Tuesday, May 24
Books for lunch
The Publishers Lunch, reporting on an RR Bowker news release, says the total number of new books published last year increased 14 percent, to a new high of 195,000 titles. That's up from 135,000 titles only three years ago, though the latest increase is less than last year's 19 percent jump. But still. More books.
Bowker says that one catalyst for growth in 2004 was adult fiction -- hurrah! -- which jumped by 43 percent to 25,184 new titles. All of that increase and more came from the genres, as literary fiction actually declined -- boooo! -- 5.6 percent over 2003.
One hundred ninety five thousand -- thousand! -- titles. Not one of them by an author by the name of me. But still: that's a lot -- a freaking LOT -- of opportunity. Maybe the 2007 report (of 2006 results) will include one of my novels.
They went on to report that the 12 largest trade houses grew their lists by over 5 percent while a handful of the largest print on demand self-publishers accounted for approximately 20,000 titles on their own. So more books are being published, and more writers are becoming authors. That's good news for The Edge Of Nowhere's ambition to publish before he perishes.Bowker says that one catalyst for growth in 2004 was adult fiction -- hurrah! -- which jumped by 43 percent to 25,184 new titles. All of that increase and more came from the genres, as literary fiction actually declined -- boooo! -- 5.6 percent over 2003.
