Publishing Confidential’s First Birthday!

Writing with Gratitude

Seven years ago, I had the idea to start a newsletter called “Publishing Confidential.” My goal was to provide an analysis of the book industry that publishing reporters couldn’t. I figured my years working within the industry would allow me to impart wisdom to people who felt it wasn’t accessible. I signed up for Mailchimp, collected under 100 emails, and sent a few editions. I have no idea if anyone read them, but when I started working as a literary agent, I realized I couldn’t be as candid as I had hoped. I shelved the newsletter and figured I’d get back to it someday.

Fast forward to February 2023. I had just launched my business and wasn’t tethered to a publisher. I started reading some Substacks and thought I should try writing the newsletter again. I had no expectations when I imported my modest email list from Mailchimp. I published my first piece, “AI, the End of the English Major, and Ageism in Publishing,” on March 7, 2023. After posting it on my social platforms, panic set in: What if no one reads it? What if no one cares? What if people get mad at me or ridicule me? None of that happened. With each newsletter came more subscriptions. Publishing Confidential is now close to reaching 7K subscribers.

I’ve always wanted to be a writer. It has been my dream since I was eight years old, as I wrote poetry in my Holly Hobbie cardboard clubhouse (it was the 70s, and my first poem was “Orange Marmalade”). While I was encouraged to write, no one ever talked to me about how to make a career out of it. My undergrad advisor at Rutgers-Newark said I should take journalism classes, so I did. I promptly dropped the first one after learning an assignment was to interview strangers about Valentine’s Day. My creative writing professors were generous and cheered me on. I even did a poetry reading of my work at a faculty event. Still, I worked for lawyers at the time, and they pushed me toward pre-law classes. I loved them, but I also saw the hours attorneys put in and decided to explore book publishing.

During the 1995 holiday season, I visited New York City with a friend, stood before the Simon & Schuster building, and said, “I am going to work here someday.” It took a while, but I worked for S&S, first as a publicist for Pocket Books and then, years later, as the VP of Publicity for Atria Books. My journey in book publishing has also taken me to Dutton Books, Plume, Gotham Books (RIP), Weinstein Books, Running Press, Rodale, and Skyhorse. I’ve been a VP of Marketing and Publicity, Director of Corporate Communications, Associate Publisher, Literary Agent, and Acquisitions Editor. It’s been a wild ride with many ups and downs. The hardest lesson I learned was that the industry loves you until they don’t. Book publishing has filled me with joy and broken my heart. Yet, I am still here—on my terms.

Thanks to each of you for subscribing and sharing my work. I am grateful you’re here. You’ve encouraged me to keep going, and I am here to serve you. I hope you keep reading Publishing Confidential. I am proud of the community we are building, and I hope to continue expanding my offerings.

THE FUN STUFF:

There is now Publishing Confidential merch! First up, coffee mugs. I have 10 of them to give away. If you’d like to win one, comment, “I want my mug!” and you will be entered to win. The drawing is random, and I will ship the mugs to the winners. Next, I am testing out tote bags! More soon on that!