Bowker has just released book industry statistics and data for 2008, compiled from the Books-in-Print database. Data collected from US publishers show that the number of short-run “on-demand” books increased by 132% over 2007.
Says Kelly Gallagher, vice president of publisher services for New Providence, N.J.-based Bowker: “Our statistics for 2008 benchmark an historic development in the U.S. book publishing industry as we crossed a point last year in which On Demand and short-run books exceeded the number of traditional books entering the marketplace.”
Kelly goes on to note that this seems to be an indication that publishers are becoming smarter and more strategic. “If you look beyond the numbers, you begin to see that 2008 was a pivotal year that benchmarks the changing face of publishing.”
Indeed, while on-demand publishing through services like Outskirts Press experienced a triple digit growth for the second year in a row according to Bowker, traditional book publishing continues its slow decline. Based upon preliminary US publisher figures, title output from “traditional” publishers decreased by 3.2%. The largest categories showing declines were travel and fiction.
Outskirts Press and its authors are at the forefront of this exciting new trend in self-publishing as demonstrated by this title growth chart.
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