Sara Nelson
Encyclopedia
Sara Nelson is an American
publishing
industry figure who is an editor
and book reviewer
and consultant and columnist
and who is currently the book editor at Oprah's
O Magazine. Nelson is notable for having been editor in chief
at the book industry's chief trade publication Publishers Weekly
from 2005–2009 during a time of wrenching restructuring and industry downsizing. Her book So Many Books, So Little Time was published in 2003. Her views have been widely reported in numerous publications such as The New York Times
, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today
, and she has appeared on television broadcasts including CBS's The Early Show
. She has written for the Wall Street Journal and the Huffington Post about publishing industry trends and has been described as a "lively presence within the book publishing industry." She is an extensive reader and has been described as a lover of books.
in Andover
and graduated in 1974. She wrote about books and publishing at the New York Post
, the New York Observer
, Glamour
magazine, and held editorial positions at Self
, Inside.com, and Book Publishing Report. Nelson married and had a child and is a fierce advocate for respect for working mothers. Women struggled with ways to juggle careers and families, and stay-at-home moms and working mothers jostled over women's roles in the home, sometimes termed in the media as the Mommy Wars. Nelson wrote:
Nelson, based on a New Year's plan, embarked on an ambitious project to read one book each week and write about it, and the effort morphed into a book entitled So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading which was published by Putnam in 2003. While her initial book–a–week plan fell apart almost immediately, according to New York Times book reviewer Ihsan Taylor, the effort was fruitful since the book was seen as a commentary on the "nature of reading itself." Nelson's future employer, Publishers Weekly
, reported that her book revealed her "infectious enthusiasm for literature in general." Writer Augusten Burroughs
said Nelson's book was a "smart, witty, utterly original memoir about how every book becomes a part of us."
Nelson has been a consistent heavy reader throughout her life, and at one point, in a YouTube interview, said that she typically reads about 50 books cover–to–cover per year regardless of her self-imposed commitment. She will only write about a book after she's read it completely, according to Nelson in the interview. Further, she reads portions of many books which are sent to her or recommended by others, sometimes only the first ten pages. She favors fiction over non-fiction generally, occasionally reading classics overlooked during her college years, and some non-fiction works such as David McCullough's
treatment of American president John Adams
.
in January 2005. It was a powerful position since the magazine is traditionally regarded as a standard bearer for mainstream critical opinion regarding books. A positive review from Publishers Weekly can bring a big sales boost to an unknown title, and the editor–in–chief's opinion about new books has considerable weight in the publishing industry. New York Times
reporter Edward Wyatt suggested that the top job at Publishers Weekly in 2005 involved facing "many challenges".
In her new position, Nelson added a new assessment for books called a signature review. She permitted greater variety in the length of reviews (typically 200 to 500 words long), considered bylines to reviews, and changes to the magazine's cover format. She hired graphic designer Jean-Claude Suares
, added color using so-called drop down shadows behind color book covers, and wrote an editorial each week. She switched the magazine's logo to use the two letters PW since the abbreviation was well understood within the publishing world. She developed a nominating board of several thousand booksellers and librarians to nominate books for prizes in nineteen different categories; readers voted for books within stores or online, and the awards were termed the Quill awards. There was increased use of a foldout advertisement on the front cover, with the theme repeated inside the table of contents page.
The first decade of the new century was marked by turbulence within the industry as well as a continuing trend away from serious writing and towards pop culture
. Publishers Weekly had enjoyed a "near monopoly" over the past decades but was getting vigorous competition from Internet sites, e-mail newsletters and daily newspapers. The industry was consolidating. Many independent booksellers—a mainstay of Publishers Weekly clientele—were going out of business. Paid circulation dropped by 3,000 to 25,000 in the mid 2000s. Nelson pushed for significant changes towards modernization, greater use of the Web, and more focus on analytical reporting.
