A Look At the Book Industry

A Look At the Book Industry

Let's start by taking a realistic look at the current environment:

Studies show us that book sales have grown exponentially since 2020, especially the e-book and audio sectors which grew by 30%. So that is really good news. Writers, too, are publishing more frequently - stats show that between 1,000 and 6,000 new books are released in the English language every single day.

Sadly, for every 10 booklovers - only 2 of them are actually reading a book right now - due to:

• Budget constraints 

• Limited schedules

• Competition via free audio, streaming video, podcasts and online TV/movie alternatives (i.e. Prime & Netflix)

• Free e-books: Previously, authors giving away books as a "promotion" created a sector of readers who now do not want to pay for books. At one time this "free" promotion was seen as the thing to do, now experts don't recommend it. 

The best advice I could give others when it comes to struggling with all the data out on pricing books, running sales or hosting promotional events is this: 

• Offer your book as a free prize only for a particular event, one that has a deadline. 

• Offer it at a discount sales price, for a limited time - but not for free. *You don't ask your plumber to fix your sink for free just because you might call him again later on. 

• Set the retail price accordingly: The best price range for e-books is (US) $1.99 - 3.99 and $4.99 - 5.99 for nonfiction educational e-books. 

• Prices for sales, special discounts or coupons prices are $.99-1.99

The reality is that it can take 6-12 months of performing daily marketing activities for a new author to build an audience, or to get an audience for a new genre you are branching out into. 

Most authors burn out their finances, promotional activities, and direct contacts during the first 3-18 months of a book release. This is called the Honeymoon Period in the industry: When the joy-joy excitement runs out, exhaustion sets in and authors tend to give up. This is when they have to roll up their sleeves and dig into the tedious work ahead. 

Studies show that only 1 in 40,000 authors sell more than 1000 copies of their book, and most sell less than 100, due to not being prepared - they need to have the mind-set of an entrepreneur. A marketing plan should last for the life of each book - including new editions, rewrites, changing over to a new publisher and releasing in other formats or expanding into new venues like e-courses or webinars - as one does during the lifeline for each book. 

While online sales account for a majority of book sales, studies are showing that direct sales are increasing, although only a small number of those are through traditional book retail outlets. There are a large number of alternative platforms for readers too, some enjoy subscription books, others prefer vlogs or flipbooks or audio books or Vella. Also, contrary to popular thought - the age of a book seldom plays a role for a reader; the important thing is that the content is not out-dated. 

What this means is that the marketing efforts for each book lasts for its entire lifespan until it is no longer available to purchase. Therefore you need to learn to be tenacious and self-disciplined. Studies also show that we have to attract or intrigue that book-lover 7-15 times before they will reach in their pocket and buy a book, or put it in their wish list or to-be-read list. 

So the issue here is how to stand out among these billions of books like a purple snowflake in a snowstorm, attract those few active book readers, and to continue to do this over a long period of time. 

 

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