Tajja Isen
@tajjaisen.bsky.social
Author of SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS ('22) and TOUGH LOVE (forthcoming) / tajjaisen.com
Pinned
Tajja Isen
@tajjaisen.bsky.social
· Sep 26
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
thewalrus.ca
I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
Reposted by Tajja Isen
you do have to do it in a couple of places but this tutorial makes it easy to go uncheck the boxes that otherwise lets Google's AI read all your shit. or move everything over to protonmail but moving everything over is a giant thing I know.
Google has started automatically opting you in to let it read your stuff to train AI. You need to turn this off in SEVERAL places in your settings (not just for Gmail), if you want to maintain privacy and confidentiality.
www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...
www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...
Gmail can read your emails and attachments to train its AI, unless you opt out
A new Gmail update may allow Google to use your private messages and attachments for AI training. Here's how to turn it off.
www.malwarebytes.com
November 22, 2025 at 3:08 AM
you do have to do it in a couple of places but this tutorial makes it easy to go uncheck the boxes that otherwise lets Google's AI read all your shit. or move everything over to protonmail but moving everything over is a giant thing I know.
Reposted by Tajja Isen
So uh.
I've spent the last five years working on a book about grief, mourning, who is allowed to grieve and how, and where we go from here, and...
you can now preorder it!
I've spent the last five years working on a book about grief, mourning, who is allowed to grieve and how, and where we go from here, and...
you can now preorder it!
All My Dead Cats and Other Losses: Practicing Good Grief in a Culture That Fears Mourning
Practicing Good Grief in a Culture That Fears Mourning
bookshop.org
November 5, 2025 at 3:59 PM
So uh.
I've spent the last five years working on a book about grief, mourning, who is allowed to grieve and how, and where we go from here, and...
you can now preorder it!
I've spent the last five years working on a book about grief, mourning, who is allowed to grieve and how, and where we go from here, and...
you can now preorder it!
Reposted by Tajja Isen
Excited to reveal the cover of my book, MIDDLEMEN: LITERARY AGENTS AND THE MAKING OF AMERICAN FICTION, which is available for pre-order now!
November 4, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Excited to reveal the cover of my book, MIDDLEMEN: LITERARY AGENTS AND THE MAKING OF AMERICAN FICTION, which is available for pre-order now!
Reposted by Tajja Isen
"My agent in particular was like, There must be sex in this novel. Please put sex in this novel!'"
I talked to @somers.bsky.social about comic novels, writing "like a worm," and her new novel THE TEN YEAR AFFAIR (out today!) countercraft.substack.com/p/processing...
I talked to @somers.bsky.social about comic novels, writing "like a worm," and her new novel THE TEN YEAR AFFAIR (out today!) countercraft.substack.com/p/processing...
Processing: How Erin Somers Wrote The Ten Year Affair
The author on comic writing, reading drafts aloud, and being "lower than a worm" while writing
countercraft.substack.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:47 PM
"My agent in particular was like, There must be sex in this novel. Please put sex in this novel!'"
I talked to @somers.bsky.social about comic novels, writing "like a worm," and her new novel THE TEN YEAR AFFAIR (out today!) countercraft.substack.com/p/processing...
I talked to @somers.bsky.social about comic novels, writing "like a worm," and her new novel THE TEN YEAR AFFAIR (out today!) countercraft.substack.com/p/processing...
"an entire layer of middle managers who need to have meetings to feel alive"
There is an actual life-changing conflict between WFH being cheaper and more efficient, an entire layer of middle managers who need to have meetings to feel alive, and the commercial real estate cabal that runs all cities. It’s going to get so fucking weird.
