Sales of print books continue to rise — let’s talk about why

Sales of print books continue to rise — let’s talk about why

Year over year print sales is up again. 6.4% compared to this time last year to be exact. There are several reasons for this upsurge, with culture impacting commerce the overarching theme.

Necessity is a strong influencer

With the pandemic continuing to keep much of society indoors and limiting the access to social and outdoor activities, we’ve been forced to do a couple of things. First, we need to fill our time at home. Reading is one way to fill this time and studies have shown that print book sales escalated in parallel to the start of the pandemic. (This is a generalization. It’s a bit more nuanced than my last sentence suggests. Read this article for more detail and clarity.)

But that necessity isn’t limited to our need to occupy time. We’ve also found ourselves in a position where we need to make sense of the world around us. That partially explains why the demand for racially-based non-fiction books and children's non-fiction books has risen. The awareness of how we exist in the world has been exacerbated by the racial justice movement and the pandemic. Books offer insights into how we can move forward.

People prefer physical books

If you knew what was happening with American printing houses, you’d be amazed that print books have continued to be this popular. Some have closed and others are in bankruptcy. Couple that with a supply chain problem that’s both struggling to comprehend and meet demands, it’s a wonder any books are being sold at all. Readers are being asked to wait up to a month to receive a book, depending on the distributor, and that’s caused publishers — big and small alike — high levels of distress and confusion when trying to manage print runs.

Despite this, third-quarter sales figures for print books have increased year-over-year. Young Adult and Juvenile Non-Fiction, in particular, have risen by 36.5% and 29.1% respectively. Even Young Adult Fiction has increased by over 18%. All figures are from NPD Bookscan.

What does this mean for authors?

Keep writing. I mentioned earlier that the situation is far more nuanced than I’m laying it out here. Many authors have found it difficult to operate in a virtual-only world where they aren’t able to connect with fans directly to promote their books. But in my opinion, connecting with readers has always been an author’s biggest problem. The pandemic may have amplified that, but even that isn’t as black and white as it may seem.

I’ve spoken to booksellers, agents and other authors who have thrived during this pandemic. And while my network is a minute scale, the overall sales numbers show a much more profound trend in the general popularity of books.

My suggestion for authors is to not approach this new environment as temporary. Find ways to permanently engage your audience online by using digital software and platforms that simultaneously allow for gathering an audience and selling your book. Your personal life aside, take this as an opportunity to connect with readers who are outside of your physical geography. Expand your conversations to audiences that may not even live in your country. If the pandemic has shown us anything it’s that we are far more connected than we think.

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Sales of print books continue to rise — let’s talk about why was originally published in C.R.Y on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.