Jane Friedman
@janefriedman.com
I report on the publishing industry through my paid newsletter, The Bottom Line, and educate writers on the business of authorship in THE BUSINESS OF BEING A WRITER (University of Chicago Press).
What I will remember most about 2025: the Anthropic settlement, the growth of AI narration, the closure of 8th Note Press, and what seems like widespread acceptance or acknowledgment that book criticism/reviews/mainstream coverage has forever changed.
2025 Year in Review | Jane Friedman
The year's biggest stories in publishing, from the Anthropic settlement to the demise of NaNoWriMo and more.
janefriedman.com
December 23, 2025 at 5:21 PM
What I will remember most about 2025: the Anthropic settlement, the growth of AI narration, the closure of 8th Note Press, and what seems like widespread acceptance or acknowledgment that book criticism/reviews/mainstream coverage has forever changed.
Think of scene building like creating a storyboard: frame by frame, you decide what the reader must see, feel, and understand. Instead of letting the scene meander, you build toward the decisive high moment and character change one “segment” at a time.
Insight from C.S. Lakin.
Insight from C.S. Lakin.
Crafting Cinematic Action by Scene Segmenting | Jane Friedman
By thinking like a filmmaker—planning your beats, deciding your shots—you create a vivid experience that pulls readers into the story.
janefriedman.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Think of scene building like creating a storyboard: frame by frame, you decide what the reader must see, feel, and understand. Instead of letting the scene meander, you build toward the decisive high moment and character change one “segment” at a time.
Insight from C.S. Lakin.
Insight from C.S. Lakin.
No two human reactions look the same, and none of them resemble the neat “adrenaline surge” we often see in fiction.
Learn about the four major stress responses—fight, flight, freeze, fawn—to reveal your character’s emotional architecture.
Insight from nurse and editor Sarah Brinley.
Learn about the four major stress responses—fight, flight, freeze, fawn—to reveal your character’s emotional architecture.
Insight from nurse and editor Sarah Brinley.
Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn: Use Stress Responses to Strengthen Your Scenes | Jane Friedman
Understanding stress responses as learned survival strategies can help you turn every high-stakes scene into character development on the page.
janefriedman.com
December 17, 2025 at 5:34 PM
No two human reactions look the same, and none of them resemble the neat “adrenaline surge” we often see in fiction.
Learn about the four major stress responses—fight, flight, freeze, fawn—to reveal your character’s emotional architecture.
Insight from nurse and editor Sarah Brinley.
Learn about the four major stress responses—fight, flight, freeze, fawn—to reveal your character’s emotional architecture.
Insight from nurse and editor Sarah Brinley.
Writing advice often consists of principles like: keep up the forward momentum, make your point efficiently, get in and get out of a scene.
Yes, and...don't forget your characters experience happiness, too, which helps with story richness and believability. Insight from @lesleykrueger.bsky.social.
Yes, and...don't forget your characters experience happiness, too, which helps with story richness and believability. Insight from @lesleykrueger.bsky.social.
Please Allow Your Characters Moments of Happiness | Jane Friedman
When a story barrels from one conflict to the next, hitting pause for a well-placed glimmer of light can benefit both characters and readers.
janefriedman.com
December 16, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Writing advice often consists of principles like: keep up the forward momentum, make your point efficiently, get in and get out of a scene.
Yes, and...don't forget your characters experience happiness, too, which helps with story richness and believability. Insight from @lesleykrueger.bsky.social.
Yes, and...don't forget your characters experience happiness, too, which helps with story richness and believability. Insight from @lesleykrueger.bsky.social.
Published authors: Like me, I bet you receive daily emails and direct messages from supposed reviewers, book clubs, TV producers, and popular authors, that offer you some amazing marketing and promotion opportunity, for a price. 🤑
@tericase.bsky.social explains these scams and how to spot them.
@tericase.bsky.social explains these scams and how to spot them.
No, Colleen Hoover Did Not Email Me: Current Scams Targeting Authors | Jane Friedman
If you receive solicitous emails from book clubs or famous authors, follow these simple steps before replying or clicking on any links.
janefriedman.com
December 11, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Published authors: Like me, I bet you receive daily emails and direct messages from supposed reviewers, book clubs, TV producers, and popular authors, that offer you some amazing marketing and promotion opportunity, for a price. 🤑
@tericase.bsky.social explains these scams and how to spot them.
@tericase.bsky.social explains these scams and how to spot them.
I'll be at AWP next year as both panelist and exhibitor. 🤓
Visit #AWP26 Bookfair booth 624 to meet @janefriedman.com! Jane educates writers on the business of authorship and offers reported, fact-checked information on the publishing industry.
