The Newsletter Market Is Crowded, But Most of Your Competition Is Easy to Beat. | Jane Friedman For writers who approach a newsletter with intention, it’s one of the most powerful—and genuinely scalable—channels available today.

Just about everyone I know has jumped on Substack or otherwise started a newsletter.

Most efforts don't amount to anything. It's not wasted time, but the newsletter is probably not achieving the writers' goals either.

If you want to be strategic (you don't have to be!), here's my advice.

We were Just Discussing this... and then staring into the middle distance...

Eight Halloween Reading Lists Based on Very Specific Vibes, Themes & Tropes Sadie Hartmann (known as Mother Horror on social media) is the co-owner of the monthly, curated, horror fiction subscription company Night Worms and...

Goodreads asked me to curate some October-Inspired Book Recommendation lists for them, so here they are!
www.goodreads.com/blog/show/30...
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@caitlinstarling.com @spookypurcell.bsky.social @stejhoward.bsky.social @sgj.bsky.social @tananarivedue.bsky.social @anovelescape.bsky.social and more

Hey book publicists, believe it or not I'm already looking for your priority 2026 titles! Send me your lists, please!

Here are the 13 books that made the Booker Prize longlist The prize is one of the most prestigious awards in literature. This year's crop of nominees includes two debut novelists going up against a previous Booker Prize winner.

The prize is one of the most prestigious awards in literature. This year's crop of nominees includes two debut novelists going up against a previous Booker Prize winner.

After almost 20 years, Goodreads has a new logo fit for Booktok After almost 20 years, book reviewing platform Goodreads has ditched its minimalist logo for a chunky font with a hint of whimsy.

Goodreads has a new logo for the first time in nearly 20 years—and its whimsical style is made for BookTok. http://f-st.co/GvQmnKc

Goodreads is changing up its logo, and some other things we've been plotting (including bringing editorial to the reading challenge ❤️) ... www.goodreads.com/blog/show/29...

Discover the most recent hits in the ultra popular romantasy genre! 🐉 ❤️📚
www.goodreads.com/blog/show/29...

Dear book publicists, today would be an Excellent Time to pitch me your fall nonfiction titles.

Want a easy-to-find way to see readers' most anticipated books of each month? We got you!
www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&no...

Apropos of ... **waves hands** ... the U.S. Constitution is about 4,500 words, or 7,500 if you add in the amendments. It would take the average reader about 30 minutes to read the entire thing.

The 144 Most Read Books of the 2025 Reading Challenge (So Far) It's time once again for our summer status check on the annual Reading Challenge, in which both avid and casual bookworms pledge to read a certain n...

It's always interesting to see which books are resonating with readers. This list is based on the reading habits of the millions of readers who've signed up for the Goodreads Reading Challenge:
www.goodreads.com/blog/show/29...

Hot Ones: Readers' 80 Most Anticipated New Summer Books The daylight is plentiful. The temperatures are agreeable. The bookstore shelves are packed with new releases. Is there anything better than su...

Horror is included in the main roundup of big summer books here:
www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2922

Ha! All of our slop is made by humans! Happy Summer Reading!

THANK YOU, esp for being a good sport about this!!! (I've also tracked down your publicist, so act surprised when she reaches out! 😆)

Hey Sadie! I'm the managing editor at Goodreads. I'm trying to find a way to contact you. Could you let me know who your agent is, etc., happy to go that route!

A GoodReads Review for Merriam-Webster Dictionary. "Four stars. Cried a lot actually. April 30, 2021" Comment has 3 likes.

We think about this real Goodreads review for our Dictionary like once a week.

See the 15 Most Anticipated Books of Summer 2025, According to Goodreads Users — From Taylor Jenkins Reid to R.F. Kuang Goodreads has shared a list of their user's 15 most anticipated books of summer 2025. The data was pulled from how many times a Goodreads user has added a title to their "want-to-read" shelf.

Nice writeup from People on the summer books Goodreads' members cannot wait to get their hands on... people.com/15-most-anti...

The 2025 Goodreads Guide to Summer Reading Goodreads' annual guide will help you find the best books to read all season long. Discover the season's hottest new books, pick the perfect settin...

It's no surprise that we wait all year for the best season: Summer Reading! 🏖️
Check out our guide on what to read from now until it's time for fall reading... 📚
www.goodreads.com/blog/show/29...

Hot Ones: Readers' 80 Most Anticipated New Summer Books The daylight is plentiful. The temperatures are agreeable. The bookstore shelves are packed with new releases. Is there anything better than su...

And, here she is! It's Goodreads' annual 🔥 hottest 🔥 books of the summer article, based on early reader anticipation. Your TBR pile is about to be insane...
#summerreading 🏖️
www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2922

It’s been raining and I keep checking the news.

Current mood (as told through book covers):

192 Nonfiction Books to Read This Women's History Month Here’s some trivia for your next book club gathering: Women’s History Month, celebrated in March in the U.S., originally began as Women’s History We...

It's women's history month... a great time to remember all of the hard work and sacrifices women have made. Here's a Very Long list of new nonfiction books to inspire and educate:
www.goodreads.com/blog/show/29...

The Goodreads Editors Share Their Book Picks for March Here at Goodreads World Headquarters, we sort through a lot of books each month. Our monthly Readers' Most Anticipated Books feature is exactly that—se...

"I'm not saying I sent Kristen Arnett's publicist an all-caps email saying 'PLEASE SEND ME THE SEXY CLOWN BOOK I NEED IT,' but I'm also not NOT saying that." Check out the 20 books @cybilw.bsky.social and I can't wait to get our hands on in March!

www.goodreads.com/blog/show/28...

17 New Cross-Genre Trends We're Spotting in 2025 One of our favorite pastimes, here at Goodreads headquarters, is trendspotting. We see a lot of books come down the pike—like, a lot a lot—and it seem...

We stare at new books ALL DAY long and that's how @syhsu.bsky.social creates these bonkers 'cross-genre trend' articles. Big this year: Cannibalism, golems, sympathetic murderers. Are we OK out there??
www.goodreads.com/blog/show/28...

10 noteworthy debut books you should read this January Check out these January debut books and find your new favorite writer today!

Are you looking to discover a new writer to fall in love with? Check out these 12 debut books - fiction, memoir, and poetry - publishing in January!

debutiful.net/2025/01/06/1...

Did a Best-Selling Romantasy Novelist Steal Another Writer’s Story? Tracy Wolff, the author of the “Crave” series, is being sued for copyright infringement. But romantasy’s reliance on standardized tropes makes proving plot theft tricky.

Hi! Some-time lurker, first time poster.

For this week’s @newyorker.com, I dove into a romantasy plagiarism lawsuit that raises deeper questions about tropes, authorship, and the grubby imperatives of selling books in a post-literate world.

www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Meet the Hottest Debut Novels of 2025 One of the annual delights of maintaining a serious reading habit is the thrill of discovery. Each year, a new group of first-time authors rele...

At Goodreads we took a look at some of the new year’s buzziest debut novels. Lots of fantastic new authors to discover!

www.goodreads.com/blog/show/28...

Goodreads Staffers Share Their Top Reads of 2024 At the end of each calendar year, as we wrap up our annual Reading Challenge, we like to ask a simple question of Goodreads’ well-read staffers: What...

Every year we ask our Goodreads colleagues to share their three favorite reads of the year. Love this annual look at our very bookish co-workers!
www.goodreads.com/blog/show/28...