How is Frieda McFadden able to publish so many books?
on Frieda McFadden and a message she reminded me of! plus a book i purchased recently i'm excited about.
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It seems like every week, I have a book of Frieda McFadden’s on my upcoming releases, bestseller list, or even both. Incredibly, all or nearly all of them hit the bestseller charts. Watching a meteoric rise like this in real time is truly insane to me. But before I explain why McFadden is able to pull all of this off (it makes more sense than I thought), let’s get to know her a bit.
While Frieda McFadden currently lives in Boston with her family, she grew up in New York City and has always been incredibly smart. She attended Harvard, where she decided to pursue medicine rather than mathematics. During her time in medical school and residency, Frieda had a private blog where she was able to vent frustrations and overall separate from her life as a doctor. In this way, writing became a welcome escape.
She self-published her first novel on Amazon in 2013. And then she had another idea, so she wrote another book. And another. And another. Once, Frieda wrote a novel where readers didn’t like the ending, so she literally went back and rewrote it because she ended up agreeing with them. Frieda notes in her FAQ that she felt comfortable spending money on advertising due to her job security as a physician, which is how she was able to keep writing and publishing throughout the 2010s.
Her breakout bestseller, The Housemaid, was only published because Bookouture, an ebook publisher, offered to publish and promote it on their mailing lists. Frieda didn’t get an agent until 2022.
Between McFadden’s unique positioning as a well known, bestselling self-published author with an agent to help make her books more widespread, she was able to strike a bargain with her publishing company Poisoned Pen Press for 15 books. Fifteen! The catch here, and why she is able to publish so frequently, is that a lot of them are reprints of her older novels from the 2010s. Despite this, Amazon Kindle Unlimited still accounts for a whopping 60% of her revenue. After twelve years of publishing on their platform, developing a focused fanbase, and investing in marketing, she’s essentially cornered the market.
So the simple reason why Frieda McFadden is able to publish so many books is because her publishing house is back printing her older self published works.
While I’ve only read one or two of her books, I’ve found through my research that I rather like Frieda. I respect the way she’s been able to keep her real name private, especially since she still works as a doctor part time. I love her humor, and I love her reaction to people who criticize her books. She told the New York Times,
“I’m just trying to be entertaining,” she said. “I’m not trying to write ‘War and Peace’.”
This levity is something we can all be reminded of. Sometimes things don’t have to have some deep meaning. Sometimes things can just be fun.
The information I gathered for this article come from Frieda’s website and this NYT article.
All links to books are affiliate links through bookshop.org to help support indie bookstores.
Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson (Thriller): July 22, 2025
Arcana Academy by Elise Kova (Fantasy): July 22, 2025
The List by Steve Berry (Thriller): July 22, 2025
The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw (Fantasy): July 22, 2025
That Last Carolina Summer by Karen White (Fiction): July 22, 2025
Love Is A War Song by Danica Nava (Romance): July 22, 2025
Didion & Babitz by Lili Anolik (Memoir): July 22, 2025
Red Rabbit Ghost by Jen Julian (Horror): July 22, 2025
Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell (Thriller): July 22, 2025
The Boys In The Light by Nina Willner (History, Memoir): July 22, 2025
Books I’ve compiled from a variety of bestseller lists. I add the books I haven’t before, since I’ve caught up to the new additions. If you’re curious, last week’s post can be found here.
Rose in Chains by Julie Soto (Romantasy)
The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Bridgette Knightley (Fantasy)
The Woman in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware (Thriller)
The View from Lake Como by Adriana Trigiani (Fiction)
On Her Game by Christine Brennan (Memoir)
2024 by Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorf (Politics)
A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst (Memoir)
The Little Frog’s Guide to Self Care by Maybell Eequay (Self Help)
Murderland by Caroline Fraser (History, Crime)
Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty (Fiction)
If you have a book recommendation to share, send me a DM or email me at thesundayreads@gmail.com!
Well I didn’t read anything, but I did purchase Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston. I love her writing, so I’m super excited to read it!
That’s all for today. Much love
Izzy
Never Lie was the first book I read by her and I was hooked. I haven’t loved all of her books, but you better believe when a new one comes out, I’m still gonna read it!
Oh, I didn’t know she was a doctor. This was an interesting post. I’ve read a few of her books and I do enjoy them.