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A note from Jane

When I’m feeling bold, I tell people straight: I don’t have a problem earning money at this stage of my career. I know how to earn more, but I have no interest in what it takes. I’m happy as I am.

Writers often come to me wondering how they can earn more money overall or more money per hour spent. Some need a gentle wake-up call. (Why haven’t you raised your rates in 15 years despite increased demand?) Others have unrealistic expectations. (You’ll hit earnings barriers if you want to freelance full-time for greeting card companies.)

Then I see writers who need to earn more, who could earn more easily (their work is marketable!), but don’t have the business acumen or think the system is too broken to make the attempt. For this group, I wish I could gift them a business coach or fix-it person to put systems in place to increase earnings and sustainability.

This is what I thought when I read about writer J.B. Nicholas in the New Yorker. He runs a news website called The Free Lance. It has a strong readership, yet he’s only collected $622 in donations. Reading that article, you’d think that the system is broken. But it’s not. I looked at his site and (unfortunately) those earnings make total sense.

He deserves more, but maybe he doesn’t want to do what it takes because it would be a distraction from his work. Or maybe earnings aren’t that important to him.

But the system isn’t so broken that it can’t support his work—or yours. (And yes, I do teach a class on this!)

Jane

P.S. Most popular post this month: ​Writing at the Intersection of Fear, Politics, and Responsibility​

​Bob Eckstein​

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Geezer magazine: Gen X’s alternative to AARP

My husband and I recently discovered Geezer, a print-only magazine by, for, and about Gen Xers, “because we’re not dead yet.” Mark was immediately drawn in by the cover of their debut issue, which shows a pile of cassette tapes prominently featuring the band XTC.

Forty News: explore news from 40 years ago

“A reminder that urgency fades, context grows, and perspective is a habit.” This effort speaks my language. Browse.

Teleprompter for your MacBook

Last year, I recommended the Teleprompter Pro app for smartphones, which is useful when you want a script in front of your eyes while staring into your phone camera. But what if you want to use your laptop? Try Notchie, which turns your Mac’s “notch” next to your camera into a teleprompter. It remains invisible when sharing your screen and is voice-activated, so it moves according to your speaking pace. H/t Dense Discovery​

Tool for editing your PDFs without Adobe

​PDF Barber will help you split, merge, sign, rotate (etc) your PDF documents. The site doesn’t require registration, nor do you have to upload your PDFs.

What Do Your Characters Want? with Jessica Strawser / Feb. 11, 1–2:30 p.m. EST

All genres have traps that writers can fall prey to if we aren’t careful. Maybe your literary fiction has beautifully dimensional characters, but not a lot going on. Or maybe your thriller has a high-octane plot, but the characters seem too archetypal or forgettable. These might seem like opposite problems, but the solution is the same: It’s time to stop thinking of plot and character as separate elements and start powering up your protagonist’s motivations to fuel the engine of your story, driving the action and enhancing the theme.

In this 90-minute class, you’ll learn how to leverage your characters’ goals and desires from Page 1 to engage readers. With plenty of examples from bestsellers across genres, you’ll see how focusing on character motivations as a guiding principle can not only bring your story’s central players to life, but add propulsion to your plot, raise and complicate the stakes, and deepen the meaning of your story.

Your turn: nighttime teas 🌝

In the last issue, I asked for your recommendations of nighttime teas. Here’s a selection of what you said.