Jane Friedman | Reporting on the Publishing Industry
Jane Friedman has 25 years of experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in how the digital age is transforming writing careers and storytelling.
janefriedman.com
December 10, 2025 at 3:37 PM
I'll be at AWP next year as both panelist and exhibitor. 🤓
In your memoir, you are working with scenes and transitions. Each of these components relies on very different principles. If you use either component in the wrong way, your book will not work.
Author Wendy Dale advises.
Author Wendy Dale advises.
Why Your Memoir Feels Like Rambling (and How to Fix It) | Jane Friedman
Having analyzed over 1000 memoir manuscripts in a 15 year span, Wendy Dale found two linked components of powerful, plot-driven storytelling.
janefriedman.com
December 10, 2025 at 3:37 PM
In your memoir, you are working with scenes and transitions. Each of these components relies on very different principles. If you use either component in the wrong way, your book will not work.
Author Wendy Dale advises.
Author Wendy Dale advises.
When writing memoir, the person depicted on the page can’t be the person writing the book. Because if the memoir is any good, if your life has changed enough to write about and share with others, you aren’t that person anymore.
Insight from @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social.
Insight from @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social.
It’s Not About You: Your Memoir Is Someone Else’s Story | Jane Friedman
The person on the page can’t be the person writing the book. Because if your life has changed enough to write about, you aren’t that person anymore.
janefriedman.com
December 9, 2025 at 2:48 PM
When writing memoir, the person depicted on the page can’t be the person writing the book. Because if the memoir is any good, if your life has changed enough to write about and share with others, you aren’t that person anymore.
Insight from @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social.
Insight from @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social.
Ever since I’ve been in the business, there have been pay-to-play book awards. They make up the majority of book awards, in fact.
Some of these awards do little harm, others are genuinely useful, but most don't make a difference at all. Learn more from @marygarden.bsky.social.
Some of these awards do little harm, others are genuinely useful, but most don't make a difference at all. Learn more from @marygarden.bsky.social.
My Brush with a Pay-to-Play Book Award | Jane Friedman
The majority of book awards are pay-to-play deals. Some do little harm, others are genuinely useful, but most make no difference to your career or sales.
janefriedman.com
December 4, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Ever since I’ve been in the business, there have been pay-to-play book awards. They make up the majority of book awards, in fact.
Some of these awards do little harm, others are genuinely useful, but most don't make a difference at all. Learn more from @marygarden.bsky.social.
Some of these awards do little harm, others are genuinely useful, but most don't make a difference at all. Learn more from @marygarden.bsky.social.
Over-writing is often a symptom of creative self-doubt. You don’t trust yourself or your reader to pick up clues, read between the lines, or to suspend disbelief as the tale unfolds—unless you cram in every single detail you can think of.
Insight from Amy Bernstein.
Insight from Amy Bernstein.
The Case for Shrinking Your Novel | Jane Friedman
Even experienced novelists overwrite. Here are five insights about ruthlessly cutting a manuscript—and why that’s a good thing.
janefriedman.com
December 3, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Over-writing is often a symptom of creative self-doubt. You don’t trust yourself or your reader to pick up clues, read between the lines, or to suspend disbelief as the tale unfolds—unless you cram in every single detail you can think of.
Insight from Amy Bernstein.
Insight from Amy Bernstein.
A longtime agent, Richard Curtis, who founded one of the first commercial ebook publishers, discusses why print remains steadfast as a format.
Why Print Never Died | Jane Friedman
This excerpt from the new book Digital Inc. by Richard Curtis examines why ebooks failed to supplant print as many tech pioneers expected.
janefriedman.com
December 2, 2025 at 3:54 PM
A longtime agent, Richard Curtis, who founded one of the first commercial ebook publishers, discusses why print remains steadfast as a format.
The problems that afflict the first draft of a screenplay also plague the first draft of a novel.
Learn why (and how to fix) from screenwriter & author @lesleykrueger.bsky.social.
Learn why (and how to fix) from screenwriter & author @lesleykrueger.bsky.social.
Edit Your Book As If It’s a Screenplay | Jane Friedman
A writer’s script-editing experience helped fix her novel’s problems with pacing, flat characters, and scenes that didn’t propel the story.
janefriedman.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:43 PM
The problems that afflict the first draft of a screenplay also plague the first draft of a novel.
Learn why (and how to fix) from screenwriter & author @lesleykrueger.bsky.social.
Learn why (and how to fix) from screenwriter & author @lesleykrueger.bsky.social.
In crime fiction, the most powerful moments often aren’t about car chases or shootouts—they’re about impossible choices.
Learn more from the authors of The Night Police novels.
