Meet Jane Friedman

Jane Friedman has spent 25 years working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer (The University of Chicago Press), received a starred review from Library Journal and is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. A second edition releases in spring 2025.

As co-founder and editor of The Hot Sheet newsletter, she provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals. Her influence and insight earned her Publishing Commentator of the Year from Digital Book World in 2023, and her expertise regularly features in major media outlets including The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC.

Friedman’s impact on publishing education spans multiple formats and audiences. Her teaching reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs. She has helped shape the next generation of publishing professionals through curriculum development at Southern New Hampshire University’s MFA program and faculty positions at the University of Virginia and University of Cincinnati.

As a trusted industry resource, Friedman has advised and served multiple organizations, including Writer’s Digest, the Virginia Quarterly Review, The Chicago Manual of Style, the Editorial Freelancers Association, the Alliance of Independent Authors, and the Midwest Writers Workshop. She has served on grant panels for the National Endowment for the Arts, the Whiting Awards, and the Creative Work Fund, bringing her expertise to the development of literary culture and arts funding.

Her long-running newsletters exemplify her commitment to helping writers navigate the publishing landscape: Electric Speed, published since 2009, reaches more than 25,000 subscribers, while The Hot Sheet serves as an industry beacon for more than 2,500 publishing professionals. In collaboration with The Authors Guild, she authored The Authors Guild Guide to Self-Publishing, further cementing her role as a trusted voice in publishing.

Jane will present an afternoon keynote on Friday: “Don’t Forget the Business Savvy (Yes, That Means You).”

Learn More About the Conference and Register

All attendees will receive available session materials and have access to the recordings for 90 days following the event

Q&A with Jane

MWW: You’re doing more of a hands-on workshop at this year’s conference as opposed to a formal keynote. What can participants expect from this layout?

JF: I’ll be talking about what it means to be business savvy. Writers can be guilty of thinking they’re not good at business or saying they didn’t get into writing to deal with the business. But I plan to show how the line between business and creativity is not clear cut. One of the most important questions you can answer for your business is what you want to be known for or what you want to stand for. So my keynote will look at these core questions that underlie a meaningful, authentic business and show how they tie into your creative life and direction. I should add: these can be tough questions to answer, not because you lack a business degree, but because many of us don’t take time to grapple with what we’re really trying to achieve. Our own motivations can be opaque to ourselves!

MWW: What question do you get asked most often when it comes to marrying creativity and business?

JF: “How do I balance these things?” Honestly, “balance” is a word I do not like in this context. It’s not what I strive for. A better word might be “alignment.” Do you feel like your actions (in writing, in publishing) align with your values? Do your actions (in writing, in publishing) align with the goals you want to achieve? 

When I speak with writers about what they want, I often find them engaging in activities that are misaligned with what they want to achieve. I consider this a business problem that needs to be addressed, for so many reasons—for efficiency, for better marketing and promotion, for your own well-being.

MWW: I hear that the second edition of your book, The Business of Being a Writer, has been released by the University of Chicago Press in 2025. Congratulations! (We’ll have copies on the faculty table at the conference!) What can readers expect from this updated version?

JF: I devoted an entire part of the book to the core components of platform building, and I included two full chapters on book marketing: one that offers high-level book marketing and promotion advice, mostly geared to traditionally published authors, and another one focused on the needs of self-published authors. There is also a full part devoted to tax basics and business formation for writers. Every chapter now ends with an exercise as well.

MWW: I’ve only been the MWW director for two years, but you’ve been with MWW for over twenty! Can you tell me a little about the relationship you have with MWW, and how it all started?

JF: It all started when my boss at the time was browsing the Midwest Writers Workshop website, and saw that the keynote spot wasn’t filled for lunch. For some reason, she thought this meant that I should proactively reach out and recommend myself. (I was managing editor of Writer’s Digest at the time.) I thought this was bold, self-serving, and a little ridiculous, but I was more scared of disobeying my boss, so I did it. Jama Bigger, the director at the time, said yes. I was stunned, but it went so well I got invited back the next year, and the year after that, and I kept saying yes, and here we are!

I have a special relationship with MWW because I’m originally from Indiana, I’m a Midwesterner at heart, plus I went to school in Muncie for a couple years at the Indiana Academy. When I was growing up, I wish there had been an event like MWW where I lived, in southwestern Indiana. The conference has all the qualities I love about the Midwest: open, relaxed, a humble quality conducive to learning and growth, and a focus on service and community. Certainly other conferences have some of those qualities. But you put them all in one event amidst the cornfields of Indiana, and it feels like homecoming to me, every time.

Join us this July 10 – 12, 2025

at the Ball State Alumni Center in Muncie, Indiana

—or virtually, from the comfort of your own computer—

and see for yourself the wonderful things MWW has to offer!

Learn More About the Conference and Register

All attendees will receive available session materials and have access to the recordings for 90 days following the event

Announcing MWW25’s FREE Community Event!

Evening with an Author: Robin Lee Lovelace

Come join the Midwest Writers Workshop for a cozy evening with the talented author Robin Lee Lovelace at the Ball State Alumni Center. She’ll read from her book Savonne, Not Vonny and her Indiana Author Award Shortlisted collection, A Wild Region. Attendees will also learn about her writing journey and process. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to meet the author, ask questions, and connect with fellow book lovers!

Friday, July 11 from 6:30 – 8:00pm EST
Ball State Alumni Center
2800 West Bethel Ave/Muncie, IN 47304

This in-person event is free and open to the community, made possible with the support of Indiana Humanities and Glick Philanthropies.

RSVP for Evening with an Author

Placing an ad in the MWW25 program or adding your materials to the conference welcome bags is a way to get your information into the hands of neatly 150 people! Learn more about how you can advertise in our MWW25 program and emails!

Are You in a Writing Slump? Write With Us!

The “Wednesday Write-In with MWW” is a 30-minute Zoom session, first Wednesday of the month, where we get together and WRITE.

It might seem weird to have the Brady-Bunch Zoom screen filled with people not talking to each other, but please trust me: It works. It creates an accountability; it creates a space where your sole purpose is to get words down on paper. I might allow for a *little* chit-chat 🙂

To accommodate people’s availability, we will alternate morning sessions and evening sessions. Let’s dedicate 30 minutes of our day, once a month, to generating words and developing our craft!

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Success Stories

Finish an essay, a book, a paragraph? Have something published? Tell us about something exciting you’ve done with writing and/or publishing in the past year. Bonus points if you can tell us how MWW has made an impact on your writing.

Send your success stories to midwestwritersworkshop@gmail.com and we’ll post it on our website!

MWW is dedicated to building a community where writers can networkwith others and grow.

 

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SEE WHAT ELSE MWW HAS TO OFFER

• MWW Writing Service: Receive manuscript evaluations from our experts
• Midwest Writers Workshop Facebook Group: Join our community to network, support, celebrate, and commiserate with other writers

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