So far for 2024, print book sales are down by 1.7 percent versus 2023, according to Circana BookScan. As usual, fiction is performing better than nonfiction.
Worldwide sales for the largest US publishers were all up by double digits in 2023 versus 2019. Yet anecdotally agents say it’s a “difficult” market, and publishers are exhibiting high risk aversion. Why? A brief analysis by Publishers Weekly (subscription required) blames increased costs—manufacturing and salaries—as well as Amazon drawing down on orders as the pandemic waned.
Meanwhile, Canadian publisher Ken Whyte takes a closer look at the latest BookNet sales report. Sales patterns are similar to what’s happening in the US: Romance and fantasy are booming, as are comics and graphic novels. (The audiobook sales difference he mentions can likely be explained by the lack of Audible numbers in the reporting data.)
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.
