Global Print Book Trends

 

The United States print book sales are flat from a year ago. Actually, they were down 2% at the end of April. Globally, they are virtually unchanged. In 2022, the top 10 markets outside the US sold 614 million printed books. Same as 2021.  

But the details show some interesting things. India, the size of more than four United States (based on population), only registered 36.2 million print book sales. The US, in the same period, declined 6.5% to 788.7 million print book sales.  

On the bright side, Mexico was up a whopping 15.3% and Australia rose substantially, by 8.2%.  

Now, all of these sales numbers are according to Nielsen Book Data, which may capture 75-80% of all print book sales. They miss book sales that are sold outside of bookstores, Amazon, and big retailers, including those sold at events or by authors directly.  

If you are curious about the biggest print book markets outside of the US they are as follows: UK, Italy, Australia, Spain, Brazil, India, Mexico, Ireland, South Africa, and New Zealand. Why China, Germany, Russia, or Japan are not there, I am not sure.  

Worldwide, it looks like Colleen Hoover was the overall best-selling author. She was tops in Australia, Ireland, Brazil, New Zealand, and South Africa. She kicks butt in the U.S. ands was the top fiction author in India and the UK.  

In terms of format, children’s books and YA did the best in Australia and New Zealand, where 46% of all print sales in each country came from that category. In Mexico, 42% of print sales came from adult fiction, tops amongst the 10 countries. For adult fiction, Spain led with 33% of its print book sales coming from that category.  

So, what does this all mean? For today’s American author, maybe nothing. He or she struggles to sell over a few copies of their book in an over-saturated market. But, it is good to see what travels well. Authors make more money when their books get translated to other languages or when the English edition is sold overseas.  

Keep in mind, six out of seven book titles in the US are not traditionally published. These are self- or hybrid-published. Many of these books’ sales fly under the radar. So, who really knows how many books are ever sold? 

 

Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.3 million pageviews. With 4,400+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.