Letters From the Editor: A Question of Motive

Let's put on our detective hats for a moment...

Because this is just too interesting to not dig in. When I was reviewing the publishing news below, one of the headlines stuck out: 
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Jane the Virgin is Now Jane the Author

Jane the Virgin, a modern day telenovela featuring an aspiring writer and single mother, now has a real-life component; the novel Jane debuts in the TV show is being published in real life.
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Now, why in the world would they make a fictional character "write" a book? I had an inkling, but decided to check my instincts. I've done it in real time for you here, and it'll give you some great insight into the publishing industry:

1. Who owns Jane the Virgin? 

Jane the Virgin is a CW show. According to Google, The CW is co-owned by CBS and Warner Bros.

2. Hmm...so who is publishing this Jane the Virgin book?

A quick search on Amazon shows it being published by Adams Media, which further Googling reveals is owned by Simon and Schuster.

3. So S&S just really likes Jane the Virgin...right?

If you're a discerning publishing detective (which by now, I suspect you are), you should be asking some kind of question about ownership. So the question you really want to ask here is "who owns S&S?" 

And the answer is...(drumroll please)...CBS. 

And now you understand a little bit more about corporations cross-promoting their media across their various companies. And now you might also understand why it's so hard to get a publishing contract with some of the larger corporate-owned houses. They can only publish so many books at a time, and they're often being strong-armed (I assume (and also know from experience)) into publishing other things...like Jane the Virgin's fake book.

I don't say any of this to discourage you, and there are certainly authors being published who aren't associated with houses' parent companies. But like I always say, an informed writer is a good writer.

Enjoy the rest of the news and upcoming conferences below, and stay sane through the holidays! This will likely be the last letter I send out before we all take a break for celebrations.

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