Learn more from the authors of The Night Police novels.
Crafting Ethical and Moral Dilemmas in Crime Fiction | Jane Friedman
In crime fiction, the most powerful moments often aren’t about car chases or shootouts—they’re about impossible choices.
janefriedman.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:30 PM
In crime fiction, the most powerful moments often aren’t about car chases or shootouts—they’re about impossible choices.
Learn more from the authors of The Night Police novels.
Learn more from the authors of The Night Police novels.
You don’t need to be writing a “workplace novel” for work to be integral to your protagonist’s life. But using it as more than a backdrop can supercharge conflict and character development, says Jennifer Landau.
Using the Workplace to Add Depth to Your Novel | Jane Friedman
Using the workplace as more than a backdrop can supercharge the stakes, conflict, and character development of your fiction.
janefriedman.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:31 PM
You don’t need to be writing a “workplace novel” for work to be integral to your protagonist’s life. But using it as more than a backdrop can supercharge conflict and character development, says Jennifer Landau.
"When I would get interviewed and then rejected, it was annoying. When I received a form rejection, it was annoying. When I received no response, it was annoying. But nothing stalled me for one minute." —Libby James
How a 100 Rejections Challenge Prepared Me for Life’s Biggest Rejection | Jane Friedman
A slew of literary rejections helped one writer develop the perseverance needed when a failed marriage left her urgently seeking a new job.
janefriedman.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:31 PM
"When I would get interviewed and then rejected, it was annoying. When I received a form rejection, it was annoying. When I received no response, it was annoying. But nothing stalled me for one minute." —Libby James
I was a writer-in-residence at Good Contrivance Farm this year, and it's one of the most generous and quality organizations I've worked with.
What @janefriedman.com says!
If you can, please support writers, readers, and the Good Contrivance Farm Writers' Retreat.
secure.givelively.org/donate/good-...
If you can, please support writers, readers, and the Good Contrivance Farm Writers' Retreat.
secure.givelively.org/donate/good-...
November 14, 2025 at 3:54 PM
I was a writer-in-residence at Good Contrivance Farm this year, and it's one of the most generous and quality organizations I've worked with.
"I used to think memoir was navel gazing, the writing equivalent of pouting and blaming others. I may have decided this because of how I was raised, thinking that I was supposed to be strong at all times." —@ronitplank.bsky.social
Even writers themselves have misconceptions about memoir.
Even writers themselves have misconceptions about memoir.
What I Got Wrong About Memoir and What I Now Understand About the Genre | Jane Friedman
An author reconsiders her biases, finding the best memoir writing to be courageous, complex, and capable of transforming others and ourselves.
janefriedman.com
November 13, 2025 at 3:36 PM
"I used to think memoir was navel gazing, the writing equivalent of pouting and blaming others. I may have decided this because of how I was raised, thinking that I was supposed to be strong at all times." —@ronitplank.bsky.social
Even writers themselves have misconceptions about memoir.
Even writers themselves have misconceptions about memoir.
"I had heard of book awards, but I wasn’t confident in two things: the contest fees and the idea of competing against other books. I felt I didn’t stand a chance."
@chitalmehta.bsky.social did, in fact, stand a chance.
@chitalmehta.bsky.social did, in fact, stand a chance.
How Revising My Novel While Querying Helped Me Win a Book Award | Jane Friedman
When agents suggest further revision, we might need time and distance to see our MS through their eyes—but doing the work can pay dividends.
janefriedman.com
November 12, 2025 at 4:21 PM
"I had heard of book awards, but I wasn’t confident in two things: the contest fees and the idea of competing against other books. I felt I didn’t stand a chance."
@chitalmehta.bsky.social did, in fact, stand a chance.
@chitalmehta.bsky.social did, in fact, stand a chance.
Emotion isn’t just about characters laughing or crying. What truly defines a character’s emotional depth is not just what they feel, but how they express it.
Much to consider here from Jordan Rosenfeld.
Much to consider here from Jordan Rosenfeld.
What Makes Character Voice Memorable: Emotion | Jane Friedman
This excerpt from a new craft book by Jordan Rosenfeld explores the many ways our fictional characters manifest their internal emotions.
janefriedman.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Emotion isn’t just about characters laughing or crying. What truly defines a character’s emotional depth is not just what they feel, but how they express it.
Much to consider here from Jordan Rosenfeld.
Much to consider here from Jordan Rosenfeld.
Learn how to find anthology opportunities, plus red flags to watch for before you sign a contract, from @markleslie.bsky.social and @mattydalrymple.bsky.social.
