Rudy Shur is one of the country’s finest independent publishers. He knows the publishing industry, and when he comments, people listen. Whenever I see his name on a column or program, I know the perspectives he’ll provide will be full of common sense, and often with a take that is a little different from the prevailing hoopla. As this year’s BEA just closed, his comments on where will we find our future readers are all the more apropos. ~CHU
From Publishers Weekly:
The Light At the End of The Publishing Tunnel? On Finding Fans, Not Formats
The question isn’t which format the reader will choose, but if there will be readers in the first place.
By Rudy Shur
While the English-language edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows sold 44 million copies over three years, the video game Bad Company 2 sold more than five million units in one month. Facebook, with its 116 million U.S. users, draws people in for an average of more than seven hours each month. And while watching videos on TV and the Internet accounted for only nine hours of Americans’ time per month, they more than made up for it by watching TV 84 hours monthly.
For years, I’ve thought that those publishers most affected by the e-book evolution would be the big six that dominate bestseller lists. Judging from the latest reports, it seems that while their hardback sales have declined, their revenue from e-books has taken a dramatic upward jump. As an independent publisher, I have not been greatly affected by the digital changes taking place. I do sell e-books, but most of my niche titles still sell as paper books.
Posted by carolynhayesuber
