The bestseller who made $49,000 last year (This week in books)

This week! Books!

What Do You Do and What Do You Make? – New York Magazine – This fascinating snapshot of how much money various people in NYC make sent many tongues wagging, particularly the New York Times bestselling author with 800,000+ Instagram followers, who made $49,000 last year, roughly the same amount as a Midtown coffee cart owner, and quite a bit less than the mobile de-lice lady. While of course it’s not the complete picture as the author cites prior savings (and note the ghostwriter who made $165,000), it does illustrate the broader point that even bestsellerdom isn’t a path to easy street. You need to be a mega-bestseller for that, and speaking of…

Along Came an Influencer: How America’s Bestselling Writer Became MrBeast’s Co-Author – Vauhini Vara, Bloomberg (gift link) – Look beyond the headline, this is a really engaging profile of human publishing juggernaut James Patterson, who followed ambition, a background in advertising, and a willingness to leave his literary ambitions behind to mega-bestsellerdom. Patterson says he’s channeled $220 million to literary causes. But re: the headline. Yeah………..

I wrote a book about theft and deception – and now AI scams are flooding my inbox – Walter Marsh, The Guardian – Another look at the rampant publishing scams being supercharged by A.I.

Amazon Veteran to Lead Simon & Schuster – Alexandra Alter, New York Times – Succeeding Jon Karp as CEO of Simon & Schuster is Greg Greeley, former Amazon executive, who was involved in starting Amazon’s self-publishing operation.

Publishers Charge Anna’s Archive with Copyright Infringement – Jim Milliot, Publishers Weekly – Publishers are going after prominent piracy site Anna’s Archive.

Grammarly turned me into an AI editor against my will and I hate it – Casey Newton, Platformer / Grammarly Is Facing a Class Action Lawsuit Over Its AI ‘Expert Review’ Feature – Miles Klee, Wired – This week in eff-around-and-find-out news, Grammarly launched a feature that allowed people to ask A.I. versions of prominent writers, editors, and experts for advice. One teensy problem? They never asked said experts for approval. The feature is now shut down and Grammarly faces a class action lawsuit.

Read This Newsletter on Why You Don’t Need a Newsletter – Kate McKean, Agents + Books – Take it from agent and author Kate McKean, who has a great newsletter: no one has to have a newsletter.

This week in bestsellers

Here are the top five NY Times bestsellers in a few key categories. (All links are affiliate links):

Adult print and e-book fiction:

1. Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
2. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
3. Just Friends by Haley Pham
4. The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
5. Felicia’s Favorites by Danielle Steel

Adult print and e-book nonfiction:

1. You With the Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate
2. Stripped Down by Bunnie XO
3. Nobody’s Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre
4. Streetwise by Lloyd Blankfein
5. Strangers by Belle Burden

Young adult hardcover:

1. Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
2. The Ruins Beneath Us by Sasha E. Sloan
3. The Dragon and the Sun Lotus by Amélie Wen Zhao
4. The Sun and Starmaker by Rachel Griffin
5. Fake Skating by Lynn Painter

Middle grade hardcover:

1. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
2. Magnitude by Jennifer A. Nielsen
3. Refugee by Alan Gratz
4. The Unlikely Tale of Chase and Finnegan by Jasmine Warga
5. The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs by America’s Test Kitchen Kids

This week on the blog

In case you missed them, here are this week’s posts:

• When to get feedback on a novel

And keep up with the discussion in all the places!

• Follow me on Bluesky
• Check out the Bransforums – on hiatus!

And finally:

How China Learned to Love the Classics – Chang Che, The New Yorker – The world of academic classics is in flux, as China has a renewed interest in positioning itself as the Eastern equivalent of ancient Greece, and American scholars are reinterpreting the classics with new viewpoints.

Have a great weekend!

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