| Let's consider some of the "hard truths" about the | | | | Schuster is still American-owned. Every wonder why |
| publishing industry. | | | | more and more foreign authors are being published |
| If you're at all serious about publishing, whether | | | | by major "American" publishers? |
| self-publishing or not, you really need to be aware of | | | | Now that you know how many new titles are |
| some basic statistics about the industry. They aren't | | | | published and how many publishers are publishing |
| pretty and may tend to be discouraging. But would | | | | them, you might wonder how many are being sold? |
| you rather jump into these treacherous waters with | | | | That is a far more difficult question to answer |
| a head full of platitudes and myths...or with a | | | | reliably, since publishers are notorious for overstating |
| clear-eyed view of how things really are? | | | | actual book sales. However, we can turn again to |
| I think you are far better off understanding what's | | | | Bowker for some statistics: |
| really going on and what you, as an author and | | | | - 93% of ALL titles sell less than 1,000 copies |
| would-be self-publisher, are really up against. | | | | - Overall average sales for ALL titles is about 500 |
| So, without further belaboring the point, here goes. | | | | copies |
| Book publishing in the U.S. has exploded over the past | | | | - 7% of titles account for 87% of sales (mostly |
| few years. Here are the number of new | | | | from the big NY publishers) |
| English-language titles published per year in the U.S., as | | | | So, where are those books actually sold? If you |
| reported by R. R. Bowker (the keeper or U.S. ISBNs | | | | guessed mostly in bookstores, guess again. Here's |
| and publisher of Books-in-Print): | | | | the breakdown (the ranges are because it depends |
| - 195,000 titles in 2004 | | | | on what source you rely on): |
| - 295,000 in 2006 (a 51% increase in two years) | | | | - Chain bookstores account for 25-33% |
| - 411,000 in 2007 (a 39% increase in only one year) | | | | - Independent bookstores (including used book |
| In 2004, there were just under one million books in | | | | stores) account for 3-10% |
| print (new and backlist). Last year, there were almost | | | | - Online book retailers account for 21% (almost all |
| three million in print. Offset printing (the traditional | | | | Amazon.com) |
| method using the large roll- or sheet-fed printing | | | | That means 36-52% of all book sales come from |
| equipment that is cost-effective for larger print runs | | | | non-bookstore outlets. What's a non-bookstore |
| only) accounted for only about 1% of the 411,000 | | | | outlet? Gift shops, grocery stores, drug stores, "big |
| new titles printed in 2007; the rest were printed using | | | | box" stores (Wal-Mart, Costco, etc.), book clubs, |
| digital printing technology (print-on-demand) that is | | | | back-of-the-room sales, direct-to-consumer sales, and |
| only cost-effective for short print runs. | | | | on and on. The opportunities are limited only by your |
| Why do you suppose the number of new titles more | | | | imagination and marketing efforts. |
| than doubled in three years? Can you spell subsidy | | | | You can choose to self-publish and compete in the |
| publishing (in the guise of the plethora of | | | | bookstores for that 28-43% of the total market, |
| self-proclaimed "self-publishing companies")? | | | | which means you're competing against Random |
| Three decades ago, there were only 357 publishers | | | | House, Simon & Schuster et al who can afford |
| with books listed in Books-in-Print. Today, there are | | | | to buy those end-cap and front window display |
| only six major (New York) publishers, maybe 400 | | | | locations. Or you can choose to compete primarily in |
| mid-size publishers, and almost 100,000 small | | | | the online and non-bookstore markets that represent |
| publishers (which includes the large number of | | | | the remaining. |
| self-publishers). More than 10,000 new (mostly small) | | | | The choice is yours and should be driven by your |
| publishers go into business each year. Of course, | | | | detailed marketing plan for your book. You do have a |
| many of those small publishers fail every year, too, | | | | detailed marketing plan, right? Trying to sell books |
| but that's common in most businesses (lots of new | | | | without a marketing plan is like taking a long trip into |
| start-ups quickly fail). | | | | unknown territory without a map -- you might reach |
| The six major New York publishers are Random | | | | your destination but the odds are against you. |
| House, Penguin Putnam, HarperCollins, Holtzbrinck, | | | | If you don't really know where you're going, how will |
| Hachette (formerly Time Warner Books), and Simon | | | | you know when you get there? Or when you're way |
| & Schuster. Of those, only Simon & | | | | off course? |