Blogging’s Bright Future,” Stratechery, February 2, 2015, https://stratechery.com/2015/bloggings-bright-future/ Andrew Beaujon, “Jacob Weisberg: ‘The Confusion about Paywalls Is Bad for Sites like Ours,’” Poynter, December 18, 2012, http://www.poynter.org/2012/jacob -weisberg-no-paywall-for-slate/198639/ ChaPTer 30 “‘You’ve Got to Find What You Love,’ Jobs Says” (video and text of commencement address), Stanford University (website), June 14, 2005, http://news stanford.edu/2005/06/14/jobs-061505/ Maria Popova, “John Cleese on the Origin of Creativity,” Open Culture, September 23, 2009, http://www.openculture.com/2010/09/john_cleese_on_the _origin_of_creativity.html ChaPTer 31 John William Tebbel and Mary Ellen Zuckerman, The Magazine in America, 1741–1990 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991) For example, “Fleurs Du Friday: Marigold Cocktail,” Anthropologie (blog), February 27, 2015, http://blog.anthropologie.com/112232890213/ “Stronger with Gold’s Gym” (playlist), 2013, https://www.youtube.com /watch?v=vitmlBLK3Wg&index=1&list=PLZ0ykXxV00GghufBhxALKnQkpK _McuCIo Justin Gardner, “Ron Burgundy’s Guide to Dress for Success—An Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues Infographic,” 2013, originally posted at https://www amctheatres.com, since reposted at numerous sites American Express Company, “OPEN Forum,” accessed July 6, 2016, https:// www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/ The URL for the IBM-Atlantic item includes the directory “sponsored”; the domain in which the Netflix-Times article is posted begins with the term “paid post”: Melanie Deziel, “Women Inmates Separate but Not Equal,” June 2014, http://paidpost.nytimes.com/netflix/women-inmates-separate-but-not-equal html By Andrew Rice, “Does BuzzFeed Know the Secret?,” New York Magazine, April 7, 2013, http://nymag.com/news/features/buzzfeed-2013-4/ “Content Strategy Alliance Charter,” posted July 5, 2014, http://content strategyalliance.com/the-beginnings/csa-charter/ n ot e s to pag e s 25 – 274 { 307 inde x ad blockers, 57, 65 advance praise, 131 advanced reading copies (ARCs), 131 advances, 47, 48 advertising, 261–64; magazine, 53–56; online, 65 advertising-based business models, 53, 54–55, 64–65 affiliate marketing, 205–6, 264–65 agents: contracts with, 93, 97; new or hungry, 95, 105; relationships with, 93–95; researching, 98–105; self-publishing and, 141; terminating contracts with, 97 Amazon, 45–46, 138 analytics, 203–5, 274; social media, 205 See also Google Analytics anthologies, 87 ARCs (advanced reading copies), 131 art vs commerce, 8, 11, 26, 41 articles, types of, 151–53 auctions, book, 49, 96 audience: message and, 200–203; engagement with, 197–98, 206–7; growing, 13; identifying, for nonfiction, 119–20, 122–23; understanding, 195–97, 211 See also platform author bios, 16–17, 24–26, 109, 121–22 author events, 212–14 author questionnaire, 130 awards, 245 best-seller lists, 219–22 Big Five publishers, 43–45, 91, 133 biography, 86 bios, author, 16–17, 24–26, 109, 121–22 blogging, 164–68; book launches and, 218; generating leads via, 31–32; as marketing tool, 165 blurbs, 131 book auctions, 49, 96 book launches, 208–22 book marketing, guides to, 294 book proposals, 110, 117–27 book publishing: guides to industry, 294; viability of for income, 2, 223–24 Bookscan, 49 Bowerman, Jeanne, 203 brand building, 15–17, 73–74 See also platform budgets, publishers’ marketing, 46–47 business, creativity vs., 8, 11, 26, 41 business models: advertising-based, 53, 54–55, 64–65; for digital media, 64–66, 67–68; for literary journals, 76; for magazines, 53, 54–55; for writers, 28 career building, 19 change, resistance to, children’s books, 88 citizenship, literary, 19–21, 32–33, 175 clickbait, 65, 162 cognitive surplus, 15 commerce, art vs., 8, 11, 26, 41 commercial fiction, 83–85 commercial product, writing as, 9, 29 commission, agents’, 91 community building, 74–76 community events, 34 See also author events competitions, 245, 246–47 competitive