New Stats and Predictions in the Ebook World

According to the Association of American Publishers, net sales revenue for adult mass market paperbacks dropped by 54% in September 2011 compared with sales in September 2010. Wow! Also, adult hardcover sales dropped by 18% while ebook sales doubled over the same period last year. The only print category listed that showed a small increase was children’s and young adult hardcovers, however their paperback counterparts were down by 14.6%. It’s quite likely that the poor economy has a lot to do with lower sales, aside from the growing popularity of ebooks.

I’ve sold books at four craft fairs over the past month, which has been a new and enlightening experience. Veteran craft fair sellers claimed that sales overall are down by about 30% this year. Still, there are plenty of people buying print books, especially as gifts. Only two people out of the many dozens I’ve chatted with asked if my books were available on Kindle. Ebooks are growing, but they haven’t taken over the world yet. I still believe that print will always have its place, albeit a more modest one. To see more of the chart provided go to http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/mass-market-paperback-sales-down-54_b43204

Based on a study conducted by UK-based Juniper Research, this year’s $3.2 billion in worldwide ebook revenue will triple to about $10 billion by 2016. The study suggests that bookstores which don’t move with the times and learn to combine digital and physical bookselling, won’t be around much longer. The study predicted that 30% of ebooks will be purchased on tablets, 15% on Smartphones, and 55% on ereaders. Pricing will be problematic for traditional publishers, the report states. Actually, it already is, as traditional publishers attempt to compete with self-published work offered for free and very low prices. To read more, go to http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2011/research-e-books-at-10-billion-bookstores-under-pressure-in-2016/

THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, now available for iphones, iPads, and iPodTouch at http://bit.ly/nZLlS8. Also available in paperback at http://tinyurl.com/30dlx64
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n