Yes! Thank you for asking about the unsung heroes here.
From the very start, I've paid a long-time colleague of mine (a full-time freelancer) to do a full copyedit and fact check on the entire newsletter. What I pay her, in fact, is the biggest expense each month (more than Mailchimp and ChargeBee combined), but it's essential—she saves me from so many errors and snafus.
Also, when I bought out my Hot Sheet partner in 2019, at the same time my husband joined my business, and he now handles the "production" end of loading everything into Mailchimp and proofing the newsletter before it sends out.
I'd feel very naked without these additional eyes on the material.
Hi Jane. How do you convert readers from your free content to your paid newsletter? Have you noticed what makes someone willing to pay? And is that possible on more generalist content that isn't directly connected to people's careers or chargeable to their expense report?
Hi Isabelle: The truth is that very few readers of my free content are an appropriate audience for Hot Sheet, which is pretty advanced material for the writing community. But these are the key ways I make sure my community knows about it.
— Every quarter or so, I pull content that appeared in Hot Sheet and compile a trends piece that I publish at my website (which then goes out via email to blog subscribers and is mentioned in my free, stand-alone newsletter). At the beginning and end of that piece, I mention Hot Sheet.
— Every year I run an anniversary sale with a limited-time discount on a subscription. This gets announced in every channel where I'm visible. I never discount outside this anniversary period, unless it's in partnership with an organization as I discussed above.
— I offer Sunday Sermons (free webinars) where I discuss the behind-the-scenes of my business. These are fairly advanced talks and Hot Sheet is mentioned more often than not since it's a big part of what I do. These sermons attract the kind of people who would be more inclined to subscribe because they're industry professionals.
Writers are more likely to pay if they already have seen me in action, speaking or writing about the industry. I rarely get new subscribers who don't already know me by reputation.
Hello Jane: I am a writer, researcher, essayist, what kind of newsletter do you advise me? My first language is Spanish. What do you think of the podcast? Thanks.
Jane: I'm 2+ years in to the journey of writing my first book, a narrative, nonfiction. As a rookie author (but veteran documentarian, visual storyteller) I assumed I'd be going the self-publishing route for the reasons you know obviously know. Your fantastic blog content has been a Godsend. How different is your marketing proposal advice for narrative nonfiction (vs self-help, DIY, etc.) as it relates to platforms and subject matter authority?
If you plan to pitch an agent or traditional publisher, I consider a narrative nonfiction book proposal to require the same persuasive argument and business case as one you'd write for a self-help/DIY/prescriptive book. You still need to have a competitive title analysis, a marketing plan, and an author platform. If it's your first book, agents/publishers will expect that you've been doing something to give yourself authority or credibility on the topic, whether that's through publishing articles or speaking/teaching or something else. Without a platform, you'll definitely need to find authorities to endorse your book, or a co-author to partner with you who does have a platform.
Jane! (I'm a proud Hot Sheet subscriber since day 1.) Here is a provocative, hypothetical question, based on conversations I had with so many people over the last few years. Consider your work to be in the tradition of Raymond Carver, or Anais Nin (or any of those 20th century individualist writers that fall under the term "literary fiction") - if these greats were writing today, trying to publish subtle, ambitious work that does not fall into a commercial category - do you think they would be self publishing? (I hope this makes sense.) If Salinger was born in 1970 and trying publish now, how likely would he have found an agent and an imprint? Would he be serializing his work? Would he be on Wattpad? Medium?
Publishing, like other creative industries (whether that's fashion, TV, Broadway, you name it), reflects its time and culture. So I find it difficult to answer this question because publishers respond to and publish for the environment they find themselves in. And of course authors/artists do as well.
I do think authors/artists we remember over time tend to be innovators and risk takers no matter what era they belong to, and sometimes ignore prevailing trends or "preferred" ways of building status and prestige. Twain had his book sold to door to door when it was very unfashionable to do so. (Proper books were sold in proper bookstores.) George Eliot left her first publisher to get a bigger advance from another house rather than be loyal. And so on.
I don't know what Salinger would do today, but I believe that considerable writing and publishing innovation can be found in places like Wattpad, Tapas, Webtoon, Substack, Instagram, YouTube—not to mention countless other platforms—which offer a direct path to one's readership.
thank you. The idea that the risk should ONLY be on the artist's shoulders is what irks me so much. The idea that "publishers respond to and publish for the environment they find themselves in" as opposed to going out on a limb and taking a risk, that's what I find the most frustrating. I always go back to Sam Philips, a prr radio announcer who just loved music - he bought a newfangled field recorder with the little cash he had, then set up a makeshift studio called Sun Records - all self-financed, living month to month. He recorded the very first rock & roll song and discovered (and signed) Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and so many more in that short time. (And broke down some major racial barriers as part of this.) I do not see publishers taking risks like that, not for decades now. As the Russian saying goes "those who take no risks drink no champagne".