• Harney & Sons’ Decaf Hot Cinnamon Spice is delicious and smells so great. It’s got a hint of orange in it. —Carita Gardner
• I don’t know if Bird and Blend will ship outside the UK but their Deckchair Dreaming Tea is lovely. —Mary-Ann Horley
• My favorite nighttime tea is fresh brewed organic Egyptian chamomile from Harney & Sons. I put the smallest bit of brown sugar to enhance the sweetness, and a spot of heavy cream. It’s the way my mom used to make tea, so I make it like this still; it tastes absolutely delicious to me. And it helps knock me right out when it’s time to crawl into bed. —Lorelei Brewer
• I love a lime-blossom infusion the most of all. It’s known in Europe as tilleul, lindenblüten, or tilia, and I find the names are delicate and soothing as the tea itself. —Hilary Fraser
• My all-time favorite nighttime tea is the Yogi brand Kava Stress Relief. Add a little honey and it’s off to sweet dreams. —Arleah Waycaster
• I quit drinking two years ago, and one of the few things I miss about it is old-fashioneds. DAVIDsTEA makes a rooibos chai called Chai on the Rocks, and it’s not an exact match for an old fashioned, but it’s close. Since it has no caffeine, it’s a nice evening tea. —Stephanie A. Cain
• Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime is always great, Tulsi Cinnamon Rose is soothing and unique. The Spice & Tea Exchange’s Spiced Ruby Cider Herbal Tea is a loose tea, so a little more involved. It is hibiscus and sweet spices. I add a bit more hibiscus (from my local co-op) to suit my taste, but it’s great as is. Spicy and sweet, it can also be used as mulling mix for cider or wine. —Stacy Stapleton
• I struggle with sleep and have tried a lot of nighttime teas. My favorite is Neptune’s RelaxaTea by Inspired Earth. Last year I hiked the Cotswold Way; I brought this tea with me to help ensure a good night’s sleep along the journey. (Because as a post-menopausal woman, 10+ mile daily hikes aren’t enough to ensure a good night’s sleep. Grrr.) —Jill Urbach
• My favorite night time tea is Organic Roasted Dandelion Root, from Traditional Medicinals. It’s roasted just like coffee beans are, so it has a coffee-ish flavor. —Jean MacDougall-Tattan
• I am a serious tea drinker and cannot recommend Dawn Chorus through Mountain Rose Herbs highly enough. It is caffeine free and has no chamomile. —Tina Story
• I like a mint tea at night, but I also love T2 Sleep Tight herbal tisane. It doesn’t have camomile in it like a lot of sleepy teas, which suits me as I don’t like it! —Lauren Finger
• My favorite is from an independent tea shop in Seattle that does a lot of mail-order business, Friday Tea, called ROFL (rose, osmanthus, french vanilla, and lemon). It’s not like drinking a bottle of perfume like some rose-based teas (which often have a lot of rose oil in them). Great plain or sweetened. Another go-to is the barley “tea” at our local Korean grocery. This is often what they serve at Korean restaurants. It has a nice roasty flavor but no caffeine. —Cecilia Tan

💙 This was a popular question! Browse all responses.​

Next question: I need to know right away about your warm slippers or slipper socks! Hit reply and let me know.

Do you have a tools or resources question you would like Jane to ask all readers? Offer up your suggestion, and she might feature it.

Free resources featuring Jane

Interview: Make a living in the creator economy (scroll down for Q&A)

Self-Publishing Insiders: Jane looks back on 2025 and what's ahead for 2026

Feb. 13: Business Clinic: Should Successful Indie Authors Pursue an Agent?

Upcoming online classes

• ​Writer Mind, Marketing Mind with Allison K Williams, Feb. 4
• ​How Writers Can Earn a Living in the Creator Economy, master class with Jane Friedman, Feb. 7
• ​What Do Your Characters Want? with Jessica Strawser, Feb. 11
• ​Get Your Author Brand in Order with Jane Friedman, Feb. 12
• ​How to Research and Write a Powerful Book Proposal with Jane Friedman, Feb. 21–22
• ​Identify Your Memoir’s Essential Question with Lisa Cooper Ellison, Feb. 25
• ​Making Time & Space for Your Writing with Jessica Strawser, March 11
• ​Story Structure & Momentum with Tiffany Yates Martin, March 18
• ​Platform Building When You’d Rather Write with Jane Friedman, March 19
• ​Create Live or Virtual Retreats That Sell with Allison K Williams, March 21
• ​Do I Need Permission for That? with Christopher Hoffmann, March 25
• ​The Business of Newsletters That Pay with Jane Friedman, April 1
• ​Writing Memoir Without Fear with Allison K Williams, April 8

Meet Jane at an event

• ​IPNE Conference (online only), Feb. 20–21, 2026
• ​AWP Conference (Baltimore, MD), March 4–7, 2026 (Booth #624)
• ​Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop​​ (Dayton, OH), March 26–28, 2026
• ​Publishing Professionals Network Conference (Berkeley, CA), April 24, 2026
• ​Stockholm Writers Festival (Sweden), June 13, 2026
• ​Romance Writers of Australia (Darwin, Australia), Aug. 21–23, 2026

“At electric speed, all forms are pushed to the limits of their potential.”
—Marshall McLuhan

Created by Jane Friedman I report on the publishing industry and help authors understand the business of writing. My newsletter that helps pay the bills is The Bottom Line, where I recently reported on subscription boxes for authors.

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