Barnes
& Noble got slammed by Wall Street this past week for lackluster profit
reports. Amazon, by contrast, keeps going up, even though it’s been
barely profitable of late - and often not profit-producing at all. So how
is the book market really doing?
It
appears to be in a temporary slump, but there’s reason not to panic.
Recent
findings show e-book sales have dropped. So have B&N book sales. But
there are bigger signs of trouble. More consolidation is taking place.
Tarcher and Perigee are morphing into one. Perseus announced it’s looking
for bidders.
B&N,
up 7% for the year until it fell 22% in a single day, rebounded upward 8% the
day after the huge drop. Down for the year, the nation’s largest
bookstore chain with 647 stores (even after closing 13 this past year) is
letting its new CEO find his way. He only started a few weeks ago.
B&N
continues to see big declines in Nook revenues. They have been seeing
huge drops, quarter after quarter, with its digital device and e-content.
Sales fell 22% digitally. However, not all was tragic. Essentially,
retail and sales declined just 1.7% from a year ago, and for stores open at
least a year, earnings were up 1.1%. They sky isn’t falling.
Still,
you have to wonder why B&N can’t do better. Last year, if I recall
correctly, the book industry saw just one book top one million sales. By August
of this year it already had three top that mark - Dr. Seuss, another Grey
installment, and the follow-up for To Kill A Mockingbird. When you get books
that bring people into your stores, that’s your chance to impress them with
additional offerings.
Authors
should not read doom and gloom when they see Wall Street overreact. There is
cause for concern, but heck, there’s been such a concern for nearly a decade.
Author and publishers need to stick to the basics - produce quality books
that people need or want, at a fair price, that are easily available by shelf or
click, and that get promoted and marketed properly. That’s it - the
formula to succeed as a writer.
Ok, so
there’s more to it than that, mainly details. But look, publishers need
to give their books the best possible chance to succeed. They must make
the time and resources available to promote their titles and to encourage and
train their authors how to assert themselves in a marketplace that is
fragmented and diverse - but nevertheless available and obtainable. The
population at large needs to see the bookstore as a destination, not just a
showcase or pick-up point to get what it came for. By stores holding more
events we will see all booksellers rise and put Wall Street worries to rest.
DON'T MISS THESE POSTS
Book sales are rising – led by audio books
How to connect your book to the news
Here’s an interview with Thrillerfest Exec. Dir. Kim howe
Explore a guided tour through the English language
Get The Writer’s Legal Guide – Very Helpful
Don’t say this to the media when promoting your book
Free newswires can help promote books and author brands
What Should Be Book Publishing’s Slogan?
19 Digital Tools To Assist Authors
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
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.