Through the first three quarters of 2022, NPD BookScan reports that US print book sales are 5 percent down compared to 2021, which is still the best performance for the book business in years. (It’s 14 percent above pre-pandemic buying levels.) Adult fiction, romance, graphic novels, and fantasy are performing particularly well. Adult nonfiction and children’s print books each declined 9 percent.
Colleen Hoover’s most recent book, It Starts with Us, sold more than 800,000 units in the US upon launch on October 18, according to the publisher. That includes pre-orders and sales across all formats (print, ebook, audiobook). Atria printed 2.5 million copies and said the book was the most pre-ordered novel in Simon & Schuster history.
Other new releases in October performing well right now include Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: The Illustrated Edition by J.K. Rowling; Long Shadows by David Baldacci; Lore Olympus: Volume Three by Rachel Smythe; Confidence Man by Maggie Haberman; and The Maze by Nelson DeMille.
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.
