The latest issue of my magazine Scratch is now available! The theme is Faith. If you’re not a subscriber, here’s what you can read for free.
The Scratch Interview by Cheryl Strayed by Manjula Martin
In this revealing interview, New York Times bestseller Cheryl Strayed talks about success, artistic faith, and how to bounce a rent check while you’re on the bestseller list. A snippet:
I feel strongly that we’re only hurting ourselves as writers by being so secretive about money. There’s no other job in the world where you get your master’s degree in that field and you’re like, well, you might make zero or you might make $5 million! We don’t have any standards in that way, and we probably never will. There will always be such a wide range of what writers are paid, but at least we could give each other information.
Click here to read the full interview (you won’t be sorry, but you will be asked to register as a free user).
Photo Essay: Library Road Trip by Robert Dawson
A father and son set out to photograph public libraries across America and discover beauty, decay, and endurance in the public commons.
Thumbsuckers: Intellectual Work in the Culture of Austerity by Ellen Willis
On the corporate takeover of artistic work in the 1980s—and how it changed this acclaimed critic’s career.
The Panda Ambulance by Beth Lisick
Odd jobs, power moms, and a small revenge.
If you subscribe, then you’ll also get access to the following stories:
- Contracts 101: Subsidiary Rights. This is part of my continuing series on book contracts and what you need to know before signing on the dotted line.
- Deconstructing the Book P&L. My in-depth breakdown of how most publishers decide what books to publish, including a downloadable spreadsheet.
- From High Times to Publishing Futurist. My interview with magazine industry insider Bo Sacks.
- The Scratch Roundtable: Creative Writing Professors. Esteemed authors and professors talk about writing students, creative writing degrees, and what place business has in the classroom.
- Freelancer’s Journal: The Content Farmer. Andi Cumbo-Floyd reveals what a typical day is like in the life of a copywriter and social media ghostwriter.
- And more! Review the entire table of contents.
Jane Friedman (@JaneFriedman) has 20 years of experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in digital media strategy for authors and publishers. She is the publisher of The Hot Sheet, the essential newsletter on the publishing industry for authors, and was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World in 2019.
In addition to being a columnist for Publishers Weekly, Jane is a professor with The Great Courses, which released her 24-lecture series, How to Publish Your Book. Her book for creative writers, The Business of Being a Writer (University of Chicago Press), received a starred review from Library Journal.
Jane speaks regularly at conferences and industry events such as BookExpo America, Digital Book World, and the AWP Conference, and has served on panels with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Creative Work Fund. Find out more.