Only
6% of new releases sell at least 1,000 copies -- and 80% of self-published
titles sell fewer than 100 copies, according to Michael Castleman in his new book,
The Untold Story of Books: A Writer’s History of Book Publishing.
He
correctly notes that 7,400 new books are launched daily in America. That’s one
every 12 seconds.
He
also says that since World War II, women have bought two-thirds of all trade books,
including 75% of all novels sold. “Women read more than men in all categories
except history, sports, politics, automotive, military, and biography,” says
Castleman.
His
book helps provide a historical perspective of the book industry.
By
1800, America only had five million people, and 40% could read, while three
million, could not. Boston, with 30 booksellers, was America's biggest book town,
Philadelphia, with 50% more people and 16 booksellers was No. 2. And NYC, with
50% more people than Philadelphia and 13 booksellers, was a distant No. 3. But
by 1825, the Big Apple exploded into becoming the nation’s publishing capital.
Why? The Erie Canal.
Running
363 miles from the Hudson River to Lake Erie, the canal “provided the first
water way from the Atlantic to the Great Lakes, and dramatically reduced
shipping costs to America’s vast interior.”
By
1870, the book notes, there were 1,200 American publishers, enough to support
the creation of a trade magazine, Publishers Weekly, which debuted in
1872.
In
1880, book releases totaled 2,700. By 1914, with the population doubling in 34
years to 99 million, there were 12,010 new books. Average print runs per title
rose in 1885 from 1,000 to 1,500 in 1914.
By
1902, 92% of Americans were literate and a then-record 1,797 novels were
published.
From
1929 to 1933 during The Great Depression, new releases declined 21% and print
runs were cut in half.
In
1940, 11,328 new titles came out. Department stores like Macy’s sold half of
all trade books. Indie bookstores sold 25% and the rest were sold at drug
stores, stationery stores, and specialty shops.
In
1943, Time magazine reported that 300 million copies of books were sold.
In 1914, that number was 175 million.
Throughout
the 1950s, book sales spread. In the 1960s, they boomed, almost quadrupling
from the prior decade. In 1959, 14,876 books were published. That total doubled
a decade later to 29,579 published in 1969.
By
1980, 42,377 new titles came out.
Today,
with indie and self-published books, 60x the output of 1980 was released: 2.7
million titles last year. Publishing houses only account for about 400,000 of
these titles. During the entire 20th century, U.S publishers released an
estimated 2.5 million titles, but since the millennium, many new books appeared
every two years, then every year.
The
book believes book publishing has undergone three major phases, beginning with
Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of movable type, and lasting some 450 years
through the end of the 19th century. The 20th century saw some publishing and a
tiny fraction of authors getting richer than anyone previously thought possible.
Then around, 2000, the digital revolution, which made publishing available
beyond the traditional publishers, led to the democratization of books and an
explosion in book choice for consumers. More annual new releases and no books
going out of print as a result of e-books and print-on-demand technology make
for a crowded field.
“Before
Gutenberg, Europe housed fewer than 10,000 books,” writes Castleman.” But by
1500, after just sixty years of printing, the number exceeded 20 million
pamphlets and books, and by 1600, as printing spread around the world, 150
million… the printing press spurred literacy and fostered education. It enabled
mass communication, ending the political and religious elite's ‘monopoly on
information.’”
Castleman
shows that the 20th century was an aberration. Prior to it -- and since then- -
most books were published by the author. The 1900s saw the rise and expansion
of the mega-trade publisher, of which we now have the Big 5: Harper Collins,
Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group, and Macmillan
Publishers. But in the 2000s, traditional publishers were only responsible for
maybe 15 percent of all new titles released.
Publishing
will no doubt continue to change and hopefully prosper, but it is worth noting
that the Father of Book Printing, Gutenberg, went bankrupt. Though his
invention was hailed as a revolutionary game-changer, few people were literate
at the time. His Bibles cost so much that few could afford to buy or read them.
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has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah
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