Publishing Industry Market Insider Update; Vol. 1, Issue 1
Welcome to what we hope will be the first of a series of monthly newsletters providing a brief update of the current state of the book publishing industry. We’ll compile news and data relating to the bookselling business in the United States (with perhaps some international and global news from time to time), and pass along a summary of the highlights…and probably some lowlights.
Feel free to share with your friends, colleagues, or anyone else who might care.
So, here we go….
COVID-19…2020…Hut, Hut.
Well, after a month or so of relative panic—we’re looking at you March and April 2020—a funny thing happened on the way to the summer…book sales came roaring back. Despite nearly every brick and mortar bookstore in the country (and around the world) being shuttered for months (and many still are), Amazon delaying “non-essential” shipments for weeks (remember “where’s the toilet paper?!”), and countless other shocks to the retail system, the book business not only survived but grew!
2019 was a strong year for the publishing industry, with total units sold up 1.1% over 2018, and revenues up even higher (2% over 2018 figures). Despite a global pandemic that continues to adversely impact retail sales of every sort, the first half of 2020—a period of our lives that none of us will soon forget—turned in an astonishing 2.8% increase in print books sales over that same period in what we all felt was a pretty darn good 2019 (322.1 million units up from 315.5 according to NPD BookScan). And these are just print sales! From all reports, audiobooks and ebooks understandably and expectedly blew up.
WOW!
Fiction (with the biggest jump in Juvenile), education, and hobbies/activities categories led the way. While business and adult non-fiction lagged, there are some political books that have rolled out this summer that have continued to put up huge numbers–love him or hate him, our 45th President is great for book sales. Thanks largely to Mary L. Trump’s book, unit sales of all print books were up nearly 14% for the week ended July 18, 2020, over the week ended July 11, 2020.
Overall, most of us who make a living off book sales are pleasantly surprised, if not elated.
There are a number of hurdles left for the industry. The brick and mortar segment was struggling before this Coronavirus nonsense. We’ve got a lot of independent stores that are going to struggle mightily coming back from all this – many won’t survive, and the few sizable chains left will likely have to make some painful cuts in staff and locations. But as we mentioned a few months ago in our free e-course, with so much of the business being online these days – obviously Amazon accounting for the lion’s share (we probably need a more dominant animal for that idiom) – the book distribution business is going to be just fine in the aggregate.
What does that mean for you, the author? It means, keep writing. Not only does the hurting world need quality messages that keep them moving forward during a worldwide pandemic, but readers are also paying attention and looking for them. Words continue to give language to people searching for answers, and books are still a trusted outlet for education, entertainment, and escape.
One day we will all emerge from this twilight zone of COVID. If there is a way for authors and creative minds to write valuable, impactful content during a season where much is canceled and put on hold, these messages will burst onto a landscape of readers reborn after enduring a long winter of stay-at-home and shelter-in-place. There too, words and books will sharpen and shape a culture re-emerging, like groundhogs inviting the arrival of another spring.
In light of this good news, how are you making the most of this unique season, whether it's improving your writing craft, finding new inspiration, completing your manuscript, or promoting what you’ve already written? What are your current writing goals? Feel free to share in the comments below. Don’t let COVID-19 be an excuse to not go after that next step in your publishing.
Did you know we offer one-on-one author coaching? Sometimes you need a little feedback and encouragement to get you unstuck in your writing journey. Consider booking a 30-or-60 minute consultation with one of our expert literary agents. We’ll give you customized advice specific to your journey, and answer any questions you might have. Learn more here.
