Monday, July 6, 2015

Catch Up On Post-Fireworks Book Publishing News

Ok, the long July 4th weekend has fried your brains and you haven’t been paying attention to the world/ But now it’s Monday and back to work – unless you are still milking some vacation days! You might need to catch up on important book publishing news but have little time to do so. Lucky from you I am happy to digest what you need to know.

Grey, the next book in the 50 Shades of Grey series by EL James, who has sold over 125 million copies of the mommy porn books, is No. 1 in the country for two weeks in a row since its release. It will be there until the July 14 release of Harper Lee’s 50-something year-old prequel, Go Set A Watchman.  Those two will battle it out for the top spot.

The number of book sold in the first half of 2015 increased from last year. Nielsen Book Scan said .3% more books were sold in the same time period from a year ago. Last year, compared to 2013, sales were up .6%. Nielsen believes it captures about 75 of all sales that take place. It recorded 286,000,000 books were sold from Jan 1 to June 30th this year. In terms of categories, board books showed the biggest increase – 10% -- and Audiobooks declined the most – by 17%. Hardcover was up a percent, trade paperback by 2%. Juvenile fiction, up 9%, was another hot genre to watch.

Apple lost its appeal before a federal court regarding the antitrust lawsuit and ebook pricing from a few years ago. This decision could cost Apple $400 million in refunds to consumers. But it might be a good way for consumer to reengage Apple if the refund is made by way of free or discounted ebooks.

Attendance at Book Expo’s Book Con was a hit – up 80% from a year ago. Floor space increased by 35%, but foot traffic outpaced that growth. Next year it will be held in Chicago for the first time, along with BookExpo, the annual industry trade show.

Mark down on your calendars Indie Bookstore Day, set for April 30, 2016. The ABA, along with the Northern California Independent Bookseller’s Association, sponsor the annual celebration in praise of small non-chain bookstores. Their survival is the key to the book industry.

Publishers Weekly reported recently about Gatekeeper Press, a startup self-publisher that allows authors to keep 100% of the royalty from sales. It is worth checking into.

The American Library Association has elected a new president – Julie Todaro. She begins in 2016. Libraries, like the Indie bookstores, are vital to the book industry.

Simon & Schuster announced it is partnering with Foli, a mobile content delivery service, to make free e-books available at 50 locations, including airports, museums, and hotels. 19 titles are currently available.

If you look at Smashwords’ self-published bestseller list, no book sells for more than $5.99. Some were at 99 cents and many were selling for just $2.99. Remember when people paid $25 for a hardcover book?

First Book is working with Target, JetBlue, and KPMG to hand out 60,000 free books to children in need. 10,000 copies of six different titles will be made available by the Washington DC literacy nonprofit group. The books, containing characters who are diverse and interacting under multicultural themes, will be made available to economically disadvantaged children and will also go on sale to 175,000 educators and other programs under the First Book e-commerce marketplace.

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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2015

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