Book Stats, an annual survey compiled by two book publishing trade groups, recently reported that e-books now account for 20% of publishers’ revenues. E-book sales of fiction rose 42% over the previous year; nonfiction 22% and children’s and young adult e-book sales rose a whopping 117 %, which amounts to $469.2 million dollars.
The publishing industry is making books available in more formats than every before. Print formats are decreasing in sales and popularity; e-books and downloadable audiobooks, on the other hand, are booming. Downloadable audio books had a 22% increase in revenue in 2012 compared to 2011.
This trend also affects book stores. Revenue from online sellers, like Amazon, has increased 21%; retail store sales have dropped 7% in the reported year.
I was especially interested in the increase of e-books for children and young adults. My four-year old granddaughter recently showed me the book she was reading on her mom’s I PAD. It was a Curious George book that had been formatted to fit the screen. I do know that she is also “reading” print books. Perhaps this is the happy medium we should keep in mind.