There are a few interesting and notable trends arising in the publishing industry. While many of these trends are salient modifications and advancements, others trace back to the origination of relationships with written and spoken language.
Over the past decade, there has been a roller-coaster for publishers, authors, and agents. Technology has revolutionized and ignited crucial trends shaping the business and art of our literary industry. This trend offers a futuristic glance and perceptions of what a publisher can expect. The biggest question here is how to prepare for growth in these changing conditions and why the industry can evolve and stay the same.
Below The 10 Trends In eBook Publishing
1. The popularity of eBooks:
Readers are adapting to screens, eBook readership made up about 1.1% of the US market back in 2008, and By 2012 that number had rocketed to 30%. We all know that the US is ahead of the world in terms of technology. And now the UK is also catching up the trend quickly. There is no doubt that in due course of time, e-books will surpass the print volume. While knowing where we are going as an industry is very important compared to when we are reaching there. The factual data available underestimates the value of the market. eBooks are cheaper than printed books, so the business should be on the verge of a turning point.
Why eBooks are much better than traditional books?
- A better reading experience. Change the font size as per your preference.
- e-books are cost-effective, much cheaper than printing books
- e-books are convenient, Can practically trial and purchase
- Option to choose e-books from the library collection
Top-selling categories for ebooks on Amazon
- Business and Money.
- Religion and Spirituality.
- Self Help.
- Biographies and Memoirs.
- Cookbooks, food, and vine.
Top profitable categories for ebook on Amazon.
- Romance/Erotica – $1.44 billion
- Crime/Mystery – $728.2 million
- Religious/Inspirational – $720 million
- Science Fiction/Fantasy – $590.2 million
- Horror – $79.6 million
2. AudioBooks – The Future Of Sales
Have you heard Alexa? An Amazon’s cloud-based voice service assistant or virtual assistant understands better what you mean, listens to you, and does things wonderfully. It is an excellent eBook reader too, Say hello and ask them to read your book. And it does with all the emotions.
Audiobooks are the future of publishing and intend to be fascinating technology. The takeover of Audible by Amazon marks the beginning, and we have already taken a step forward. It is a drastic change in the way we consume our books today. With the Amazon Echo – Alexa being the top-selling and the addition to Google Home, Many predict that audio will continue to grow steadily in popularity as people look forward to listening to audiobooks and podcasts. And it is 100% factual.
Kobo does add to the prediction with their inputs on various formats and applications. Says, In the coming year’s writers don’t just expand their market reach but also on their offerings by taking complete advantage of multiple formats and multiple sales platforms for selling their books. However, e-books will still dominate the market, but there will be other options too in the form of Audiobooks, Print on Demand which will continue to accelerate.
Audiobook sales rose nearly 25% between 2017 and 2018, With total sales reaching $1 billion.
The logic here is that it is time for publishers to chuck their socks as users prefer to consume different types of content. The trend of delivering content in various formats is going to pick up momentum over the coming years.
3. The sale of printed books and eBooks is shifting to the Internet.
Currently, more books are published online than sold on paper in bookstores. The reasons for this are again price, convenience, and choice of selection. We all love physical bookstores, but most of us shop online. It has impacted a dramatic implication on traditional publishers. Now a self-published author can also be included in the list because there is unlimited online shelf space.
4. Modernization of Publishing
Years ago, publishers used to control the printing presses, retail distribution channels, and even the skills required for professional publishing. It’s almost impossible for an author to publish his work, and literally without a publisher, he is nothing.
However, these days, printing presses, distribution networks, and knowledge of professional best practices are available to everyone free. Publishers are losing their monopoly and are no longer necessary to the process. It means there are two questions writers can ask in particular to publishers which are harmful to answer.
- What can a publisher do that authors can’t do by themselves?
- Does a publisher harm author’s ability to reach readers? To which the answer is often yes and far more dangerous to publishers.
- Self-publishers gain a competitive advantage.
There are numerous advantages to self-publishing.
- The quick turnaround time to get the book to market.
- Greater creative control as publishers resists publishing the same genre, which is already in line, no matter how good your work is.
- Lower expenditure compares to print.
- Your books never sell out.
- Better royalties.
The royalties are worth another consideration. Independent publishers receive royalties of 60-80% compared to 12-17% for traditional publishing. It means independent writers would make around $2 a book at a price tag of $2.99. For an equivalent amount, the book would have to cost a lot higher around, $10 to $15. It is not rocket science to understand that a consumer is buying the cheapest product. And with a lower price, the author can reach out to many more readers and generate furthermore sales with a higher profit share.
6. Book buyers are very price-conscious
Undoubtedly there are two advantages for an author to sell a book. The first is obvious money in the form of royalties. But the second one is the most valuable, that you gain a reader. It is more important because every reader is a potential fan, and each one of them is a potential buyer. These are people who buy everything you write and also act as your marketing team for free.
7. For many self-published authors, Printing is dead.
Physical bookstores are disappearing more often. They are essential only if you want to sell printed books, but for the self-published e-book, you don’t need to access them.
8. eBooks going globally
Many believe the market for English language books outside of the US will soon be larger than the market within the US. The demand is shooting up, and e-book retailers like Apple iBookstore, Amazon, Kobo are going globally.
9. Big publishing houses are getting into self-publishing platforms.
Many publishers are providing Author Solutions as a service to writers and generating revenue from it. It reveals how incredibly detached some big publishers are and simply trying to sell services to writers to make money. The basic principle is the money in the industry should always flow from the publisher to the author and never the other way around.
10. Self-Publishing – From a disappearing era of stigma, To outperform traditionally published writers.
Self-publishing used to be the last option. There was an embarrassment associated with it, and writers who became professionally published made fun of those who had taken the self-publishing route. Because of the tradition that followed by the industry, If you were good enough, the publisher likes to publish your work, and if you listen to what the publisher wanted in terms of genre options, etc., Then you would be successful. We are now seeing that trend fading away completely, and independent writers often advertise this fact as a badge of honour.
There will be a day in the future when more authors will strive to self-publish than to be traditionally publishing. We are shifting from an adamant culture of saying no and telling authors to present their work in a better way. Authors today can start working with 100 per cent confidence that, Their final piece of work will get published without any hassle.
Many bestseller lists now include self-published authors every week. That was very rare to see a year ago. You will see an increment in the next couple of years where more self-published authors are on the list than those who take the traditional route. If you look at the iBookstore today, six of the top ten are self-published books.
Final Conclusion
With these ten trends in mind, it is clear that a future is emerging that will benefit self-published writers. You can publish your work faster, smarter, and more profitably way at lower prices.
If you are a writer, acknowledge that you are in charge now. Now is the time to decide to become a published author. But remember, this opportunity and liberty come with a lot of responsibility. Readers want quality books. Hence, every writer needs to adopt all of the best practices that any major publisher would do upfront as making sure each book is well written, well-edited, has a great cover, best images, layout, etc.
And if you are a Publisher, then the good news is that not all authors want to become self-publishers because literally, it’s a lot of work, and the tricky part is that it becomes harder to add value. However, your chance remains. For the authors to do what they cannot or do not want to do by themselves. If you are a publisher, think carefully about the culture of saying no because every time you say no to an author, you are sending a wrong message that likely means they won’t come back to you if they are successful.
We are curious what do you think will be the future of Publication in the coming years?. Do you agree with our points or, We are too far away with our analysis? Let us know how you are feeling and help us predict the future as accurately as possible.