[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4cast #542: Ebooks vs print books

Wed May 17 10:30:11 EDT 2017

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OPLIN 4cast #542: Ebooks vs print books
May 17th, 2017

[image: ebook] A little more than three years ago, we posted a 4cast
<http://4cast.oplin.org/?p=4528> about speculation that ebook sales were
ready to start into a decline. Current sales data from publishers and
publisher associations seems to confirm that this decline is now real. Just
like three years ago, however, there are those who don't agree that ebooks
are in decline and also not much agreement about the reasons for any
possible decline. But of course, none of this should take precedence over
the preferences of your own patrons; as the saying goes, “your mileage may
vary.”
- The bad news about e-books
<http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/retailing/article/72563-the-bad-news-about-e-books.html>
(Publishers Weekly | Jim Milliot)  “Whatever the causes for the decrease in
e-book sales, the decline has resulted in something that many publishing
experts thought would never happen—unit sales of hardcovers overtook unit
sales of e-books. With hardcover units up 5% in 2016 over 2015, hardcover’s
188 million units sold topped that of e-books for the first time since
Borders closed in 2012, [Nielsen Book’s Jonathan] Stolper said.”
- Real books are back. E-book sales plunge nearly 20%
<http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/27/media/ebooks-sales-real-books/> (CNN Money
| Ivana Kottasová)  “‘The print format is appealing to many and publishers
are finding that some genres lend themselves more to print than others and
are using them to drive sales of print books,’ said Phil Stokes, head of
PwC’s entertainment and media division in the U.K. Stokes said that
children’s book have always been more popular in print, for example, and
that many people prefer recipe books in hardback format. ‘Coloring books
were a big trend over the past few years… and giving a book as a gift is
far less impressive if you are giving a digital version,’ he added.”
- Despite what you heard, the e-book market never stopped growing
<http://observer.com/2017/01/author-earnings-overdrive-amazon-kindle-overdrive-digital-book-world/>
(Observer | Brady Dale)  “In back-to-back presentations from the data
site Author
Earnings <http://authorearnings.com/> and publishing tech firm Overdrive
<https://www.overdrive.com/>, it became clear that ‘unit sales’ may not be
the best way to measure the size of the book market. In more and more ways
it’s becoming clear that there are additional ways for writers to earn
money than by readers buying whole books or even buying books at all.”
- The state of ebooks 2017
<http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/Editorial/Feature/The-State-of-Ebooks-2017-115709.htm>
(EContent | Robert Springer)  “[Smashwords CEO Mark] Coker has many
predictions for the trends that will impact the industry in 2017 and
beyond. Print, despite its comeback over the past year or so due to the
adult coloring book fad, will continue to lose ground to ebooks, he says.
Publishers who continue to prioritize print over digital will do so at
their peril. Meanwhile, indie authors will continue to take market share
from traditional publishers. Indie ebooks now control ‘somewhere between
10% and 20% percent of the market,’ says Coker.”

*Articles from Ohio Web Library <http://ohioweblibrary.org>:*

   - Selling e-books in an evolving marketplace.
   <http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=114334965>
   (*Publishers Weekly*, 4/4/2016, p.4,6,13 | Calvin Reid)
   - Print sales stay hot.
   <http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=120625693>
   (*Publishers Weekly*, 1/9/2017, p.4 | Jonathan Segura)
   - Happy Holidays for indies in 2016.
   <http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=120625695>
   (*Publishers Weekly*, 1/9/2017, p.6,10 | Judith Rosen, Claire Kirch,
   Edward Nawotka and Anisse Gross)

------------------------------
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