The publishing world is still scratching its head. No, not over questions about e-book pricing, bookstore sustainability, or whether to hold a Book Expo party.
Publishers, literary agents, authors, and consumer have not quite seen a year like 2012 when it comes to the best-selling books. According to Nielsen Bookscan, which is believed to account for 75% of all print book sales, you had a year in which:
· The top three spots went to one author, Fifty Shades of Grey’s EL James, based on a book that had had previously been self-published.
· The next three spots went to one author, The Hunger Games’ Suzanne Collins.
· Two of the top 11 spots were held by Bill O’Reilly.
· Superstar JK Rowling only hit spot No. 18 with The Casual Vacancy.
· Of the top 20-selling books for 2012, half came from just two people: James and Collins.
One of the reasons for the lopsidedness is the publishing format and distributor of these books. Nielsen does not track every sale of print books and it doesn’t track e-books or audiobook downloads. Further, some books are only created as ebook-only or print-only. Some books are sold by Amazon but not B&N – and vice versa. But however you slice things up, it is amazing how the serialization of authors is growing. Readers have brand loyalty when it comes to books.
Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter. 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 2013 ©
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.