NB: This post is primarily for writers eager to get a trade deal. That said, I make note of the industry publications that also do a great job of covering the indie publishing beat in the list of resources below.
When I’m not editing manuscripts or writing blog posts like this one, a tidy part of my day is spent sorting through my inbox. Among the missives from prospective as well as long-existing clients, there are many publishing newsletters that brighten my day.
Yes, you heard me right. I get enthusiastic about an email newsletter. The way today’s marketers tell it, I may be in the minority, but I don’t care. I absolutely love scrolling through a newsletter and clicking the links someone in an office far away curated for my enjoyment and edification.
Especially if you are an aspiring author, you should get enthusiastic about email newsletters, too—at least the ones covering book publishing news. There are many reasons that one should follow industry news, more than I could brainstorm for one blog. The following three are just the tip of what I hope is a very convincing iceberg.
3 Reasons to Follow Book Publishing News as an Aspiring Author
Track Career Changes.
Literary agents switch from one agency to the next all the time. If they’re junior agents, they might even leave the agenting game altogether for a salaried position at an imprint or to become a freelance editor. (Agents who switched over to the #FreelanceLife include the lovely Jane Friedman.)
Q: Let’s say that you built your query list months ago. How can you be certain the agent you’re querying is still at, say, DeFiore and not another agency of note?
A: By following industry news.
When you’re not actively querying, you might take a look at Publishers Lunch’s “People, Etc.” section each day for a passive check for agent names you recognize, but before you hit send on any particular query, I highly recommend double-checking the agency website, Query Tracker, and/or Publishers Marketplace ($25/mo.) to make sure the agent in question has stayed put and is still open to queries.
A screen grab of the “People, Etc.” section from Publishers Lunch’s March 10, 2020, newsletter.
Track Industry Trends.
Each newsletter that I subscribe to regularly links to articles about new releases. Then there’s the ubiquitous “10 Books to Read in [Next Month Goes Here]” posts and end-of-year roundups. Publishers Lunch even does a weekly deal news roundup so that you’re in the know on what trends are developing months or even years before those books go to market.
I would never encourage you to write on trend. It’s an awful idea; by the time your book comes out, if it does come out, it will be a drop in the YA vampire/feminist thriller/rom-com bucket. That said, studying these trends can be a good idea for the writer who is either just starting a book or about to start querying. If you’re just starting a book and you realize that a lot of other writers have already explored your concept, you can determine whether you want to move forward with it and, if so, how you can differentiate from these other takes to make the concept your own. If you’re about to start querying, you might use these trends to research books that are like yours and even use some as comparison titles.
Find Announcements of Writerly Opportunities.
Industry newsletters are a great way to learn about contests, awards, and querying opportunities you might not know about otherwise. #PitMad springs to mind, as well as a certain award that I reference in the resource list below.
Resources to Help You Track Book Publishing News.
Maybe I’ve convinced you that you should read an industry tip sheet every once in a while. Well, where should you track it? I’ve subscribed to most of the following six sources since the late 2000s, and as they have never steered me wrong, I am happy to recommend them.
Publishers Lunch. This is a free daily newsletter sent out by the folks behind Publishers Marketplace. As mentioned above, you can pay $25/month for full access to the marketplace, which includes an even more in-depth deal newsletter and a search feature for agents’ contact information. I recommend only shelling out for this service when it’s practically advisable for you (i.e., when you’re in the active querying process).
Publishers Weekly. At many publishing imprints, each department has at least one active subscription to the print and digital versions of this magazine. I subscribe to their free e-newsletter and get plenty of information that way. If you’re more interested in indie publishing, follow PW’s BookLife to get more news about self-publishing trends, like what’s reviewing well and when the BookLife Prize is accepting submissions.
Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Reviews primarily offers pre-publication publicity that publishers can use as blurbs on book jackets and press releases, and by reading such reviews, you can get a sense for what’s working for critical readers of fiction and nonfiction and what they may find too overwhelming or schmaltzy.
BookBrunch. BookBrunch is a good source for UK publishing news. Most of the articles linked in their newsletter are hidden behind a paywall, but there are always at least one or two “Free to Read” articles. This alone is worth it. Thanks to such an article in a BookBrunch newsletter, I saw that BookBrunch and the London Book Fair were accepting submissions for the Selfie award, which is how my long-time client and already Lambda Award-winning client A.E. Radley’s novel GOING UP made the Selfie shortlist for 2020!
Writer’s Digest. This site and newsletter are more targeted toward advice on the craft of writing than anything else, but their indie publishing content is strong.
Publishing Twitter. If you find agents’ profiles on Publishers Marketplace or their names on an agency’s website, you can search for them by name and follow them on Twitter. Before you know it, if your experience is anything like mine, most of your feed will be Publishing/Writing Twitter and you won’t have to deal with as many awful political opinions.
To sum up…
If this post has taught you anything it’s that (1) the email newsletter is NOT dead, at least not in trade publishing, and that (2) you owe it to yourself to understand the inner workings of the industry you want to be a part of. I recently heard David Baldacci call book publishing a “fragile ecosystem,” and one way we as aspiring and published authors can do our part from day one is to understand the land we’re stepping into.