title analysis, 121 content: adapting, 62; low-quality, 68–70; vs writing, 62 content marketing, 58; careers in, 270–72 { 309 content strategy, 200–203; careers in, 273–74, 274–76 contests, 245, 246–47 contracts: agents’, 93, 97; article, 280– 82; book, 282–84; literary journal, 280–82; publishers’, 128; terminology in, 279–80 conversion: defined, 199; measuring, 204 copyright, 287–88 copywriting, 201, 202, 274 cover letters, 144–45, 148, 247 craft, developing, 12, 37 creative nonfiction, 86 creativity, business vs., 8, 11, 26, 41 crowdfunding, 253–55 databases, agent and publisher, 100–101 day jobs, 11, 231–32 deadlines, publisher, 129 defamation, 290–91 demand, generating, 28–30 digital media: business models for, 64–66, 67–68; earned vs owed vs paid, 276 disaggregation, 60–61, 67, 74 discoverability, 72–73 donations, 255–56 earned media, 276 earning out, 48 editors associations, 235–36 editors: freelance, 233–38; relationships with, 128–29 email newsletters, 178, 181, 190–91, 193–94, 219 engagement, 162, 171, 188–90, 197–98, 206–7 escalators, 50 essays, 87, 143–49, 152–53 exclusive readings, 114 expectations, unreasonable, 43 exposure, working for, 28–30, 32 310 } Facebook, 187–90 Facebook Ads, 205 fair use, 289–90 fees: agents’, 91; contest entry, 248, 249; reading, 76, 146–47 fellowships, 245, 250–52 Ferrante, Elena, 171 Ferriss, Tim, 221–22 fiction, literary vs commercial, 83–85 freelance editing, 233–38 freelance writing, 150–59, 227–32 freelancing, guides to, 294 funnels, 161, 198–200 gatekeepers, 17–18, 77–79 Gay, Roxane, 30, 87, 202–3 genre, 83 giveaways, 218–19 Glass, Ira, 12 Google Analytics, 203–4 graduate degrees, 36–39 grants, 246, 250–52 headlines, online, 65, 161, 162–63; SEO and, 163 hero’s journey, 84 homepage, author’s, 183–84 hook, in queries, 108, 155, 157 humor, 87, 153 Hyatt, Michael, 220–21 income, sustainable, 2, 36, 143–44, 223–24 indexing, 235 influencers, 17–18, 167 Ingram, 138 invasion of privacy, 291–92 keywords, 127, 163, 165 Kindle, 46 leads, generating, 28–35 legal issues, guides to, 295 index Li, Yiyun, 33–34 libel, 290–91 licensing, 133 link shorteners, 205 literary agents See agents literary citizenship, 19–21, 32–33, 175 literary content, short, 143–49 literary fiction, 83–85 literary journals: business models for, 76; contracts with, 149; as lead generators, 33–34; researching, 147–48; submitting to, 144–48 literary publishing, 71–79 magazines, 53–63; business models of, 53, 54–55; consumer, 58 marketability vs quality, 22 marketing, 22; by authors, 123–25, 134– 35, 136; inbound, 209, 276; lack of by publishers, 20, 130, 136; outbound, 209, 276; plan, 123–25, 134–35, 195; publicity vs., 209; by publishers, 103, 130–31, 133–36 media, digital: business models for, 64–66, 67–68; earned vs owed vs paid, 276 media-agnostic publications, 61–62 memberships, 257–59 memoir, 86–87, 111 MFAs, 36–39 micropayments, 66 micro-publishing, 30–31, 176 middle-grade books, 88 monomyth, 84 narrative nonfiction, 85–86, 118 Nash, Richard, 8, 29, 31, 75, 77–78 native advertising, 57–58; careers in, 272–73, 274–76 networking See relationship building; see also literary citizenship newsletters, email See email newsletters niche publishers, 74–75, 97 non-compete clauses, 284–85 nonfiction: book proposals, 110, 117–27; creative, 86; essays, 87, 143–49, 152–53; memoir, 86–87, 111; narrative vs prescriptive, 85–86; poetry, 143–49. See also freelance writing; platform nonprofit publishing, 71 note-taking, 99 novellas, 89 obligations, life, 277 online teaching, 241–44 online writing, 32, 160–69; visuals with, 164, 192–93 orphaned books, 130 others, focusing on, 19–21 See also literary citizenship owned media, 276 P & L (profit and loss) statements: book, 47–49; magazine, 55 paid media, 276 patronage, 9, 29, 41 paywalls, 66, 257, 259–60 permissions, 288–90 persistence, 12 picture books, 88 pitching, 21–26; magazine articles, 153, 154–59; to media, during book launch, 216–17; nonfiction, 106; novels, 106 platform, 111, 118, 123–24, 