Bookcasing the Place
The Penguin Random House case shed some much-needed light on the trad publishing industry (and the industry as a whole), things I think they didn't want people to learn. Things like:
Only ~35% of books turn a profit, and the top 4% of profitable titles earn 60% of profits.
Which means that 65% of books fail to turn a profit. And that's trad we're talking about, here. What is means in practical terms is that trad publishers are going all-in on what few stars they actually have, and everybody else is left twisting.
While the number of nonreaders (17%) has always been pretty stable over the past decade or so, the number of books readers read has declined -- which means that the people who're actually reading books are reading fewer than they used to.
In practical terms, it means there's a wealth of choices for readers, and only a bit more than a third of the trad writers out there have profitable titles. Writers are screwed, basically.
Pre-Internet, pre-cable TV, pre-streaming services, books held a place as a viable form of entertainment. Nowadays, they're an afterthought.
Not sure what the trad industry is going to do once all the profitable workhorses die off. There will be nobody of sufficient stature to replace them.
Only ~35% of books turn a profit, and the top 4% of profitable titles earn 60% of profits.
Which means that 65% of books fail to turn a profit. And that's trad we're talking about, here. What is means in practical terms is that trad publishers are going all-in on what few stars they actually have, and everybody else is left twisting.
While the number of nonreaders (17%) has always been pretty stable over the past decade or so, the number of books readers read has declined -- which means that the people who're actually reading books are reading fewer than they used to.
In practical terms, it means there's a wealth of choices for readers, and only a bit more than a third of the trad writers out there have profitable titles. Writers are screwed, basically.
Pre-Internet, pre-cable TV, pre-streaming services, books held a place as a viable form of entertainment. Nowadays, they're an afterthought.
Not sure what the trad industry is going to do once all the profitable workhorses die off. There will be nobody of sufficient stature to replace them.
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