What Free Resources and Classes Does Jane Friedman Offer?

Updated

Jane Friedman's site offers free resources for writers and publishing professionals, including two newsletters and a rotating free class. The most concrete example currently listed is a free class on turning a real-life story into fiction—aimed at writers who want to sell a memoir but lack a celebrity name or an existing platform. Access to these resources runs through sign-up forms on the site rather than a paid membership.

Free newsletters

Two newsletters are promoted on the site, both free to sign up for:

  • Electric Speed — described as a newsletter "for creative people." It has been running since 2009 and has more than 30,000 subscribers.
  • The business of publishing newsletter — positioned as "like The Economist for people in publishing," and noted as having received industry awards.

Both are presented as free sign-ups. The site's pricing signals point to "subscribe" as the relevant action, and no payment links or payment platforms appear in the available page evidence—so there is no indication of a paid tier for either newsletter.

Free class

The site lists a "Next free class," with this framing:

It's increasingly challenging to sell a memoir without being a celebrity or having a platform, so what if you decide to turn your real-life story into a work of fiction?

That is the stated problem the class addresses. The implied audience is memoir writers who:

  • do not have a public platform or celebrity status, and
  • are considering reframing their true story as fiction instead.

The page evidence gives the class topic and the reasoning behind it, but not the date, length, format, or instructor. To get those details you would need to open the class registration page itself.

How to access these resources

The site groups this material under a Free Resources heading, alongside Products + Services for anything paid. The available evidence does not describe the exact menu path or form fields, so the reliable route is:

  1. Go to janefriedman.com.
  2. Look for the Free Resources section (or the newsletter and free class sign-up prompts on the homepage).
  3. Use the sign-up link for the newsletter you want, or the register link for the current free class.
  4. Expect to provide an email address to subscribe; the class may require separate registration.

What the site is not offering here

The page evidence covers newsletters, a free class, and pointers to paid products and services. It does not show:

  • a course catalog or library of on-demand free classes,
  • pricing for any paid offering,
  • or login requirements for the free items.

So if you are looking for a large free curriculum, the evidence supports two newsletters plus one current free class—not a broad free course library. For anything beyond that, the Products + Services section is where paid options would sit.

Who this fits

These free resources suit writers who want ongoing industry reporting and author education without paying, and who are willing to trade an email address for access. The free class is a fit if you are working on memoir or personal narrative and want to explore the fiction route. If you need structured, in-depth instruction, the free items are a starting point rather than a substitute for the paid services the site also advertises.