I have to agree that most big publishers are risk averse. Fortunately, I do still see independent and small publishers willing to take such risks, although they have less to offer authors in terms of an upfront advance.
Thank you Simon of this opportunity. I am a big fan and long time follower of Jane and one time she mention a minimalist neat WordPress theme I love it so much that I did save it on my bookmarks but I could not find it now. I search for more than hour in her blog but find it. I Saw it on her newsletter.could not find the archive though. if Jane is able to answer me I would be very grateful to you both.
What's your prediction for how Spotify will approach audiobooks? Do you think book publishers would agree to a payment system based on the amount of time a book is streamed?
Right now, my assumption is that Spotify is looking to replicate the model of Audible Originals, which is Audible’s arm for exclusive content. It's moving into spoken word content that it owns or doesn't have to pay royalties on, so it can keep that much more of its subscription revenue. For example, they've recently started a test using the classics—public domain works that don't require permissions and licensing—and hired top-notch narrators to read them.
In Europe, publishers have started agreeing to a payment system based on time consumption, e.g., via Storytel. Storytel works on a model that's all-you-can-listen for one fee (which is different from credit-based Audible). For Sweden, streaming audio already comprises 50% of all book publishing revenue, and across the Nordic countries it's where all the book publishing growth lies for fiction. So far, US/UK publishers (the Anglophone market) has been very resistant to this model. Penguin Random House, the biggest of the NY publishers, pulled their titles from Storytel in 2020. They feel threatened by this model.
Bigger picture, most people think it's essential for book publishers to adapt a multi-format strategy so they reach all possible consumers. All-you-can consume subscription services are becoming a consumer expectation. It's hard to see how audiobooks or book publishers are exempt from that in the long term.
Hi Jane! Does anyone else look over your newsletter before you send it? Wondering if you have an editor or friend who proofreads.
Yes! Thank you for asking about the unsung heroes here.
From the very start, I've paid a long-time colleague of mine (a full-time freelancer) to do a full copyedit and fact check on the entire newsletter. What I pay her, in fact, is the biggest expense each month (more than Mailchimp and ChargeBee combined), but it's essential—she saves me from so many errors and snafus.
Also, when I bought out my Hot Sheet partner in 2019, at the same time my husband joined my business, and he now handles the "production" end of loading everything into Mailchimp and proofing the newsletter before it sends out.
I'd feel very naked without these additional eyes on the material.
Hi Jane. How do you convert readers from your free content to your paid newsletter? Have you noticed what makes someone willing to pay? And is that possible on more generalist content that isn't directly connected to people's careers or chargeable to their expense report?
Hi Isabelle: The truth is that very few readers of my free content are an appropriate audience for Hot Sheet, which is pretty advanced material for the writing community. But these are the key ways I make sure my community knows about it.
— Every quarter or so, I pull content that appeared in Hot Sheet and compile a trends piece that I publish at my website (which then goes out via email to blog subscribers and is mentioned in my free, stand-alone newsletter). At the beginning and end of that piece, I mention Hot Sheet.
— Every year I run an anniversary sale with a limited-time discount on a subscription. This gets announced in every channel where I'm visible. I never discount outside this anniversary period, unless it's in partnership with an organization as I discussed above.
— I offer Sunday Sermons (free webinars) where I discuss the behind-the-scenes of my business. These are fairly advanced talks and Hot Sheet is mentioned more often than not since it's a big part of what I do. These sermons attract the kind of people who would be more inclined to subscribe because they're industry professionals.
Writers are more likely to pay if they already have seen me in action, speaking or writing about the industry. I rarely get new subscribers who don't already know me by reputation.
Hello Jane: I am a writer, researcher, essayist, what kind of newsletter do you advise me? My first language is Spanish. What do you think of the podcast? Thanks.
Jane: I'm 2+ years in to the journey of writing my first book, a narrative, nonfiction. As a rookie author (but veteran documentarian, visual storyteller) I assumed I'd be going the self-publishing route for the reasons you know obviously know. Your fantastic blog content has been a Godsend. How different is your marketing proposal advice for narrative nonfiction (vs self-help, DIY, etc.) as it relates to platforms and subject matter authority?
