How the Economy Affects the Dreams of Writers
Earlier this week, our team discussed the soon-to-be-relaunched (and incredibly improved) WritersMarket.com. Because we’ll have so much more value to offer (e.g., all listings from the niche Market Books, like…
Earlier this week, our team discussed the soon-to-be-relaunched (and incredibly improved) WritersMarket.com. Because we'll have so much more value to offer (e.g., all listings from the niche Market Books, like Poet's, Novel & Short Story, and Children's Writer's), we need to implement new subscription models and pricing.
As part of this meeting, our WritersMarket.com customer service rep extraordinaire, Nancy Parish, offered some fascinating statistics from the past few months:
- In August, 4.8% of subscribers who canceled said they couldn’t afford the service.
- In September, 2% of subscribers who canceled said they couldn't afford it.
- In October, 29% of subscribers who canceled said they couldn't afford it!
Definitely points to the strange things happening in our econonmy these days, though the common wisdom about the Writer's Digest business has always been: When times are tough, people still hold onto their writing dreams, and even look to writing to hopefully provide extra income.
I'm wondering if this is really true: Does writing still stay front and center in our lives during good times and bad? Do we look to it as refuge AND rescue?
Jane Friedman is a full-time entrepreneur (since 2014) and has 20 years of experience in the publishing industry. She is the co-founder of The Hot Sheet, the essential publishing industry newsletter for authors, and is the former publisher of Writer’s Digest. In addition to being a columnist with Publishers Weekly and a professor with The Great Courses, Jane maintains an award-winning blog for writers at JaneFriedman.com. Jane’s newest book is The Business of Being a Writer (University of Chicago Press, 2018).
