Authoring: Book Numbers and Trends

According to Chip MacGregor, “We live in the golden age ofpublishing. Never have there been as many people getting published nor as manyreading as there are now.” I hear this everywhere. It’s a good time to be awriter; we just have to market a lot more." 

Who Sells Books?

Here are some key numbers on book sales today:

41% happen via ecommerce (e.g., Amazon)

22% come through chains (e.g., Lifeway)

8% mass merchandisers

3% independent book stores

Book trends

Readersare reading electronically. Among digital readers and dedicated readers (peoplewho read about 10 books/year) – 2 of 3 now own a digital reader of some kind.Kindle or Nook or iPad or laptop or phone.

Fictionhas grown. Before ebooks, non-fiction outsold fiction about 8 to 1. Cookbooks, money books, retirement books, diet books, theology books—that stuffcarried the day in sales. Now 79% of ebooks sold in this country are fiction. Andfiction is outselling non-fiction 4-to-1 on ebooks. So we have two big markets now. And that is good news for writers.