Top Trends in Publishing

This research was done by Written Word Media which has over 800,000 subscribers CEO, Ricci Wolman.

1. The Majority of Fiction Sales will Come from eBooks
 70% of adult fiction sales were digital last year. It is likely that ebook readership will continue to grow. More eBook readers mean more eBook sales. This means that if you’re writing fiction, promoting your eBooks is a good place to focus in the coming year.

What this means for you: If you are a first-time fiction author, publishing your work as an ebook is an affordable and easy way to enter the market. If you are a published or self-published fiction author, continue to focus your time, resources, and budget on driving ebook sales.

2. Individual Independent Authors and Small Presses will Dominate
In last year's author's earnings report, we saw the Big Five’s market share continued to drop. Small presses, and indie authors, account for over 50% of the market share.  So be encouraged, that you don’t have to be published by one of the big fives anymore in order to have a national bestseller.

•    Hachette Book Group
•    Harper Collins
•    Macmillian
•    Penguin Random House
•    Simon & Schuster

What this means for you: Competition for indie authors is increasingly coming from other indie authors. Given that most indie authors price their titles at very reasonable or below, pricing alone is less effective at acquiring readers. Marketing your books and cultivating a loyal reader following is even more important.

3. Crowding will Result in Increased Competition
The life cycle of a book has changed with the introduction of digital listings. It used to be that once a book stopped selling (or if it never sold at all) it was removed from the shelves, no longer discoverable by readers. Since eBook retailers don’t have to limit their “shelf space”, books stay available and discoverable for much longer (potentially forever). This means that the competition only continues to rise as not only do new authors begin publishing, but the old ones continue to put out new books and republish their backlists.

What this means for you: If you have legacy titles (titles you have published in the past but are no longer focused on) consider re-invigorating them by investing in the cover, book description, and marketing resources. Understand that the more books you publish, the greater chance you have at taking a share of the ebook market. Take a holistic view of your marketing strategy by considering the impact of your marketing activities on your catalog as a whole, not solely on the title you are promoting at any given time.

4. Audiobooks will Gain in Popularity
The Pew Research Center reported an increase in audiobook listeners with 14% of survey respondents saying that they listened to books. Additionally, The Association of American Publishers reports that audio remains the fastest-growing format. This trend is driven by changes in how and where we listen to content. Joanna Penn of The Creative Penn weighed in on the effect of smart home speakers on content consumption:

 
Mark Lefebvre of Kobo Writing Life expanded his horizons to include other formats, not just audio, in his list of places where indies can expect to see growth:

"I think that this will be the year that authors are able to expand not only their market reach but their offerings, taking full advantage of multiple formats and multiple sales platforms for selling their books. eBooks will still be dominant, but there’ll likely be other opportunities in other formats – POD, audio – that will continue to grow, allowing authors not to be beholden to a single format or single retailer for the majority of their income."

       - Mark Lefebvre, Kobo Writing Life
 

What this means for you: Once you feel those ebook sales of your titles are stable, consider publishing into other formats. When considering audiobooks, research how your specific genre is doing in audio and weigh the costs of publishing an audiobook against the expected gains. The more formats you have available, the more readers you are able to reach.

5. Marketing will Determine the Winners
We all know that writing a book is only half of the battle. In an increasingly crowded eBook market, successful authors are authors who spend time and money marketing their books. Time and time again, email marketing has proven to be the best way to engage an audience. New York Times Best-Selling Author Barbara Freethy agrees that:

"I see career-minded authors settling in for the long haul. It’s not a quick and easy game anymore. Authors are now focusing on plotting out strategies that will sustain and advance their writing careers beyond the explosive growth of the past five years. It’s not just about writing and publishing quickly but also about building a unique brand/platform, engaging and re-engaging the core audience and exploring ways to diversify income."

What this means for you: Setting aside time and money to market your title is as important as setting aside time to write. Create a marketing plan with a corresponding budget by month for the first six months of the year, and execute that plan. Capitalize on the effectiveness of email marketing by sending regular emails to your mailing list, and promoting your titles on rented lists, like those of Freebooksy and Bargain Booksy.

6. The Performance of Facebook Ads will Decline
Facebook ads continued to gain popularity among every business, large and small in 2016. Greater demand for Facebook ads led to increasing costs on the platform, which made their efficacy go down for marketers focused on ROI. 

What this means for you: Diversify your marketing techniques, and don’t be afraid to test and try new avenues.

7. International Audiences Provide Opportunities for Growth
Mark Lefebvre of Kobo Writing Life has always been an advocate for expanding your audience internationally. His prediction  is that:

"More indie authors will find audiences outside the more established markets of the US and the UK by embracing publishing wide. Yes, there is still digital growth in these areas, but there are so many other English and non-English language markets globally that have been growing in the same way that the US and the UK was growing a few years ago, and many authors publishing through Kobo Writing Life are starting to see growth in those markets (and yes, even without translating to other languages)."
 

What this means for you: Consider releasing your books to English -speaking international audiences. Learn more about selling the rights to your book to foreign publishers. Joanna Penn’s article on international rights is a great place to start.

8. Authors Will Band Together
When we reached out to Jason Freeman, CEO of Instafreebie, his thoughts on the coming year were hopeful:

"My prediction is that we’ll continue to see a trend of authors supporting other authors through collaboration on promotions. Whether it’s through group giveaways, anthologies, and samplers, authors will continue to find success when they understand that promoting their book is not a zero-sum game."
 

Last year saw a rise in writing partnerships that hit the bestseller lists, such as the partnership between Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman for the traditionally published Illuminae Series and, in the indie world, the partnership between Lauren Landish and Willow Winters, a duo that is rocking the top romance charts. Boxed sets and group promos are a great way to share audiences with fellow authors, thus reaching a wider reader base.

What this means for you: Reach out to authors in your genre to see if anyone is interested in working together. This is the year for making friends and fostering connections.