The ebook promotion service BookBub sees more engagement in nonfiction categories, and nonfiction is now driving growth in the UK children’s market
As loyal readers of Hot Sheet know, in recent years nonfiction sales have either remained stable or grown across the industry, while adult fiction sales have been declining. At London Book Fair, two presentations during the Quantum conference touched on trends in nonfiction: one was from BookBub and the other was a conversation between Emma Swain, a documentary filmmaker who has worked for the BBC, and Alison Jones, a veteran of the publishing industry.
First, BookBub. Well known for its discount ebook deals, BookBub focused on their expansion and success with nonfiction categories. Wade Lucas, a BookBub international account manager, said that the company sees 23 percent higher click-through rates on nonfiction categories than the entire BookBub average. Biographies and memoirs are the largest category overall for the site, with interest driven by historical figures, classic celebrities, hidden lives of the elite, “escapes from danger,” and behind the scenes of an industry. The second largest category is history.
Some of the newer nonfiction categories that see high engagement on BookBub: Christian nonfiction; true crime (serial killers); science, which has twice the click-through rate when compared to BookBub averages; and of course politics and current events. In this last category, BookBub sees twice as many clicks on $3.99 than all other nonfiction (most BookBub deals are between 99 cents and $2.99), plus buyers are overall less sensitive to price in this category. Other strong categories include grammar and spelling guides, cooking (especially time- and money-saving recipes, as well as cooking for one and two), advice and how-to (saving time and money, positive psychology, mindfulness, life hacks), and business.
As a case study, Lucas pulled out a recent BookBub price promotion for The Aquariums of Pyongyang by Kang Chol-hwan and Pierre Rigoulot, categorized in biographies/memoirs. With the book now five years out from release, the publisher pushed a 99-pence promotion and saw a 497 percent increase in sales. The title made it into the Top 100 on Kindle and enjoyed a 50 percent increase in unit sales over the next two months when it was selling at full price.
The fact that everyone’s attention seems to be shifting to nonfiction (even in the audiobook sector—see our audiobook item in this issue) tends to beg the question: Why? Is it current events or the political situation? Swain and Jones discussed this question in part, and they theorized growth may be fueled in some measure by the paucity of expert-based content in social media—people want the truth and thus turn to nonfiction. (A nice thought, but no evidence was provided.) Jones also mentioned that, demographically, we’re living in a very interesting time. “There’s going to be enormous growth in the aging population. People are anxious about how fast and runaway technology is getting.” This leads to more books about fear of technology and finding meaning in your life without tech—for an audience that Jones referred to as the “worried well.”
There was also a brief mention of how well numbers do in the titles of nonfiction work. They help “boundary” the content. Jones guessed this is due to the paucity of time and giving readers the sense that something will be an efficient use of their time—or that they’ll get everything they need from a book without being overwhelmed.
Later in the week, a Nielsen representative presented on UK sales trends, noting that personal development continues to dominate in nonfiction and that growth in children’s general nonfiction is in the double digits. Hazel Kenyon from Nielsen said children’s general nonfiction (such as You Are Awesome by Matthew Syed) are essentially information books for children; they help children understand the world and themselves. Children’s poetry is also experiencing growth.
Bottom line: As Kenyon wrapped up her Nielsen presentation, she pointed to the words that are most common in the titles of books forthcoming in 2019: inspiration, calm, happy, and mindfulness. But there was another topic as popular as these: plastics on the planet. Kenyon said that, at Nielsen, they’ve tried to categorize nonfiction publishing in the industry in two ways: there are books that help you learn and understand the world, but then there are books that help you cope with and escape the world. (And some books are a little of both.) Expect the polarity—and the growth—to continue.
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.
