Can’t Wait for Red Pencil 2025? Meet Our Keynote Speaker Jane Friedman

Psst… the Red Pencil Conference is just three weeks away! Whether you’re joining us online or in person at the Lynnwood Event Center, we’ve got an exciting conference planned for you on Saturday, Nov. 8!

No matter which type of ticket you choose, all of this year’s conference attendees get to start the day with an inspiring keynote by publishing expert Jane Friedman, who will discuss how AI is already transforming the editorial process and offer a clear-eyed assessment of both the opportunities and threats that AI presents to editors and writers alike. This thoughtful take by an industry veteran will begin at 9:30 a.m. PST at the Lynnwood Event Center, where it will also be livestreamed and recorded for virtual attendees.

We’re so excited about Jane’s keynote that we’ve asked her for more information about her long career and topics she may explore during her keynote address—Editing in the Age of AI: Protecting and Advancing the Craft of Writing—which you can read below. Don’t miss out on Jane’s full keynote address at this year’s Red Pencil Conference on Saturday, November 8, 2025! You’ll also be able to buy a copy of her book, The Business of Being a Writer, at the Third Place Books table at the conference.

NWEG: Tell us more about your background and some of the organizations you’ve worked with.

My career started in traditional publishing and literary publishing. People who've known me a long time still remember my work at Writer's Digest in the aughts, and I do still work with Writer's Digest as an instructor. But most of my time these days is spent on a publishing industry newsletter I launched in 2015, The Bottom Line. 

Over time, I've developed strong relationships and partnerships with organizations known for author advocacy, such as The Authors Guild and the Alliance of Independent Authors, plus I've worked with literary arts organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts and the Whiting Awards. Because my book is published by The University of Chicago Press, and my editor is the editor of The Chicago Manual of Style, I also served as an adviser on the 18th edition of CMOS.

NWEG: When, why, and how did you begin helping authors and other creatives struggling to navigate the publishing industry?

It all started when I joined Writer's Digest in 2001. I was specifically asked to become the in-house expert on self-publishing, which was an entirely different landscape back then. During the aughts, major developments were promising to change publishing and how authorship worked: the growing power of Amazon, the launch of the Kindle and Kindle Direct Publishing, the advent of social media, the rise of ecommerce, and the very early beginnings of what we now know as the creator economy.

Then, as now, there was a lot of fear, outrage, and dismissiveness toward changes underway in the industry. Reasonable voices were few and far between, and transparency about the business was poor. I saw a lot of bitterness among writers, sometimes related to people's misplaced expectations about the industry or lack of communication from business partners, whether agent, publisher, or editor. My attitude has always been: let's talk frankly about what to expect and why the industry works the way it does, so you can prepare appropriately. And let's look at ways to adapt to a changing environment and find ways for new tools and technologies to serve our own ends.

NWEG: Can you give us an example of some advice you might offer editors overwhelmed by the rapid changes underway in our industry?

Marshall McLuhan once said, "Resenting a new technology will not halt its progress." Remaining silent about the technology, or avoiding it, or shaming other people's use of that technology will also not halt its progress. Whether you use AI or not, you will not be able to escape its presence and influence. Being fervently against it will most likely cause your clients or colleagues to be less than honest about their own use. Editors need to have open and transparent conversations, without judgment if at all possible, about AI with their clients. You need to bring it up because they might not, out of fear or shame or cluelessness. And I can nearly guarantee your clients are using it or will use it. 

NWEG: How has AI already begun transforming the editorial process, and what should editors keep in mind as things continue to change?

AI is already being used to support translations and audiobook creation. Some editors, like Erin Servais, are teaching editors how specific AI tools can be used to support copyediting and proofreading, by automating some of the more tedious tasks. And AI is being used constantly for summarization, e.g., I used it to help draft chapter summaries for my book. 

Any nonfiction author is likely using AI to help them with straightforward tasks, like preparing citations or footnotes, assisting with research, fact checking material, and light editing. Whether they're using AI well is another matter (e.g., are they double checking the facts that AI gives them?). 

Again, with all these uses, everyone in the editorial process should know how and when AI was used. I'd recommend having a document that keeps track of all AI involvement in a project. Keep your chatbot records. Etc.

NWEG: What can this year’s Red Pencil Conference attendees expect to take away from your keynote address?

Whenever I'm addressing an issue as contentious as AI, I like to reduce anxiety and fear whenever I can, because it inhibits clear thinking and strategic decision making. I don't think editors will lose their jobs to AI, because human authors will continue to value human editors. The introduction of AI into publishing gives us all a chance to reflect on what is human about the process and what human editors do that's worth investing in.

Have you signed up for the Red Pencil Conference? Register for in person, virtual, or in person + virtual attendance. See you in Lynnwood or online on November 8!