Nelson commented in an interview about how she saw PW evolving:
Nelson, looking at business practices within the book publishing industry, saw problems. She speculated that the industry practice of printing too many books to "kind of create a buzz" and then having to ship books back from bookstores was inefficient. She saw a trend favoring so-called big books at the expense of lesser known writers:
. Nelson was interviewed on National Public Radio on Winfrey's
influence, similar to that of radio personality Imus
, in the publishing arena. She described Oprah:
Television was playing a bigger role in the publishing industry in other ways. Nelson explained how publicity efforts such as a book excerpt were being eclipsed by TV interviews. Publishers were increasingly seeking TV exposure for authors since "TV has a greater reach than magazines," she explained. Sometimes TV shows require that some material not be used, she explained in an interview while commenting on the increasing use of a practice termed book embargoes. In addition, other ways to promote books were becoming more prominent, such as book clubs. Nelson was reportedly "not thrilled" by the trend towards pressuring authors to become speakers to promote their books publicly, and wondered whether the pressure from having to make public presentations would detract from a writer's focus on improving his or her craft.
Reporters sought her insight about why some books generated controversy while others didn't as well as her counsel on how publishers were trying to reach the lucrative teen market. "Teens can be very passionate readers ... the format isn't as important as the fact that they're reading," she said. Nelson commented that reading was ultimately a private act and said "Why people read what they read is a great unknown and personal thing."
controversial book If I Did It. Nelson criticized the project as a pathetic way of "trying to cash in." By that point, a huge negative public backlash, which had been building up, erupted, and the publisher withdrew the book from the marketplace.
After a profound economic downturn beginning in 2007 and lasting for the next few years, the publishing industry slumped significantly. Nelson commented in 2008 how layoffs and salary freezes were "sobering".
Nelson wrote about such industry topics as Twitter
writers signing book deals, Jonathan Littell's
controversial 1,000 page Holocaust novel, and realignments of publishing firms. Nelson was quoted about sleeper hit books such as Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen as well as an expansion of what's considered to be chick lit
which has grown to be more accomplished and "grown up", according to Nelson. She commented on trends in changing technology, such as the coming of digital books such as Amazon's Kindle
. She owns a Kindle and a Sony Reader and sees both as a "statement to the world that you like to read." She said:
Nelson identified other trends. Fewer places review books now, unfortunately, but there is more information available to consumers who may not want in-depth literary reviews of a book; rather, they want to know whether it's worth plunking down $25, and that's it. In some respects, according to Nelson, smaller publishers are better off than large houses which have huge budgets devoted to overhead; for example, Nelson said a small "mom and pop" publisher can do five books a year and be profitable. She still thinks it's tough times for people employed within the industry; she said "You can do all the right things and still lose your job." She thinks business-to-business magazines will become available mostly online, and soon. In the past, self publishing was seen as the "exclusive realm of egomaniacs, eccentrics, and failures", according to a reporter in the Los Angeles Times
, but over the past decade or so it's become more popular and somewhat better accepted. Nelson commented in 2010 that there were more instances of publishers picking up a self-published book, although such success stories are still rare. "Publishers are taking self-published books more seriously," she said.
The action sent shockwaves through the industry and was widely covered in prominent newspapers. There was considerable reaction by readers as well. One reader wrote: "Sara Nelson turned Publishers Weekly around!" Another wrote that "Sara Nelson pulled Publishers Weekly into the 21st century with grace, verve, and panache. And I’ve never met such a loud cheerleader for books and for the book publishing industry."
