During the first quarter of 2022, NPD Books reports that adult fiction sales (in print format) are up by 7 percent, driven by—what else?—BookTok. Seven of the top 10 year-to-date overall bestsellers are adult fiction. By contrast, at this time last year there were only two adult fiction titles in the top 10.
NPD analyst Kristen McLean says the sales of 90 authors featured on BookTok are responsible for 73 percent of overall fiction growth this year. You can hear more from McLean on BookTok in a recent 15-minute NPD podcast. Backlist sales now comprise 70 percent of print sales as measured by BookScan; most BookTok sellers are backlist titles. McLean noted publishers should capitalize on opportunities to repackage backlist fiction for a new generation of readers.
Other notes of interest:
- Across all categories, the US print book market is down 6 percent against last year. Overall, the market continues to have the best year on record after 2021.
- A new report out from NPD Books shows that business and economics books have reached a 10-year high, with a 4 percent compound annual growth rate. Popular topics right now include entrepreneurship, revamping of human resources and organizational behavior, and expanding skill sets. Learn more.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
