Tajja Isen
@tajjaisen.bsky.social
📤 1424
📥 317
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Author of SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS ('22) and TOUGH LOVE (forthcoming) / tajjaisen.com
pinned post!
I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece:
thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
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The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
https://thewalrus.ca/the-publishing-industry-has-a-gambling-problem/
about 2 months ago
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s. e. smith
9 days ago
So uh. I've spent the last five years working on a book about grief, mourning, who is allowed to grieve and how, and where we go from here, and... you can now preorder it!
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All My Dead Cats and Other Losses: Practicing Good Grief in a Culture That Fears Mourning
Practicing Good Grief in a Culture That Fears Mourning
https://bookshop.org/a/109205/9780063445994
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Laura McGrath
10 days ago
Excited to reveal the cover of my book, MIDDLEMEN: LITERARY AGENTS AND THE MAKING OF AMERICAN FICTION, which is available for pre-order now!
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Lincoln Michel
24 days ago
"My agent in particular was like, There must be sex in this novel. Please put sex in this novel!'" I talked to
@somers.bsky.social
about comic novels, writing "like a worm," and her new novel THE TEN YEAR AFFAIR (out today!)
countercraft.substack.com/p/processing...
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Processing: How Erin Somers Wrote The Ten Year Affair
The author on comic writing, reading drafts aloud, and being "lower than a worm" while writing
https://countercraft.substack.com/p/processing-how-erin-somers-wrote
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"an entire layer of middle managers who need to have meetings to feel alive"
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29 days ago
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Nicole Chung
about 1 month ago
DC! Join me at
@politicsprose.bsky.social
on Saturday, 10/18 to celebrate 🎉 National Book Award finalist 🎉
@meghamaj.bsky.social
and her hauntingly gorgeous new novel A GUARDIAN AND A THIEF
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Megha Majumdar — A Guardian and a Thief - with Nicole Chung — at Conn Ave
Welcome to our new website! We're excited to see you. *** RETURNING USERS WILL NEED TO RESET THEIR PASSWORD FOR THIS NEW SITE. CLICK HERE TO RESET YOUR PASSWORD.***
https://politics-prose.com/megha-majumdar-101825
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It's cool to see a trade outlet responding to the sales track piece in a substantive way. It would be even cooler if they credited the writer and/or linked to the piece—especially since the response basically re-reports the original thesis.
30 days ago
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Pushing writers to "braid" cultural criticism (or whatever other genre) into memoir has been a net negative for nonfiction and is out of touch with what readers want
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about 1 month ago
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Longreads
about 1 month ago
"If buying the debut is a rollicking night at the craps table, then the sophomore project is the sober morning after. Gone is the clean slate."
@tajjaisen.bsky.social
for
@thewalrus.ca
:
thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
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The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
https://thewalrus.ca/the-publishing-industry-has-a-gambling-problem/
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Eva Holland
about 2 months ago
"If buying the debut is a rollicking night at the craps table, then the sophomore project is the sober morning after. Gone is the clean slate." Hoo boy, did this
@tajjaisen.bsky.social
piece ever hit me where I live.
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The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
https://thewalrus.ca/the-publishing-industry-has-a-gambling-problem/
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Zoe Whittall
about 2 months ago
I’m really grateful writers are talking about this. The experience of selling books after a big success v books that didn’t do the same numbers was heartbreaking. I know you’re only as good as your recent booknet numbers but it was still super weird to be treated differently by the same people.
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Lincoln Michel
about 2 months ago
Good, if depressing, piece on the industry here.
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Matt Greene
about 2 months ago
If I'd read this piece 10 years ago I'd have understood my career very differently. If I'd read it 12 years ago I might not have agreed for my first book to be published in the way it was. We still don't talk about this stuff because it can feel embarrassing, but the author always picks up the bill
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Anca L. Szilágyi
about 2 months ago
"The book business may be centred in New York, but the logic is pure Las Vegas."
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Drew Broussard
about 2 months ago
One of the best pieces I've read about the state of the industry. Absolutely spectacular stuff and aiming at a problem we *desperately* need to solve (and which is, thankfully, an easy problem to solve... if the industry simply puts its muscle to it)
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Molly Templeton
about 2 months ago
I have a downright unwieldy number of thoughts but mostly I just think everyone in any corner of publishing should probably read this
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Nicole Chung
about 2 months ago
“Publishers, as McGrath says, have always been risk averse. But with higher pressure to find a sure thing, more writers who may have been able to sell a book five or ten years ago, whether to a corporate or an independent press, are being left out in the cold.”