O Magazine. She continued to comment in the media about new forces in publishing such as the new quarterly literary magazine called Electric Literature which allows readers to read in a variety of media, including e-book
, iPhone
, and audiobook. Nelson applauded the effort saying that "anything that takes the starch out" was good. Generally, Nelson's outlook for the publishing industry is bright and thinks that "in the end readers will win." Sara Nelson appeared with Harry Smith
of CBS News on The Early Show
. She's also served as moderator for events sponsored by the LA Times Festival of Books.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
publishing
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
industry figure who is an editor
Editor
The term editor may refer to:As a person who does editing:* Editor in chief, having final responsibility for a publication's operations and policies* Copy editing, making formatting changes and other improvements to text...
and book reviewer
Literary criticism
Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...
and consultant and columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
and who is currently the book editor at Oprah's
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
O Magazine. Nelson is notable for having been editor in chief
Editor in chief
An editor-in-chief is a publication's primary editor, having final responsibility for the operations and policies. Additionally, the editor-in-chief is held accountable for delegating tasks to staff members as well as keeping up with the time it takes them to complete their task...
at the book industry's chief trade publication Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
from 2005–2009 during a time of wrenching restructuring and industry downsizing. Her book So Many Books, So Little Time was published in 2003. Her views have been widely reported in numerous publications such as The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, and she has appeared on television broadcasts including CBS's The Early Show
The Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...
. She has written for the Wall Street Journal and the Huffington Post about publishing industry trends and has been described as a "lively presence within the book publishing industry." She is an extensive reader and has been described as a lover of books.
Beginnings
Nelson attended Phillips AcademyPhillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
in Andover
Andover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was incorporated in 1646 and as of the 2010 census, the population was 33,201...
and graduated in 1974. She wrote about books and publishing at the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
, the New York Observer
New York Observer
The New York Observer is a weekly newspaper first published in New York City on September 22, 1987, by Arthur L. Carter, a very successful former investment banker with publishing interests. The Observer focuses on the city's culture, real estate, the media, politics and the entertainment and...
, Glamour
Glamour (magazine)
Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood....
magazine, and held editorial positions at Self
Self (magazine)
Self magazine is an American magazine for women that specializes in health, fitness, nutrition, beauty and happiness. Published by Condé Nast Publications 12 times a year, it has a circulation of 1,486,992 and a total audience of 5,541,000 readers, according to its corporate media kit. The...
, Inside.com, and Book Publishing Report. Nelson married and had a child and is a fierce advocate for respect for working mothers. Women struggled with ways to juggle careers and families, and stay-at-home moms and working mothers jostled over women's roles in the home, sometimes termed in the media as the Mommy Wars. Nelson wrote:
Nelson, based on a New Year's plan, embarked on an ambitious project to read one book each week and write about it, and the effort morphed into a book entitled So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading which was published by Putnam in 2003. While her initial book–a–week plan fell apart almost immediately, according to New York Times book reviewer Ihsan Taylor, the effort was fruitful since the book was seen as a commentary on the "nature of reading itself." Nelson's future employer, Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
, reported that her book revealed her "infectious enthusiasm for literature in general." Writer Augusten Burroughs
Augusten Burroughs
Augusten Xon Burroughs is an American writer known for his New York Times bestselling memoir Running with Scissors .- Life :...
said Nelson's book was a "smart, witty, utterly original memoir about how every book becomes a part of us."
Nelson has been a consistent heavy reader throughout her life, and at one point, in a YouTube interview, said that she typically reads about 50 books cover–to–cover per year regardless of her self-imposed commitment. She will only write about a book after she's read it completely, according to Nelson in the interview. Further, she reads portions of many books which are sent to her or recommended by others, sometimes only the first ten pages. She favors fiction over non-fiction generally, occasionally reading classics overlooked during her college years, and some non-fiction works such as David McCullough's
David McCullough
David Gaub McCullough is an American author, narrator, historian, and lecturer. He is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian award....
treatment of American president John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
.
Editor-in-chief
Nelson became editor–in–chief of the trade magazine Publishers WeeklyPublishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
in January 2005. It was a powerful position since the magazine is traditionally regarded as a standard bearer for mainstream critical opinion regarding books. A positive review from Publishers Weekly can bring a big sales boost to an unknown title, and the editor–in–chief's opinion about new books has considerable weight in the publishing industry. New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reporter Edward Wyatt suggested that the top job at Publishers Weekly in 2005 involved facing "many challenges".
