Thursday, April 16, 2009

Interesting Stats and Facts

I came across this website called selfpublishingresources.com and discovered a lot of interesting statistics and facts about the publishing industry. I've often wondered with this increasing fascination in all things electronic how long hard-copy books would survive in the market. I admit I am very skeptical that e-books could become so popular as to make hard-copy book sales rare or obsolete, but that's what I said about digital cameras and ipods. I'm not a huge fan of electronic books only because I think staring at a screen for hours is bad for your eyes, and you can't take your computer around like you can a good book. Part of me wonders if it's just the part of me that resists change (that was the reasoning for my dislike of digital photos...which I love now, btw). Still, it's a bit alarming to see facts like:
The largest growth area in publishing is currently eBooks. In January 2006, eBook sales jumped by over 50%.
About 20% of online sales are of titles not available in traditional brick-and-mortar stores. Projections are this figure will soon reach a third of all book sales.
I hope it doesn't become too difficult to find a good book to read on a shelf. I guess for now I can thank the older generations for keeping the old (but wonderful) publishing methods in full swing.
Half of all books sold today are to people over the age of 45. Thank you Boomers!
Yes, thank you from all of us who hate the thought of curling up by the fire with a bright little laptop. :o)

1 comment:

  1. I am equally against the idea of e-books. In my AWD class last semester I chose to research the Kindle. Part of the assignment was to do a survey of people to determine how well-received the product would be. Out of twelve people that I gave the survey to, only two voted in favor of using an e-book device, and they were both college students who had entertained the idea of possibly saving themselves hundreds of dollars spent on textbooks each semester by downloading them onto a little Kindle. The majority definitely ruled in favor of the good old fashioned printed page though. When it came down to it, most people were completely attached to the idea of curling up with a book that they could actually hold in their hands.

    Here's to hoping that while technology may continue to increase the availability of convenient reading to the world, that the tried-and-true publishing companies will continue to fulfill the rest of us.

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