@tajjaisen.bsky.social
@thewalrus.ca
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The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
https://thewalrus.ca/the-publishing-industry-has-a-gambling-problem/
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Tajja Isen
Erika Swyler
about 2 months ago
All of this. If you never see another book from me, it won't be because I haven't written one.
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Caroline Casey
about 2 months ago
love love to see friend / client
@invisibooks.bsky.social
here making the case for the role small presses play in making writing careers (if not piles of money)
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Matt Bell
about 2 months ago
Lots of good reporting here from
@tajjaisen.bsky.social
, as always.
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Maris Kreizman
about 2 months ago
Tajia is always right. Literature is an art (sometimes) that is entirely dependent on data.
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Adrienne Celt
about 2 months ago
Tajja's pieces always hit
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Brandon Hoàng
about 2 months ago
Oof. Feeling this in my marrow.
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Laura McGrath
about 2 months ago
I’m always game to follow the data in publishing, and so grateful when the smartest folks (like
@tajjaisen.bsky.social
) want to hop in the weeds with me. A brilliant piece of reporting.
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I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece:
thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
loading . . .
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
https://thewalrus.ca/the-publishing-industry-has-a-gambling-problem/
about 2 months ago
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867
469
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Tajja Isen
Jeanna Kadlec
about 2 months ago
I went on the record with
@tajjaisen.bsky.social
to talk book sales and the infamous “track”:
thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
loading . . .
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
https://thewalrus.ca/the-publishing-industry-has-a-gambling-problem/
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Tajja Isen
Elaine Hsieh Chou
about 2 months ago
Anyone in Las Vegas? 😊 Tonight with
@tajjaisen.bsky.social
!
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The Walrus
about 2 months ago
Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye sold just 2,000 copies in its first year. Today, it’s a number many authors can’t recover from. Writer @tajjaisen.bsky.social examines how the publishing industry’s sales track can make or break careers before they even begin:
thewalrus.ca/the-publishing-i...
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Helen Rosner
2 months ago
Why don’t more establishments sell movie theater-style popcorn
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Rainesford Stauffer
2 months ago
I'm such a fan of
@nicolechung.bsky.social
and
@tajjaisen.bsky.social
, and this conversation for
@whichistosay.bsky.social
's Awakeners podcast about mentorship, the relationship between writing and editing, and more is a gem. Loved listening & came away with much to think about:
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Tajja Isen and Nicole Chung on Becoming Colleagues and Friends
This is Awakeners, a Lit Hub Radio podcast about mentorship in the literary arts. Robert Frost allegedly said he was not a teacher but an “awakener.” On every episode of this podcast, host Lena Cro…
https://lithub.com/tajja-isen-and-nicole-chung-on-becoming-colleagues-and-friends/
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I texted a friend yesterday "I wonder what it’s like to work in a field that is thriving and I worry I will wonder that for the rest of my life"
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2 months ago
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Elaine Hsieh Chou
2 months ago
Las Vegas 9/26 at 7 pm PT: The Writer's Block & Black Mountain Institute with
@tajjaisen.bsky.social
! Free to attend:
www.thewritersblock.org/events/47665
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ELAINE HSIEH CHOU | The Writer's Block
An independent bookstore in downtown Las Vegas, offering free creative-writing classes to grades K–12.
https://www.thewritersblock.org/events/47665
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Elaine Hsieh Chou
2 months ago
I forgot to share my book tour info for WHERE ARE YOU REALLY FROM (
@penguinpress.bsky.social
)! I still have events in San Francisco and Las Vegas, as well as a virtual event with
@aaww-nyc.bsky.social
. Hope to see some of you there! I'll post details and links in the comments 💕
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Nicole Chung
3 months ago
SUCH A JOY to chat about writing, editing, publishing, and mentorship with
@tajjaisen.bsky.social
@whichistosay.bsky.social
for the Awakeners podcast! (feat. a dramatic reenactment of our very first pitch exchange)
@literaryhub.bsky.social
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Nicole Chung & Tajja Isen
Nicole edited Tajja for Catapult Magazine. Then she hired her.
https://www.awakenerspodcast.com/post/nicole-chung-tajja-isen
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Pete Volk
3 months ago
Today's Polygon Exit Interview is with
@nicoleclark.bsky.social
, who ran Polygon's culture section, led the charge on many of the site's book recommendations, and did so much more behind the scenes. Always a pleasure to chat with Nicole!
pvguide.ghost.io/polygon-exit...