In her new position, Nelson added a new assessment for books called a signature review. She permitted greater variety in the length of reviews (typically 200 to 500 words long), considered bylines to reviews, and changes to the magazine's cover format. She hired graphic designer Jean-Claude Suares
Jean-Claude Suarès
Jean-Claude Suares is a designer of books, magazines, and newspapers. Presently working with Inc., Fast Company, Variety, and Publishers Weekly.-Magazines:...
, added color using so-called drop down shadows behind color book covers, and wrote an editorial each week. She switched the magazine's logo to use the two letters PW since the abbreviation was well understood within the publishing world. She developed a nominating board of several thousand booksellers and librarians to nominate books for prizes in nineteen different categories; readers voted for books within stores or online, and the awards were termed the Quill awards. There was increased use of a foldout advertisement on the front cover, with the theme repeated inside the table of contents page.
The first decade of the new century was marked by turbulence within the industry as well as a continuing trend away from serious writing and towards pop culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
. Publishers Weekly had enjoyed a "near monopoly" over the past decades but was getting vigorous competition from Internet sites, e-mail newsletters and daily newspapers. The industry was consolidating. Many independent booksellers—a mainstay of Publishers Weekly clientele—were going out of business. Paid circulation dropped by 3,000 to 25,000 in the mid 2000s. Nelson pushed for significant changes towards modernization, greater use of the Web, and more focus on analytical reporting.
Nelson commented in an interview about how she saw PW evolving:
Nelson, looking at business practices within the book publishing industry, saw problems. She speculated that the industry practice of printing too many books to "kind of create a buzz" and then having to ship books back from bookstores was inefficient. She saw a trend favoring so-called big books at the expense of lesser known writers:
Television's impact on publishing
In 2008, Nelson commented on the intersection of political candidates, books, and television celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, not knowing that the talk show celebrity would be her employer within a year. There were several dozen books about then-candidate ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. Nelson was interviewed on National Public Radio on Winfrey's
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
influence, similar to that of radio personality Imus
Imus
-Places:* Imus, Cavite, a Philippine municipality*Imus Ranch, an American cattle ranch and children's charity-People:* Don Imus, an American television and radio host* Fred Imus, an American radio host and the younger brother of radio talk show host Don Imus...
, in the publishing arena. She described Oprah:
Television was playing a bigger role in the publishing industry in other ways. Nelson explained how publicity efforts such as a book excerpt were being eclipsed by TV interviews. Publishers were increasingly seeking TV exposure for authors since "TV has a greater reach than magazines," she explained. Sometimes TV shows require that some material not be used, she explained in an interview while commenting on the increasing use of a practice termed book embargoes. In addition, other ways to promote books were becoming more prominent, such as book clubs. Nelson was reportedly "not thrilled" by the trend towards pressuring authors to become speakers to promote their books publicly, and wondered whether the pressure from having to make public presentations would detract from a writer's focus on improving his or her craft.
Reporters sought her insight about why some books generated controversy while others didn't as well as her counsel on how publishers were trying to reach the lucrative teen market. "Teens can be very passionate readers ... the format isn't as important as the fact that they're reading," she said. Nelson commented that reading was ultimately a private act and said "Why people read what they read is a great unknown and personal thing."
Controversies and industry realignment
During these years some prominent book fabrications emerged, with supposedly credible books being published which later were found to have been untrue. Nelson wondered whether hoaxes would bring negative publicity to the publishing industry. There was considerable fallout from an attempt to publish O. J. Simpson'sO. J. Simpson
Orenthal James "O. J." Simpson , nicknamed "The Juice", is a retired American collegiate and professional football player, football broadcaster, and actor...
controversial book If I Did It. Nelson criticized the project as a pathetic way of "trying to cash in." By that point, a huge negative public backlash, which had been building up, erupted, and the publisher withdrew the book from the marketplace.
After a profound economic downturn beginning in 2007 and lasting for the next few years, the publishing industry slumped significantly. Nelson commented in 2008 how layoffs and salary freezes were "sobering".
