Self-Publishing News You Can Use — September 2016

Wow! What an August! Let us take a look at some of the larger developments affecting self-published authors in the last month.

Item: Barnes & Noble has announced that five new concept stores will open between Sept 2016 and March 2017. There will be locations opening in Legacy West, TX, Eastchester, NY, at the Edina Galleria in Edina, MN, at the Palladio in Folsom, CA, and at One Loudoun in Ashburn, VA.

The Announcement

“The bookstore chain said that it would open new concept stores in fiscal 2017 that will feature bars offering wine and beer, along with better food, in cafés twice the size of its usual food spots. The new stores will have amenities like a fire pit and bocce court. The strategy comes as the 640-location bookseller looks to revive sales growth.”

The Facts

• The new concept stores will have much smaller book sections, but will focus a great deal on attracting more foot traffic.
• If these first few bookstores do well, then B&N will plan to roll out more bar/restaurant stores.
• There will be a three season patio in the stores to encourage customers to stay and drink and shop.
• The new concept stores will have the added benefit of more space for events. Right now, B&N hosts just over 100,000 events a year.

Potential Results

Barnes and Noble’s entire goal with these new stores is to draw a much larger number of customers and keep them there longer. Events, signings and higher foot traffic will benefit local authors looking for more exposure. The liquor license and restaurant portion of these new concept stores may increase the number of browsers and time spent browsing which may potentially increase the number of sales of less well-known authors.

Item: The Pew Foundation releases a large amount of very helpful data on American book readers. This study goes a long way to help publishers understand what is happening with American readers and their habits.

The Announcement

“A growing share of Americans are reading e-books on tablets and smartphones rather than dedicated e-readers, but print books remain much more popular than books in digital formats” – The Pew Foundation

The Facts

• 73% of Americans have read a book in the last year. This number is practically unchanged in the last 4 years.
• Fully 65% of Americans have read a print book in the last year
• That is more than double the share that has read an e-book (28%)
• Those readers are more than four times the share that has consumed book content via audio book (14%).
• Americans read an average (mean) of 12 books per year, while the typical (median) American has read 4 books in the last 12 months. Each of these figures is largely unchanged since 2011
• Female readers still outpace male readers (see chart)

The Result

For a deeper understanding of the results, click HERE. The amount of readers who will read from a print book may have remained virtually unchanged, but the age of the readers who read on tablets or phones is growing in the below 50 age group. If your main demographic is below 50, keep the growing ebook and phone/tablet in mind when promoting your ongoing publishing programs.

Item: Five of the top ten titles on the USA TODAY iBooks Bestseller list were self-published, including top-slotted Just Friends by Billy Taylor and Vi Keeland’s Bossman at #2., Self-published Obsession by Helen Hardt came in at #4.

The List

Rank, Book Title by Author Name, ISBN, Publisher

1. Just Friends by Billy Taylor – 9781530511518 – (Billy Taylor)
2. Bossman by Vi Keeland – 9781942215455 – (C. Scott Publishing Corp.)
3. The Black Widow by Daniel Silva – 9780062320247 – (Harper)
4. Obsession by Helen Hardt – 9781943893188 – (Waterhouse Press)
5. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins – 9780698185395 – (Penguin Publishing Group)
6. Hitched, Volume 2 by Kendall Ryan – No ISBN Available – (Kendall Ryan)
7. Craving by Helen Hardt – 9781943893171 – (Waterhouse Press)
8. First Comes Love by Emily Giffin – 9780345546937 – (Random House Publishing Group)
9. Before the Fall by Noah Hawley – 9781455561803 – (Grand Central Publishing)
10. Foreign Agent by Brad Thor – 9781476789378 – (Atria/Emily Bestler Books)
11. The Games by James Patterson – 9780316290197 – (Little, Brown and Company)
12. The Girls by Emma Cline – 9780812998610 – (Random House Publishing Group)
13. Die Again by Tess Gerritsen – 9780345543868 – (Random House Publishing Group)
14. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes – 9781101606377 – (Penguin Publishing Group)
15. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – Parts One and Two (Special Rehearsal Edition) by J.K. Rowling – 9781781107041 – (Pottermore)
16. Hitched, Volume 1 by Kendall Ryan – No ISBN Available – (Kendall Ryan)
17. Magic by Danielle Steel – 9781101885574 – (Random House Publishing Group)
18. After You by Jojo Moyes – 9780698152045 – (Penguin Publishing Group)
19. Hitched, Volume 3 by Kendall Ryan – No ISBN Available – (Kendall Ryan)
20. Going Down Easy by Carly Phillips – 9781942288077 – (CP Publishing)

The Results

7 of the 20 iBooks on the bestseller list were self-published, but some eBooks don’t have ISBNs available. Tracking of eBooks will continue to grow over the next few years. Assigning ISBNs to your eBooks is important if you want your book’s sales to be tracked.

Hope you found this wrap up of the recent news helpful. Please comment below if you have any questions or we can be of help in any way!