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Polygon Exit Interview: Nicole Clark, Culture Editor
“There was a very generative, creative spirit, and a curiosity and hunger for all sorts of cool stuff”
https://pvguide.ghost.io/polygon-exit-interview-nicole-clark-culture-editor/
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Maris Kreizman
3 months ago
Things are bad but the books will continue to be good. Here’s a visual preview for fall 2025 as evidence.
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Jaya Saxena
3 months ago
Now that it's been a few days, I wanted to share some of my favorite pieces I wrote for Eater over the 6+ years I was there. First off, I got to write a lot about the intersection of food and queerness, culminating in this piece that got me a JBFA nomination
www.eater.com/24162871/foo...
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The Food That Makes You Gay
Too many people grow up fearing what food might reveal about themselves. Maybe it’s time we embrace self-discovery.
https://www.eater.com/24162871/food-makes-you-gay
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Andrew F. Sullivan
3 months ago
whenever the bio is a bit long
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Greg Mania
3 months ago
i talked to my sister-in-sloppy
@raxkingisdead.bsky.social
about her latest magnum opus for
@electricliterature.com
⚡️❤️🔥
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Rax King Is Embracing the Mess - Electric Literature
The author of “Sloppy” finds clarity in chaos, humor in grief, and a voice that never flinches
https://electricliterature.com/rax-king-is-embracing-the-mess/
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Jaya Saxena
3 months ago
15 people. 15 incredibly talented journalists and media workers who are experts at what they do, who have won awards for this work, gone and with very little direction given as to what comes next. I'm completely furious.
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Got somebody's OOO until *October* for the company's sabbatical program to prevent staff burnout and I want to weep
3 months ago
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Sabir
4 months ago
“There’s a Kreizman piece for every mood and personality and, I don’t know, astrological sign, if that’s your thing. Tag yourself. (I’m “The 10 Horniest Men In Literature” sun, “Where Did My Ambition Go” rising.)”
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As a longtime fan, I was thrilled to interview
@maris.bsky.social
about her new book!!!!
orionmagazine.org/article/afte...
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After We Burn It All Down - Orion Magazine
A conversation about critique, action, and hope with Maris Kreizman
https://orionmagazine.org/article/after-we-burn-it-all-down/
4 months ago
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Maris Kreizman
4 months ago
Mutual! As I told Tajja, I learned you could criticize your publisher in your own book by watching her do it first.
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As a longtime fan, I was thrilled to interview
@maris.bsky.social
about her new book!!!!
orionmagazine.org/article/afte...
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After We Burn It All Down - Orion Magazine
A conversation about critique, action, and hope with Maris Kreizman
https://orionmagazine.org/article/after-we-burn-it-all-down/
4 months ago
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Tajja Isen
Maris Kreizman
4 months ago
I made the
Bookshop.org
bestseller list!!! And they’re doing their anti-Prime sale with free-shipping this week. So many wins!
bookshop.org/lists/booksh...
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Bookshop.org Best Sellers of the Week
Last Week's Top-Selling Books: Politics and Preorders Enjoy Octavia Butler's acclaimed Parable series as a $3 ebook set, or snap up an indie bookstore/Bookshop.
https://bookshop.org/lists/bookshop-org-best-sellers-of-the-week
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Jess was the first person ever to edit my work and she set a bar that most people, frankly, haven't been able to match
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4 months ago
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[my brain when it sees the word "romantasy"]: "roman-tussy"
5 months ago
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Lincoln Michel
5 months ago
I predicted this when it was announced. Still, lol
www.thebookseller.com/news/tiktok-...
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TikTok publisher 8th Note Press looks set to close as authors 'negotiate rights return'
A publishing business developed by the parent company of TikTok to cash in on the success of #BookTok appears to be closing just four months after it launched a print side to its e-books business – al...
https://www.thebookseller.com/news/tiktok-publisher-8th-note-press-looks-set-to-close-as-authors-negotiate-rights-return
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For
@thewalrus.ca
, I wrote about the narrow ways we tell the story of marriage (and a few books that think outside of it really well). Certain details needed to be fact-checked with my husband :)
thewalrus.ca/are-women-al...
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Are Women Allowed to Be Happy in Their Marriages? | The Walrus
Literature often describes matrimony as banal or repressive. That’s a shame
https://thewalrus.ca/are-women-allowed-to-be-happy-in-their-marriages/
5 months ago
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good hyuck, babe!
5 months ago
Regular reminder that it doesn't have to be like this and you can deactivate AI overviews in your Google searches!
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