remote work is like birth control or UBI atp where there’s overwhelming research consensus they improve quality of life for people they apply to, yet access is impeded or blocked by the ruling class because the thought of marginalized ppl having rich full lives makes steam come out their ears
October 16, 2025 at 6:32 PM
"an entire layer of middle managers who need to have meetings to feel alive"
Reposted by Tajja Isen
DC! Join me at @politicsprose.bsky.social on Saturday, 10/18 to celebrate 🎉 National Book Award finalist 🎉 @meghamaj.bsky.social and her hauntingly gorgeous new novel A GUARDIAN AND A THIEF
Megha Majumdar — A Guardian and a Thief - with Nicole Chung — at Conn Ave
Welcome to our new website! We're excited to see you. *** RETURNING USERS WILL NEED TO RESET THEIR PASSWORD FOR THIS NEW SITE. CLICK HERE TO RESET YOUR PASSWORD.***
politics-prose.com
October 7, 2025 at 7:54 PM
DC! Join me at @politicsprose.bsky.social on Saturday, 10/18 to celebrate 🎉 National Book Award finalist 🎉 @meghamaj.bsky.social and her hauntingly gorgeous new novel A GUARDIAN AND A THIEF
It's cool to see a trade outlet responding to the sales track piece in a substantive way. It would be even cooler if they credited the writer and/or linked to the piece—especially since the response basically re-reports the original thesis.
October 15, 2025 at 6:34 PM
It's cool to see a trade outlet responding to the sales track piece in a substantive way. It would be even cooler if they credited the writer and/or linked to the piece—especially since the response basically re-reports the original thesis.
Pushing writers to "braid" cultural criticism (or whatever other genre) into memoir has been a net negative for nonfiction and is out of touch with what readers want
Tell me your most unhinged literary opinion, as a little treat
October 13, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Pushing writers to "braid" cultural criticism (or whatever other genre) into memoir has been a net negative for nonfiction and is out of touch with what readers want
Reposted by Tajja Isen
"If buying the debut is a rollicking night at the craps table, then the sophomore project is the sober morning after. Gone is the clean slate."
@tajjaisen.bsky.social for @thewalrus.ca: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
@tajjaisen.bsky.social for @thewalrus.ca: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
thewalrus.ca
September 30, 2025 at 8:59 PM
"If buying the debut is a rollicking night at the craps table, then the sophomore project is the sober morning after. Gone is the clean slate."
@tajjaisen.bsky.social for @thewalrus.ca: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
@tajjaisen.bsky.social for @thewalrus.ca: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
Reposted by Tajja Isen
"If buying the debut is a rollicking night at the craps table, then the sophomore project is the sober morning after. Gone is the clean slate."
Hoo boy, did this @tajjaisen.bsky.social piece ever hit me where I live.
Hoo boy, did this @tajjaisen.bsky.social piece ever hit me where I live.
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
thewalrus.ca
September 29, 2025 at 8:33 PM
"If buying the debut is a rollicking night at the craps table, then the sophomore project is the sober morning after. Gone is the clean slate."
Hoo boy, did this @tajjaisen.bsky.social piece ever hit me where I live.
Hoo boy, did this @tajjaisen.bsky.social piece ever hit me where I live.
Reposted by Tajja Isen
I’m really grateful writers are talking about this. The experience of selling books after a big success v books that didn’t do the same numbers was heartbreaking. I know you’re only as good as your recent booknet numbers but it was still super weird to be treated differently by the same people.
What happens when a book you poured years into tanks? In publishing, that failure doesn’t just disappear—it follows you. As @tajjaisen.bsky.social explains, writers carry failure on their record, “no matter the reasons for the flop.” thewalrus.ca/the-publishing-i...
September 27, 2025 at 2:09 PM
I’m really grateful writers are talking about this. The experience of selling books after a big success v books that didn’t do the same numbers was heartbreaking. I know you’re only as good as your recent booknet numbers but it was still super weird to be treated differently by the same people.
Reposted by Tajja Isen
Good, if depressing, piece on the industry here.
I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
thewalrus.ca
September 26, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Good, if depressing, piece on the industry here.