Before You Say Yes: What Writers Need to Know About Anthology Offers | Jane Friedman
Learn how to find and assess anthology opportunities, which offer short fiction authors income and visibility by sharing audiences across contributors.
janefriedman.com
November 6, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Learn how to find anthology opportunities, plus red flags to watch for before you sign a contract, from @markleslie.bsky.social and @mattydalrymple.bsky.social.
An author with no significant platform lands a book deal for a nonfiction book, then fears that it will be taken away when publishing professionals realize they've made a huge mistake.
But there's much more to the story than that, from Dr. Kerry Makin-Byrd.
But there's much more to the story than that, from Dr. Kerry Makin-Byrd.
How I Secured a Big Five Publishing Deal with Almost No Social Media Platform | Jane Friedman
Learn how one author’s publishing “fairy tale” hides years of struggle, with practical lessons to unlock your own resilience.
janefriedman.com
November 5, 2025 at 5:26 PM
An author with no significant platform lands a book deal for a nonfiction book, then fears that it will be taken away when publishing professionals realize they've made a huge mistake.
But there's much more to the story than that, from Dr. Kerry Makin-Byrd.
But there's much more to the story than that, from Dr. Kerry Makin-Byrd.
"In knitting’s rhythmic nature, fluffy yarns, and a pair of smooth nickel-plated needles, I found comfort, something all writers need at one time or another because the profession is hard and makes no promises, not even the reward of effort." —@rlmaizes.bsky.social
Make Good Knots: How Learning to Knit Saved My Novel | Jane Friedman
Learning to knit renewed one author’s confidence, allowing her to take a risk revising a manuscript that was already out on submission.
janefriedman.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:03 PM
"In knitting’s rhythmic nature, fluffy yarns, and a pair of smooth nickel-plated needles, I found comfort, something all writers need at one time or another because the profession is hard and makes no promises, not even the reward of effort." —@rlmaizes.bsky.social
Been warned against using a prologue?
I often issue that warning. But prologues do have a place in some stories, if they're done well.
Several different types of prologues are reviewed here, along with examples of effective ones, from @marykabiaggio.bsky.social.
I often issue that warning. But prologues do have a place in some stories, if they're done well.
Several different types of prologues are reviewed here, along with examples of effective ones, from @marykabiaggio.bsky.social.
Prologues That Work and Why | Jane Friedman
Prologues get a bad rap as backstory or info dumps but, done well, they can intrigue readers and ignite interest in the story to come.
janefriedman.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Been warned against using a prologue?
I often issue that warning. But prologues do have a place in some stories, if they're done well.
Several different types of prologues are reviewed here, along with examples of effective ones, from @marykabiaggio.bsky.social.
I often issue that warning. But prologues do have a place in some stories, if they're done well.
Several different types of prologues are reviewed here, along with examples of effective ones, from @marykabiaggio.bsky.social.
What's the difference between vanity publishing and hybrid publishing? How can you find a "good" hybrid publisher?
These questions are not straightforward to answer.
If you're considering any kind of paid publishing arrangement, hybrid or otherwise, I encourage you to read this Q&A with David Wilk
These questions are not straightforward to answer.
If you're considering any kind of paid publishing arrangement, hybrid or otherwise, I encourage you to read this Q&A with David Wilk
The Current State of Hybrid Publishing: Q&A with David Wilk | Jane Friedman
An in-depth discussion of hybrid publishing today: what has driven its growth, and what should you know before investing?
janefriedman.com
October 28, 2025 at 12:37 PM
What's the difference between vanity publishing and hybrid publishing? How can you find a "good" hybrid publisher?
These questions are not straightforward to answer.
If you're considering any kind of paid publishing arrangement, hybrid or otherwise, I encourage you to read this Q&A with David Wilk
These questions are not straightforward to answer.
If you're considering any kind of paid publishing arrangement, hybrid or otherwise, I encourage you to read this Q&A with David Wilk
People seek out life coaches for many reasons, but one theme is ever-present: people strive to achieve a goal but are trapped in a cage of their own patterns, until they gain an insight that sets them free.
Learn how to use the toolkit of a life coach for fiction character building.
Learn how to use the toolkit of a life coach for fiction character building.
Coach Your Characters: A Life Coach’s Toolkit Offers a New Lens | Jane Friedman
Life coaches help clients gain insights about how we shape our own life stories, and the same tools can be used to create richer characters.
janefriedman.com
October 22, 2025 at 3:56 PM
People seek out life coaches for many reasons, but one theme is ever-present: people strive to achieve a goal but are trapped in a cage of their own patterns, until they gain an insight that sets them free.
Learn how to use the toolkit of a life coach for fiction character building.
Learn how to use the toolkit of a life coach for fiction character building.