More Book Publishing Stats

Where is the book publishing industry heading?  If Black Friday and Black Monday are any indication of things to come, it appears consumers are spending again and they are buying books and a ton of e-readers.  Below are some interesting statistics that provide a snapshot of the industry, as well as an interview with an author. Enjoy.

Excerpted from www.Selfpublishingresources.com:

“The New York Times reported that “According to a recent survey, 81 percent of people feel that they have a book in them.”

“From 8,000 to 11,000 new publishers enter the field every year; they are mostly self-publishers.”

“Some 300 to 400 mid-sized publishers exist.”

“78 percent of titles brought out come from a small press or self-publisher.”

“The average number of copies sold per title of a POD company that printed 10,000 different titles:  75 books.”

“Women buy 68 percent of all books sold.”

Excerpted from www.paidcontent.org:

“One positive story in a week of terrible economic news;  BookStats, a new annual statistical survey of raw sales revenue and unit data provided by nearly 2,000 publishers, shows a lot of bright spots for the U.S. book publishing industry.  Book sales are expanding, not shrinking.  Between 2008 and 2010, total revenues and sales units grew for the publishing industry as a whole, while e-book revenue for trade publishers increased by 1274 percent year on year.  And the data does not even account for the e-book sales surge in 2011.”

“E-books made up 6.4 percent of the trade book market in 2010 with a greater percentage expected in 2011.  That’s up from 0.6 percent of the trade market in 2008.”

“Publishers net unit sales for content sold online grew by 68.6 percent between 2008 and 2010.  Total net unit sales hit 276 million in 2010.”

“Overall net sales revenue for trade book publishers increased by 5.8 percent between 2008 and 2010, with revenue for 2010 hitting $13.94 billion.  Net unit sales increasing by 9.7 percent for the period and net unit sales increasing by 3.5 percent.”

Interview With Author Marissa Campbell

1.      Your new book is due out in January, called LIFE. What inspired you to write it? LIFE: Living in Fulfillment Every Day was a joint effort. I wrote it with my beautiful co-author Annemarie Greenwood. We are both registered yoga instructors and LIFE was inspired by our yoga students. When we talked about finding true happiness and lasting fulfillment in our classes many of our students expressed frustration with the self-help books on the market, saying that they didn't really answer their questions, or that the concepts were too esoteric. So we decided to write a book that would answer their questions, but in a really down to earth, accessible manner. And we did that by creating a story, a dialogue between Eve, an unfulfilled woman and Grace, an enlightened teacher. The two women spend a transformative day at the beach exploring the path to fulfillment.

2.      How do you hope people will react to your book and utilize what it offers? LIFE is unique. The book incorporates detailed explanations, visualization exercises and thorough descriptions that you will not find in other self-help books. And since they are all creatively presented as part of a story, they are literally as comfortable and relatable as two women talking. We have powerful concepts like the SOS alert, which helps you become more aware of the words you use every day and their impact on your life; and the Waffle Meter, which helps you determine which choices, thoughts, and actions propel you toward happiness and fulfillment and which ones pull you further away from what really matters most to you. Our hope is that everyone takes something away from the book that will propel them onto the path of living a life of happiness and fulfillment.

3.      What do you love most about being an author? I love that I can help people and that I can reach them with my words. It’s all about sharing an intimate connection with the reader.

4.      What advice do you have for fellow authors? 1)      Bum glue and perseverance! Keep your bottom glued to your chair; don’t give up! Follow your dream; believe in yourself, and keep writing! Always do what makes you happy; do what you love and you can’t help but succeed!  2)      Make it happen! If you have a great idea, write it down (see bum glue and perseverance), get it professionally edited then if a traditional publisher doesn’t pick it up—look into self-publishing. If you want it badly enough don’t take no for an answer. Make your own solutions! 

5.      Where do you see opportunities in the publishing marketplace? I firmly believe that if we want something badly enough we will put in the time, effort and sheer determination necessary to succeed. In essence we will it into being. And today’s marketplace offers unlimited potential to achieve our humble goals of publication; it is a wonderful time to be a writer! For example, if you decide to self-publish, essentially you have an opportunity to jump the middle man and connect directly to your readers! Whether it’s through eBooks or print books, self-publishing offers tremendous opportunities for writers. Though that being said, it’s not about slapping a bunch of words down and throwing it out into cyber space. If you want to be seen as professional, if you want your book to be taken seriously, you need to seek advice on craft and have it professional edited – and I don’t mean by well intentioned friends. Then you need to hire someone to promote your book. After all, no one is going to read it if they don’t know it exists!

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.