"If I were a publisher, I would be cautious about which political books are acquired for publication over the next four years. Not because free speech should be suppressed but because you might find the media less willing to cover anything critical of..."
I am actually on the receiving end of that. My book is being denied promotions in magazines for what they claim to be "sensitive topic"
Great to see that podcasts matter. Received some advice from Leigh Stein, who was helping me build my brand for my memoir (addiction memoir with a twist). Leigh said "I have read a lot of manuscripts of addiction memoirs, but the twist in yours is so
Cringeworthy that I want to
Know more and flip the pages." She suggested I start a podcast based around the overall
“If I were a publisher, I would be cautious about which political books are acquired for publication over the next four years. Not because free speech should be suppressed but because you might find the media less willing to cover anything critical of Trump and his cronie”
Well, if he's winning lawsuits against media liars, then perhaps journalists need to adjust their reporting about DJT to report truth. Just sayin’ 😏
Amazing insights as usual! Loved this: make podcasts a centerpiece of PR campaigns (along with newsletters). Question! What is the pre-sales contract with authors? I don’t recall that on my book deal. ALSO, if book tariffs hit not long after 1/20 and this delays books now at the printer, that could mean books launching in February or March and after are affected? I know this is a bit of guess but should spring authors expect delays on their IRL books?
This is a wonderful list. Thank you so much @Kathleen Schmidt!
I use AI everyday — and never to do my writing for me. It is definitely a friend. As one who comes out of tech, I’m working on a project to help disambiguate it.
I laughed when I read your remarks on digital advertising. Executives love it because you can measure it. But counting leads that are only tire kickers is a fools errand. Unfortunately, true branding is discounted precisely because it is hard to measure. Sigh. I can build a branded site that publishes daily for a fraction of ads spent on digital. The backlash to digital will eventually come.
Wanted to add that Tech publishing is brutal. It’s basically linkedin and associations. I have a client whose book launches this week and while we have sold 2500 pre orders doubling that will be tough. We’ve built a site and are building an association. I have more faith that we will monetize the association before we can see any real dividends from the book
Final thought. For an unbelievable buddy documentary, watch Will and Harper on Netflix. It is heartening and heart-wrenching and heart gripping all at once. I’m going to make this a holiday tradition.
Thanks for this awesome rundown, so helpful! 2025 will have a LOT for us to adjust to IMO. Do you have any thoughts on Bindery books? It seems like an interesting model in that it's "powered by community".
Thanks for this epic run down. Love how practical your insight always is.
Wild West idea related to pre orders and drops: what is publishers and authors named how many copies of their first print run were available. So there was a sense of urgency to get the book. They could even announce this in the typical “pre order” window and then essentially plan another print run but not until later. For creator and high platform driven books, say for cookbooks, I could see this working well. Plus publishers still would get the benefit/safety net of knowing how the book is doing across accounts that way. It could even encourage more Indie shopping if that’s those were the only accounts used for the campaign. Food for thought!
And Not So Secret Agent side note: dreading tariffs due to cookbook production costs.
I am going to try out using AI to find good matches between me/my book and podcasts, thank you for that tip (and of course, all of the insightful information here!)
My debut novel just came out as a paperback original, which I specifically requested of my publisher (although they were probably planning on doing so anyway)--I personally love paperbacks too, and I figured the lower price point would be a plus!
Great round-up of the many issues, challenges, and evolving areas of publishing that are ongoing and will present themselves even more in 2025 — thank you Kathleen for such a thorough post!
Are there currently Substack newsletters with ads? I thought that was anathema to the platform.
Thanks for sharing
"If I were a publisher, I would be cautious about which political books are acquired for publication over the next four years. Not because free speech should be suppressed but because you might find the media less willing to cover anything critical of..."
I am actually on the receiving end of that. My book is being denied promotions in magazines for what they claim to be "sensitive topic"
RIDICULOUS.
Great to see that podcasts matter. Received some advice from Leigh Stein, who was helping me build my brand for my memoir (addiction memoir with a twist). Leigh said "I have read a lot of manuscripts of addiction memoirs, but the twist in yours is so
Cringeworthy that I want to
Know more and flip the pages." She suggested I start a podcast based around the overall
Theme of the book in hopes of
Growing my audience, and I did- here's to seeing
How it does in 2025!
Fantastic! Great read and I appreciate your straightforwardness! Thank you for your insights and wisdom, Kathleen!
So much great stuff in here, thanks. (And yes, please: stop with the pre-order madness!)
Always appreciate what you share. Thank you for all you pour into your Substack posts.
“If I were a publisher, I would be cautious about which political books are acquired for publication over the next four years. Not because free speech should be suppressed but because you might find the media less willing to cover anything critical of Trump and his cronie”
Well, if he's winning lawsuits against media liars, then perhaps journalists need to adjust their reporting about DJT to report truth. Just sayin’ 😏
Hands down the best explanation for why preorders don’t work—thank you, hope publishers start to listen!
Amazing insights as usual! Loved this: make podcasts a centerpiece of PR campaigns (along with newsletters). Question! What is the pre-sales contract with authors? I don’t recall that on my book deal. ALSO, if book tariffs hit not long after 1/20 and this delays books now at the printer, that could mean books launching in February or March and after are affected? I know this is a bit of guess but should spring authors expect delays on their IRL books?
This is a wonderful list. Thank you so much @Kathleen Schmidt!
I use AI everyday — and never to do my writing for me. It is definitely a friend. As one who comes out of tech, I’m working on a project to help disambiguate it.
I laughed when I read your remarks on digital advertising. Executives love it because you can measure it. But counting leads that are only tire kickers is a fools errand. Unfortunately, true branding is discounted precisely because it is hard to measure. Sigh. I can build a branded site that publishes daily for a fraction of ads spent on digital. The backlash to digital will eventually come.
Wanted to add that Tech publishing is brutal. It’s basically linkedin and associations. I have a client whose book launches this week and while we have sold 2500 pre orders doubling that will be tough. We’ve built a site and are building an association. I have more faith that we will monetize the association before we can see any real dividends from the book
Final thought. For an unbelievable buddy documentary, watch Will and Harper on Netflix. It is heartening and heart-wrenching and heart gripping all at once. I’m going to make this a holiday tradition.
Have a wonderful holiday!
Thanks for this awesome rundown, so helpful! 2025 will have a LOT for us to adjust to IMO. Do you have any thoughts on Bindery books? It seems like an interesting model in that it's "powered by community".
Thanks for this epic run down. Love how practical your insight always is.
Wild West idea related to pre orders and drops: what is publishers and authors named how many copies of their first print run were available. So there was a sense of urgency to get the book. They could even announce this in the typical “pre order” window and then essentially plan another print run but not until later. For creator and high platform driven books, say for cookbooks, I could see this working well. Plus publishers still would get the benefit/safety net of knowing how the book is doing across accounts that way. It could even encourage more Indie shopping if that’s those were the only accounts used for the campaign. Food for thought!
And Not So Secret Agent side note: dreading tariffs due to cookbook production costs.
I am going to try out using AI to find good matches between me/my book and podcasts, thank you for that tip (and of course, all of the insightful information here!)
I was genuinely surprised to learn people don't do paperbacks first since I personally find them sooo much nicer than hardcovers! Great article too <3
My debut novel just came out as a paperback original, which I specifically requested of my publisher (although they were probably planning on doing so anyway)--I personally love paperbacks too, and I figured the lower price point would be a plus!
Ooo cool! Win-win :D
Thank you!
Great round-up of the many issues, challenges, and evolving areas of publishing that are ongoing and will present themselves even more in 2025 — thank you Kathleen for such a thorough post!