If you plan to pitch an agent or traditional publisher, I consider a narrative nonfiction book proposal to require the same persuasive argument and business case as one you'd write for a self-help/DIY/prescriptive book. You still need to have a competitive title analysis, a marketing plan, and an author platform. If it's your first book, agents/publishers will expect that you've been doing something to give yourself authority or credibility on the topic, whether that's through publishing articles or speaking/teaching or something else. Without a platform, you'll definitely need to find authorities to endorse your book, or a co-author to partner with you who does have a platform.
Thank you, Jane. Love your work. Signing up for your proposal class.
Jane! (I'm a proud Hot Sheet subscriber since day 1.) Here is a provocative, hypothetical question, based on conversations I had with so many people over the last few years. Consider your work to be in the tradition of Raymond Carver, or Anais Nin (or any of those 20th century individualist writers that fall under the term "literary fiction") - if these greats were writing today, trying to publish subtle, ambitious work that does not fall into a commercial category - do you think they would be self publishing? (I hope this makes sense.) If Salinger was born in 1970 and trying publish now, how likely would he have found an agent and an imprint? Would he be serializing his work? Would he be on Wattpad? Medium?
Thank you, Marco.
Publishing, like other creative industries (whether that's fashion, TV, Broadway, you name it), reflects its time and culture. So I find it difficult to answer this question because publishers respond to and publish for the environment they find themselves in. And of course authors/artists do as well.
I do think authors/artists we remember over time tend to be innovators and risk takers no matter what era they belong to, and sometimes ignore prevailing trends or "preferred" ways of building status and prestige. Twain had his book sold to door to door when it was very unfashionable to do so. (Proper books were sold in proper bookstores.) George Eliot left her first publisher to get a bigger advance from another house rather than be loyal. And so on.
I don't know what Salinger would do today, but I believe that considerable writing and publishing innovation can be found in places like Wattpad, Tapas, Webtoon, Substack, Instagram, YouTube—not to mention countless other platforms—which offer a direct path to one's readership.
thank you. The idea that the risk should ONLY be on the artist's shoulders is what irks me so much. The idea that "publishers respond to and publish for the environment they find themselves in" as opposed to going out on a limb and taking a risk, that's what I find the most frustrating. I always go back to Sam Philips, a prr radio announcer who just loved music - he bought a newfangled field recorder with the little cash he had, then set up a makeshift studio called Sun Records - all self-financed, living month to month. He recorded the very first rock & roll song and discovered (and signed) Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and so many more in that short time. (And broke down some major racial barriers as part of this.) I do not see publishers taking risks like that, not for decades now. As the Russian saying goes "those who take no risks drink no champagne".
I have to agree that most big publishers are risk averse. Fortunately, I do still see independent and small publishers willing to take such risks, although they have less to offer authors in terms of an upfront advance.
Yes, indeed. The small presses are stuck working with such tight margins.
Thank you Simon of this opportunity. I am a big fan and long time follower of Jane and one time she mention a minimalist neat WordPress theme I love it so much that I did save it on my bookmarks but I could not find it now. I search for more than hour in her blog but find it. I Saw it on her newsletter.could not find the archive though. if Jane is able to answer me I would be very grateful to you both.
Hi Younes: You're probably thinking of GeneratePress?
What's your prediction for how Spotify will approach audiobooks? Do you think book publishers would agree to a payment system based on the amount of time a book is streamed?
Right now, my assumption is that Spotify is looking to replicate the model of Audible Originals, which is Audible’s arm for exclusive content. It's moving into spoken word content that it owns or doesn't have to pay royalties on, so it can keep that much more of its subscription revenue. For example, they've recently started a test using the classics—public domain works that don't require permissions and licensing—and hired top-notch narrators to read them.
In Europe, publishers have started agreeing to a payment system based on time consumption, e.g., via Storytel. Storytel works on a model that's all-you-can-listen for one fee (which is different from credit-based Audible). For Sweden, streaming audio already comprises 50% of all book publishing revenue, and across the Nordic countries it's where all the book publishing growth lies for fiction. So far, US/UK publishers (the Anglophone market) has been very resistant to this model. Penguin Random House, the biggest of the NY publishers, pulled their titles from Storytel in 2020. They feel threatened by this model.
Bigger picture, most people think it's essential for book publishers to adapt a multi-format strategy so they reach all possible consumers. All-you-can consume subscription services are becoming a consumer expectation. It's hard to see how audiobooks or book publishers are exempt from that in the long term.