Reposted by Tajja Isen
If I'd read this piece 10 years ago I'd have understood my career very differently. If I'd read it 12 years ago I might not have agreed for my first book to be published in the way it was. We still don't talk about this stuff because it can feel embarrassing, but the author always picks up the bill
I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
thewalrus.ca
September 26, 2025 at 6:59 PM
If I'd read this piece 10 years ago I'd have understood my career very differently. If I'd read it 12 years ago I might not have agreed for my first book to be published in the way it was. We still don't talk about this stuff because it can feel embarrassing, but the author always picks up the bill
Reposted by Tajja Isen
"The book business may be centred in New York, but the logic is pure Las Vegas."
I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
thewalrus.ca
September 26, 2025 at 7:02 PM
"The book business may be centred in New York, but the logic is pure Las Vegas."
Reposted by Tajja Isen
One of the best pieces I've read about the state of the industry. Absolutely spectacular stuff and aiming at a problem we *desperately* need to solve (and which is, thankfully, an easy problem to solve... if the industry simply puts its muscle to it)
I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
thewalrus.ca
September 26, 2025 at 6:46 PM
One of the best pieces I've read about the state of the industry. Absolutely spectacular stuff and aiming at a problem we *desperately* need to solve (and which is, thankfully, an easy problem to solve... if the industry simply puts its muscle to it)
Reposted by Tajja Isen
I have a downright unwieldy number of thoughts but mostly I just think everyone in any corner of publishing should probably read this
I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
thewalrus.ca
September 26, 2025 at 6:41 PM
I have a downright unwieldy number of thoughts but mostly I just think everyone in any corner of publishing should probably read this
Reposted by Tajja Isen
“Publishers, as McGrath says, have always been risk averse. But with higher pressure to find a sure thing, more writers who may have been able to sell a book five or ten years ago, whether to a corporate or an independent press, are being left out in the cold.” @tajjaisen.bsky.social @thewalrus.ca
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
thewalrus.ca
September 26, 2025 at 6:37 PM
“Publishers, as McGrath says, have always been risk averse. But with higher pressure to find a sure thing, more writers who may have been able to sell a book five or ten years ago, whether to a corporate or an independent press, are being left out in the cold.” @tajjaisen.bsky.social @thewalrus.ca
Reposted by Tajja Isen
All of this.
If you never see another book from me, it won't be because I haven't written one.
If you never see another book from me, it won't be because I haven't written one.
I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
thewalrus.ca
September 26, 2025 at 6:33 PM
All of this.
If you never see another book from me, it won't be because I haven't written one.
If you never see another book from me, it won't be because I haven't written one.
Reposted by Tajja Isen
love love to see friend / client @invisibooks.bsky.social here making the case for the role small presses play in making writing careers (if not piles of money)
I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
thewalrus.ca
September 26, 2025 at 6:04 PM
love love to see friend / client @invisibooks.bsky.social here making the case for the role small presses play in making writing careers (if not piles of money)
Reposted by Tajja Isen
Lots of good reporting here from @tajjaisen.bsky.social, as always.
I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
thewalrus.ca
September 26, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Lots of good reporting here from @tajjaisen.bsky.social, as always.
Reposted by Tajja Isen
Tajia is always right. Literature is an art (sometimes) that is entirely dependent on data.
I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
thewalrus.ca
September 26, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Tajia is always right. Literature is an art (sometimes) that is entirely dependent on data.
Reposted by Tajja Isen
Tajja's pieces always hit
I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
thewalrus.ca
September 26, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Tajja's pieces always hit
Reposted by Tajja Isen
Oof. Feeling this in my marrow.
I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
thewalrus.ca
September 26, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Oof. Feeling this in my marrow.
Reposted by Tajja Isen
I’m always game to follow the data in publishing, and so grateful when the smartest folks (like @tajjaisen.bsky.social) want to hop in the weeds with me. A brilliant piece of reporting.
I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
thewalrus.ca
September 26, 2025 at 5:32 PM
I’m always game to follow the data in publishing, and so grateful when the smartest folks (like @tajjaisen.bsky.social) want to hop in the weeds with me. A brilliant piece of reporting.
I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
thewalrus.ca
September 26, 2025 at 5:30 PM
I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...