Advice for aspiring authors
Nelson's advice was repeatedly sought by aspiring writers regarding how to get their book on the coveted bestseller list. When asked How to get a title on the bestseller list? she responded cryptically: "... That depends ... And who knows?" Nelson said that publishers, evaluating a potential book, look to past successes to gauge potential profitability, and tend to rely on big-name authors who have a series to sell. Non-fiction books about food or eating tend to do well, and Nelson commented that Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food was doing well. She counsels writers to write excellent books and "get it into as many people's hands as you can."Industry trends, digital books, self-publishing
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
writers signing book deals, Jonathan Littell's
Jonathan Littell
Jonathan Littell is a bilingual writer living in Barcelona. He grew up in France and United States and is a dual citizen of both countries. After acquiring his bachelor degree he worked for a humanitarian organisation for nine years, leaving his job in 2001 in order to concentrate on writing...
controversial 1,000 page Holocaust novel, and realignments of publishing firms. Nelson was quoted about sleeper hit books such as Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen as well as an expansion of what's considered to be chick lit
Chick lit
Chick lit is genre fiction which addresses issues of modern womanhood, often humorously and lightheartedly. The genre sold well during the 1990s and 2000s, with chick lit titles topping bestseller lists and the creation of imprints devoted entirely to chick lit...
which has grown to be more accomplished and "grown up", according to Nelson. She commented on trends in changing technology, such as the coming of digital books such as Amazon's Kindle
Amazon Kindle
The Amazon Kindle is an e-book reader developed by Amazon.com subsidiary Lab126 which uses wireless connectivity to enable users to shop for, download, browse, and read e-books, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and other digital media...
. She owns a Kindle and a Sony Reader and sees both as a "statement to the world that you like to read." She said:
Nelson identified other trends. Fewer places review books now, unfortunately, but there is more information available to consumers who may not want in-depth literary reviews of a book; rather, they want to know whether it's worth plunking down $25, and that's it. In some respects, according to Nelson, smaller publishers are better off than large houses which have huge budgets devoted to overhead; for example, Nelson said a small "mom and pop" publisher can do five books a year and be profitable. She still thinks it's tough times for people employed within the industry; she said "You can do all the right things and still lose your job." She thinks business-to-business magazines will become available mostly online, and soon. In the past, self publishing was seen as the "exclusive realm of egomaniacs, eccentrics, and failures", according to a reporter in the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, but over the past decade or so it's become more popular and somewhat better accepted. Nelson commented in 2010 that there were more instances of publishers picking up a self-published book, although such success stories are still rare. "Publishers are taking self-published books more seriously," she said.
Dismissal from Publishers Weekly
Then, in 2009, Nelson was dismissed from Publishers Weekly. She said:The action sent shockwaves through the industry and was widely covered in prominent newspapers. There was considerable reaction by readers as well. One reader wrote: "Sara Nelson turned Publishers Weekly around!" Another wrote that "Sara Nelson pulled Publishers Weekly into the 21st century with grace, verve, and panache. And I’ve never met such a loud cheerleader for books and for the book publishing industry."
O Magazine
In September 2009, Nelson was appointed book editor at Oprah'sOprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
O Magazine. She continued to comment in the media about new forces in publishing such as the new quarterly literary magazine called Electric Literature which allows readers to read in a variety of media, including e-book
E-book
An electronic book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital...
, iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
, and audiobook. Nelson applauded the effort saying that "anything that takes the starch out" was good. Generally, Nelson's outlook for the publishing industry is bright and thinks that "in the end readers will win." Sara Nelson appeared with Harry Smith
Harry Smith (television)
Harry Smith is an American television journalist. He hosted the CBS News morning programs, The Early Show and its predecessor, CBS This Morning, for 17 years...
of CBS News on The Early Show
The Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...
. She's also served as moderator for events sponsored by the LA Times Festival of Books.