Book industry news ain't all bad
In the February issue of Romance Writers Report (the magazine of the Romance Writers of America), I read a very interesting and encouraging tidbit:
"According to Nielsen Bookscan, fantasy mass market paperbacks sold 102,660 units the week of December 8, 2008. The previous year, in the 49th week of 2007, fantasy mass market paperbacks sold 62,761 units. Romance, always the industry leader in mass market paperbacks, sold 202,667 units for the 49th week in 2007 and for the same week in 2008: 310,689. So, despite cutbacks in the publishing industry, book sales are encouraging."
I like those numbers. It tells me that the economy affects a lot of things, but readers will have their books. I know I haven't cut back. In the face of what I read on CNN.com, a visit with my favorite authors' characters is just what I need. Books are the perfect getaway, and at $7.99 for most paperbacks, one heck of a bargain.
BTW -- For any of you unfamiliar with the terminology, a "mass market paperback" is what my books are -- a regular sized paperback. "Trade paperbacks" are the slightly oversized ones. And for any of you unfamiliar with Nielsen Bookscan, it's a service that tallies retail sales from chains like Barnes & Noble and Borders, from Amazon.com, and from stores like Costco. It captures about 70 percent of sales for a typical hardcover book. My agent sends me a weekly Bookscan report on my books. I love it. Actually, I'm kinda addicted to getting my weekly numbers fix. ; )
Lisa
"According to Nielsen Bookscan, fantasy mass market paperbacks sold 102,660 units the week of December 8, 2008. The previous year, in the 49th week of 2007, fantasy mass market paperbacks sold 62,761 units. Romance, always the industry leader in mass market paperbacks, sold 202,667 units for the 49th week in 2007 and for the same week in 2008: 310,689. So, despite cutbacks in the publishing industry, book sales are encouraging."
I like those numbers. It tells me that the economy affects a lot of things, but readers will have their books. I know I haven't cut back. In the face of what I read on CNN.com, a visit with my favorite authors' characters is just what I need. Books are the perfect getaway, and at $7.99 for most paperbacks, one heck of a bargain.
BTW -- For any of you unfamiliar with the terminology, a "mass market paperback" is what my books are -- a regular sized paperback. "Trade paperbacks" are the slightly oversized ones. And for any of you unfamiliar with Nielsen Bookscan, it's a service that tallies retail sales from chains like Barnes & Noble and Borders, from Amazon.com, and from stores like Costco. It captures about 70 percent of sales for a typical hardcover book. My agent sends me a weekly Bookscan report on my books. I love it. Actually, I'm kinda addicted to getting my weekly numbers fix. ; )
Lisa
posted by Lisa Shearin at
6:53 AM
4 Comments:
Wow, am I reading it right? Fantasy mass market paperbacks nearly doubled after 1 year?! I wonder what it was in 2006 and what it will be in 2009...
I know that I am one to have my books, no matter what :)
cecilia
Yay! I will always buy books; I'm glad to know that other people still want to buy them too! That makes me feel a lot better considering some of the stuff I've been reading lately about the publishing industry. (Lately I came across an article in the NYT about how more and more authors are having to self-publish, which made me despair.)
Me too, Cecilia. Can't do without books. ; )
Hi Otto, that's why I posted the news clip. I knew a lot of you are aspiring authors and I wanted to let you know that people are still buying books. Keep the faith, folks! : )
speaking as a book addict, NOTHING can keep me from buying new books. if the whole publishing industry crashed and burned, I'd found the revival. Or write my own.
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