Book World Is Strong Despite Shrinking Print Sales

According to Bookscan, which is believed to capture 75-80 percent of all book sales, the number of printed books sold last year dipped to under 800 million. In 2021, a record 840 million were registered.

However, when you factor in e=book and audiobook sales — or the fact that hundreds of millions of books are sold each year that Bookscan doesn’t register, such as from an event or direct sale from an author — the book world is quite healthy and conservatively moves about 1.5 billion book units annually.

However, printed books purchased in physical stores is still the key to success for many authors and publishers. Retailers displaying books means they are discoverable. The person reading a printed book in public further promotes the title. And as long as people value books and are willing to pay $20-$40 or more, we have a healthier bookconomy.

Printed book sales, to a degree, are the lifeblood for certain genres and formats. A children’s picture book really needs to be in paper form. So do coffee table books involving travel, cooking, beauty, photography, art, etc. Same with boxed gift sets.

I think print book sales will go up this year. It is an election year, with the Olympics, and busy news events that lead to books, such as the Israel wars, Trump trials, solar eclipse, etc.

Ideally, authors should be prepared to offer their book in as many formats and price points as possible, available through as many retail venues as possible. The book industry is healthy but there is still plenty of room for lots of growth.

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Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with 3.6 million page views, 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!

 

About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.8 million pageviews. With 4,900+ 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 director of publicity positions 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 hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, 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. His first published book was The Florida homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.