The Business of Being a Writer Review + Friedman Interview by LA Bourgeois

Let’s welcome back LA Bourgeois as she shares with us “The Business of Being a Writer Review + Friedman Interview.” Enjoy!

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Jane Friedman’s dirty little secret is that she doesn’t actually like to write books.

“Frankly, it’s the last thing I want to do,” she says. “A lot of people underestimate the amount of work that goes into making a coherent book.”

But she managed to do just that when she wrote The Business of Being a Writer, a reference book for anyone who wants to become a professional writer.

Originally published in 2018, the second edition updates the work to reflect the changes that affect writers in 2025.

Creating the appropriate writer mindset takes up the entirety of Part One.

Friedman says, “Unless you address some of the mindset psychology issues up front, it doesn’t matter what you tell people about the business. They’re set up for failure.”

This decision demonstrates her dedication to creating a reference book that will help writers succeed. This is the section that no one should skip.

The rest of the book delves into the specificity of each space.

So, rather than reading the book from beginning to end (though you can absolutely do that if you wish), I recommend using it as more of an encyclopedia.

As you confront any issue, dip into that section.

Time to create a platform, or just want to know what a platform is?

Read Part Two.

Have an idea you want to pitch to a magazine?

Chapter Twenty-Four leads you through that process.

Chapters tend to be short, most are under ten pages, which makes it easy to insert reading the appropriate pages as a small step in your process.

This versatile tome already sports tape flags, penciled notes, and bookmarks. From the corner of my desk, it serves as a guide and mentor to this most rewarding and challenging career.

If you want to transform your writing into a business, or even if you just want to get published, The Business of Being a Writer, 2nd Edition, gives you specific, actionable information to make this happen.

And, since the writing business guru was right there, I asked Friedman what she sees as the primary effect of the current economic upheaval on the writing business.

Friedman’s Interview

“The good news about the economic situation, tariffs or no tariffs, is that if the economy were to suffer, whether for a year or more, books almost always do well in a downturn.”

“It’s an affordable luxury that people tend not to give up.”

“People may say no to a new TV or something that costs hundreds of dollars, but they’re not likely to say no to the latest novel by their favorite author.”

“And then there’s also libraries and other institutions that support reading and books, where if people are really strapped, they can still read if they’re willing to wait for the book to come available from their library.”

“So that’s the good news.”

“The less great news is that depending on what sort of publisher you are, you’re going to see increased costs, most likely.”

“Some of this depends on how well the publishers prepared or changed their production and sourcing during the pandemic (another time when the supply chains were severely disrupted and they had to look for other solutions for producing books).”

“Some publishers have been shoring up that supply chain and creating more robust solutions, so that they have lots of options if one area becomes unworkable.”

”If they can’t print in China for some reason, maybe they can go to somewhere in Singapore or India or wherever.”

“But there’s no question that all of these things happening with the tariffs, especially tariffs that might apply to paper and printing, are very disruptive and likely to lead to increased prices for some types of books.”

“For publishers that specialize in gift products and children’s books that might be manufactured overseas, that’s where you see more of the immediate pain, especially publishers that get involved in the toys business.”

“There’s some natural affinity with children’s books and toys.”

“But let’s hope that the tariff situation and some of these other issues are momentary, because all businesses like predictability and the chaos isn’t productive for anybody, no matter what their goals.”

A big thanks to Jane Friedman for sitting down for this interview! Ready to read The Business of Being a Writer, 2nd Ed.? Find it at your favorite local bookseller, online, or at the library. 

Next on the list of Books for Thriving Creatives is Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World by Anne-Laure Le Cunff, neuroscientist and founder of Ness Labs. What if you approached life like a giant playground? Let’s find out! Grab a copy online, from your local independent bookshop, or at the library.

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ABOUT LA BOURGEOIS

LA (as in tra-la-la) Bourgeois is a Kaizen-Muse Certified Creativity Coach and author who helps clients embrace the joy of their creative work and thrive while doing it.

Get more of her creativity ideas and techniques by subscribing to her newsletter at https://subscribepage.io/unlockyourcreativity.