E-Books Take Over Publishing Industry

The book industry is a very large and complex business. Annual sales in the publishing industry top $35 billion. Depending on your source, it is reported that eBooks account for 7 to 8 percent of this amount or $2.6 billion in sales. Some sources predict this percent to climb to 25% by the end of 2012. That will represent $8.75 billion in sales. This seems to be a very reasonable prediction when you consider eBook sales are rising at a rate of 176% or more. At the same time print books sales are dropping by as much as 20%.

In July of 2010 Amazon.com announced that during their first quarter they sold 143 eBooks for every 100 hardcover books sold. In May 2011, just four years after its launch of the Kindle, Amazon.com announced it was selling more eBooks than print books.

Sales of reading devices have also climbed at a steady rate, up over 300% from one year ago. This is in part due to the popularity of eBooks, but also the drop in prices. A Kindle originally sold for as much as $259. It was just announced there is a new Kindle edition available for $79. With lowering prices, millions of books to choose from, and the cost of an eBook being lower than its print counterpart, the stage seems set for a dramatic turn from print to electronic format.

With this new market has come a new industry. Dozens of eBook distributors and service companies have sprung up. Dozens of websites now cater to the independent publisher. Sites such as Smashwords.com help authors self-publish their books and then distribute them to companies such as Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and Diesel. Other sites, such as Steel Diamonds Publishing offer authors assistance with formatting, cover art work and marketing tips. The eBook industry is changing and developing rapidly. Some growing pains and adjustments should be expected along the way, but eBooks have caught on and seem to be on their way to dominating the industry. Even if they do not push print books off the market, the lower cost of an eBook will have a very real effect on the pricing and marketing of their print counterparts. it will be very interesting to see how the industry shapes up and moves forward in the years to come.