The Newest Issue of Scratch: What You Can Read for Free

My new magazine for writers, Scratch, recently launched as a website and iOS app, and has its first issue available on the Apple newsstand.

Scratch focuses on the business side of publishing and seeks to have an open dialogue about money and writing. While it costs $20/year to subscribe, we make some of the content available for free. Don’t miss these features.

The Scratch Roundtable: Literary Agents

We gathered four agents—Ted Weinstein, Ayesha Pande, Kristin Nelson, and Sarah Burnes—to talk about the importance of author platform, what authors can expect from a book deal advance, what role self-publishing plays in their business, and much more. Here’s a little of what Kristin had to say:

I’ve had a lot of luck taking on very new debut authors who don’t necessarily have a big following or a big background, but they might have something else that might be really interesting. For example, Marie Lu, who I represent for her young adult dystopian trilogy—she was working in the video games industry and she was an animation designer. So even though those things were not necessarily connected to actually being an author, it was a really cool background.

Read the full article.

Freelancer’s Journal: Ghost Stories

If you’ve ever been curious about ghostwriting, freelancer Sari Botton offers a glimpse behind the curtain at how the deals work, how much you can get paid (or not), and what the highs and lows are. Read the full article.

The Last Black Bookstore

In this photo essay by Manjula Martin and Lydia Daniller, you’ll learn about Marcus Books in San Francisco, and how it’s fighting to keep its home. Republished and available at Buzzfeed Books.

Beyond Dickens: Trends and Tech in Serial Fiction

This is an in-depth report I wrote about the business model and potential future of serial fiction, especially as it’s being reflected at Amazon and Wattpad. I interview a range of players, including authors Sean Platt and Neal Pollack. Republished and available at Writer Unboxed.

Some Hustles, in Alphabetical Order (1992–2002)

In this lyric essay by my business partner, Manjula Martin, she explores personal experiences with money—stolen or borrowed or scraped. Republished and available at The Billfold.

Available if you subscribe:

Contracts 101: The Reversion of Rights Clause. I offer insight into this very important clause that impacts your ability to earn money from your work for the rest of your life.
The Scratch Interview with Susan Orlean. A frequent contributor to The New Yorker, as well as a bestselling author, Orlean talks about the business of freelancing and how she started her career.
Personal essays by Rachael Maddux and Ashley C. Ford, who open up about the role money has played in their professional and personal lives.
An Interview with Open Road Media’s Jane Friedman, conducted by myself. (Yes, the two Jane Friedmans of publishing finally meet in person!)
The Fiscal Lives of the Poets. Meet three people who are making a living from their art—and how they do it.

If you like what you see, I hope you’ll subscribe to Scratch, available in PDF/EPUB format or through our website and iOS app.

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