Nelson graduated from Yale in 1978 and Phillips AcademyinAndover in 1974.[5] She wrote about books and publishing at the New York Post, the New York Observer, Glamour magazine, and held editorial positions at Self, Inside.com, and Book Publishing Report.[2] Nelson married and had a child and is an advocate for respect for working mothers.[6] Nelson wrote:
One morning one of the stay-at-home mothers referred to herself, quite pointedly, as a full-time mom. Those three words made my blood boil. I've been a mother every second of every day for the past ten and a half years. -- Sara Nelson in 2006[6]
Nelson, based on a New Year's plan, embarked on a project to read one book each week and write about it, and the effort morphed into a book entitled So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading which was published by Putnam in 2003.[7] While her initial book–a–week plan fell apart almost immediately, according to New York Times book reviewer Ihsan Taylor, the effort was fruitful since the book was seen as a commentary on the "nature of reading itself."[8] Nelson's future employer, Publishers Weekly, reported that her book revealed her "infectious enthusiasm for literature in general."[9] Writer Augusten Burroughs said Nelson's book was a "smart, witty, utterly original memoir about how every book becomes a part of us."[10]
Nelson became editor–in–chief of the trade magazine Publishers Weekly in January 2005.[11]New York Times reporter Edward Wyatt suggested that the top job at Publishers Weekly in 2005 involved facing "many challenges".[11] In her new position, Nelson added a new assessment for books called a "signature review".[12] She permitted greater variety in the length of reviews (typically 200 to 500 words long), considered bylines to reviews, and changes to the magazine's cover format.[11] Paid circulation dropped by 3,000 to 25,000 in the mid-2000s.[11] Nelson pushed for significant changes towards modernization, greater use of the Web, and more focus on analytical reporting.[11] Nelson speculated that the industry practice of printing too many books to "kind of create a buzz" and then having to ship books back from bookstores was inefficient.[13]
In 2008, Nelson commented on the intersection of political candidates, books, and television celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Obama.[14] Nelson was interviewed on National Public Radio on Winfrey's influence,[15] similar to that of radio personality Imus,[16] in the publishing arena.[17]
Nelson wrote about such industry topics as Twitter writers signing book deals,[18]Jonathan Littell's controversial 1,000 page Holocaust novel,[19] and realignments of publishing firms.[20] She commented on trends in changing technology, such as the coming of digital books such as Amazon's Kindle.[1] Nelson commented in 2010 that there were more instances of publishers picking up a self-published book, although such success stories are still rare.[21] "Publishers are taking self-published books more seriously," she said.[21]
In 2009, Nelson was dismissed from Publishers Weekly. She said:
I feel like it was a great run and I am very proud of the changes that my staff and I have made. I am sorry that the magazine and I are parting ways.--Sara Nelson[2]
The action was widely covered in prominent newspapers.[22] There was considerable reaction by readers as well. One reader wrote: "Sara Nelson turned Publishers Weekly around!"[2] Another wrote that "Sara Nelson pulled Publishers Weekly into the 21st century with grace, verve, and panache. And I've never met such a loud cheerleader for books and for the book publishing industry."[2]
In September 2009, Nelson was appointed book editor at Oprah'sO Magazine.[23] She continued to comment in the media about new forces in publishing such as the new quarterly literary magazine called Electric Literature.[24] Nelson appeared with Harry SmithofCBS NewsonThe Early Show.[25] She's also served as moderator for events sponsored by the LA Times Festival of Books.[26]