Interesting Statistics About Book Publishing

Did you know:

• 70% of the books published by traditional publishers do not earn enough revenue to recover the advance money paid to the authors.  -- Jerrold Jenkin, 15 May 99.
  
  
• 70% of the books published by traditional publishers do not make a profit.  -- Jerrold Jenkins, 15 May 99.
  
  
• A larger publisher must sell 10,000 books to break even. -- Brian DeFiore, Maui Writers Conference
  
  
• The average royalty paid to authors by traditional publishers is only 10.7% of net.
    -- John Huenefeld. Publishing for Profit by Tom Woll, page 121.
  
  
• Books are displayed in bookstores for one selling season (four months). Books that do not sell are returned to the publishers for a refund. Data published in 2002 indicates that 37% of the books sent to stores were returned to the publishers for refunds. -- PennWell Corporation
  
  
• Some "full service" publishers charge $10 to $12 per copy for 200 copies of a 208 page book. Contracts to those publishers can range from a minimum of $1600 (for 100 copies of a book with relatively few pages) to about $3500 (for 200 copies of a book with lots of pages.) -- D & F. Scott Publishing
  
  
• Data published in 2002 indicates that of the $23.7 billion spent on books only $10.7 billion was spent in traditional bookstores. Non-traditional outlets sell more books ($13 billion worth annually!). -- Tami DePalma, Marketability
  
  
• In 2001, consumers purchased 1.6 billion books. -- 2001 Consumer Research Study on Book Purchasing by the Book Industry Study Group
  
  
• 64% of book buyers say that a book's presence on a bestseller list is not important in their buying decisions.  -- Publishers Weekly, May 12, 1997, page 13
  
  
• Data published in 2002 indicates that books were by far the best selling item on the Internet, and that 43% of online shoppers purchased at least one book. --Vertus Customer Focus, reported in Target Marketing
  
  
• In 1999 approximately 57 million books were sold online! --The Standard, October 23, 2000
  
  
• In 2004 approximately 195,000 new books were published in the United States. Though self-published books weren't tracked specifically, R.R. Bowker (U.S. ISBN Agency and authoritive source for title and publisher information) believes that between 50,000 and 60,000 of those new books (approximately 25% to 31%) were published by small publishers or self-publishers! -- Chris Kridler in Florida Today.
  
  
• Publishers Marketing Association thinks that as much as 78% of the new titles published come from the small publishers and self-publishers.
  
  
• In 2002, the retail price for soft cover books written for adult readers averaged $15.77. -- R.R. Bowker in Publishers weekly, June 2, 2003
  
  
• On the average, a book browser spends 8 seconds looking at the front cover and 15 seconds looking at the back cover. -- Para Publishing

We think each of these facts and figures makes some interesting points. Traditional publishers need to sell a lot of books to make business worth their time. And even with their vast resources and marketing channels the majority of the books they publish don't earn a profit.

On the other hand online book sales are growing and print-on-demand service from Red Pill Press helps keep your costs very low, which means you can sell your books at more reasonable prices and realize profits sooner.

Self-publishing can be far more profitable than traditional publishing methods, especially when you consider that the typical royality paid by traditional publishers is only 10.7% of the net! With the self-publishing services of Red Pill Press you're in complete control of your book. You control your costs and sales price, and thus your potential profit. Plus, your book is perpetually available -- it never goes out of print unless you want it to.

Another very interesting point is that a great cover design obviously helps books sell. Since studies show that buyers spend only about 8 seconds scanning the front cover and 15 seconds scanning the back cover, your cover design is crucial. You need an eye-catching design on the front to get their attention and an informative, enticing display on the back to encourage sales.

In summary, this is all makes a great justification for self-publishing through a partnership with Red Pill Press. With our print-on-demand service you get a great price on producing your books and with our professional designers you get a great cover to help increase sales. We help you get more value for your time and money.

Some of the statistics on this page were referenced from Para Publishing