Books matter. Making them is a combination of craft and insight. Publishing them is a generous act of faith. Adding to the corpus of shared knowledge is important. Books change the culture when people act on them, even if they don’t sell many copies. And sometimes the backlist surprises the accountants.

But the economics of new books have nothing to... See more

The writers I know who have been driven mad by the industry are those whose expectations were untethered to reality. Secondly, it is useful to separate the business side of publishing from the artistic side. I mean that both in actual practice—e.g., do your business work at different hours than you create—and in your mentality. Sales aren’t art.... See more