173–74; components of, 176–77; fiction and, 175; guides to, 294; nonfiction and, 174–75; outsourcing, 177; prioritizing, 178 POD (print on demand), 102, 138 poetry, 143–49 premise, in queries, 108 prescriptive nonfiction, 85–86 prestige, trap of, 14 prestige content See literary publishing index { 311 print on demand (POD), 102, 138 privacy, invasion of, 291–92 prizes, 245, 248–50 profit-and-loss (P & L) statements: book, 47–49; magazine, 55 projections, sales, 48–50 pub board, 47 publication, guides to, 293–94 publicists, 209–12 publicity: marketing vs., 209; right of, 292 See also literary citizenship; relationship building; social media publishers: Big Five, 43–45, 91, 133; choosing, 90; contracts, 128; digitalonly, 102; largest US book, 44; largest US magazine, 59; marketing budgets of, 46–47; niche, 74–75, 97; purpose of, 132–33; relationships with, 52, 73, 128–29; researching, 98–105; small, 45, 97, 102–3 (see also niche publishers); vanity, 138 publishing: book, 83–90; careers in, 266–68; literary, 71–79; nonprofit, 71 quality vs marketability, 22 queries, simultaneous, 110, 146 query letters, 106–14 readership See audience rejections, 46, 78, 81–82, 96, 116, 158 relationship building, 17–19, 197, 198; with agents, 93–95; with author events, 212, 214; for book launch, 222; as freelancer, 218 See also audience; platform relationships: with editors, 128–29; with publishers, 52, 73, 128–29 researching: agents and publishers, 98–105; market, for book proposal, 117, 119–20; outsourcing, 98 residencies, 246, 250–52 reviewers, 131 reviews, 215–16 312 } revisions, 116, 128–29, 148–49 revolutions in publishing, right of publicity, 292 rights, exclusive vs nonexclusive, 279 royalties, 50–51, 92–93 sales-driven communication, 197–98 sales projections, 48–50 samples, editing, 237 satire, 87 search engine optimization See SEO (search engine optimization) search engines and aggregators, 161 self-publishing, 109, 137–42 SEO (search engine optimization), 163, 204, 274; author websites and, 184– 86; blogs and, 165 service content, 59–60 short stories, 143–49 simultaneous submissions, 110, 146 slander, 290–91 slush pile, 143 small presses, 45, 97, 102–3 See also niche publishers social media: careers in, 269–70, 274– 76; and book launch, 217–18; digital publishing and, 66–67; engagement and, 206–7; hard sells via, 18; marketing via, 186–87; micro-publishing via, 30–31; networking via, 18–19; platform and, 176, 177; for research, 104 software, note-taking, 99 spoilers, in synopses, 114, 116 sponsored content See native advertising submission fees, 76, 146–47 submission guidelines: for literary journals, 145; for magazines, 155; for publishers and agents, 101 submissions: book, 90; simultaneous, 110, 146; on spec, 154 Submittable, 146–47 index subscriptions, 257–59 synopses, 106, 114–16 taxation, 259 teaching writing, 36–37, 239–44 tip jars, 255–56 titles, book, 129 tours, author, 212–13 trade publications, 154 trademark, 290 trends, writing to, 23 vanity presses, 138 visuals, 164, 192–93 websites: for authors, 180–87; for freelance editors, 236–37; writing for (see online writing) word count, 89 WordPress, 181 work-for-hire, 279–80, 284–85 writing: as commercial product, 9, 29; consistent production of, 12, 16; content vs 62; for free, 28–30, 32; freelance, 150–59, 227–32; magazine, guides to, 294; teaching, 36–37, 239–44 young adult (YA) books, 88 index { 313 ... a business model tailored to your goals, and adapt as needed { Many serious writers take for granted that art and business are antithetical to one another Before a word is published— before they’ve... Stein and Jane Austen, for example) But many held day jobs: Franz Kafka worked for an insurance company, Herman Melville as a schoolteacher and customs inspector, and Louisa May Alcott as a seamstress... encountered any aspect of the business of their art— they assume that they are bad at business or that attending to business concerns will pollute their creative efforts Too few are open to the possibility