- I was at the National Speakers Association
Winter Conference and someone said to me,
I wanna write a book but do people even read anymore?
What's the point?
I was stunned given that I had read two books
on the plane on my way to the conference
and my team is always reading, but I get it.
It seems like we're attached to our phones,
addicted to social media, and relying on digital apps
for entertainment more than we're reading.
So if you're writing a book,
you can't help but wonder do people even read anymore?
Well, if you're wondering that then this video is for you.
Hey, there I'm Julie, the book Broad,
the founder of the fabulous self-publishing services team
called Book Launchers.
If you ask anyone on the Book Launchers team
what their favorite scent is, they'll probably tell you
that it's the scent of a brand new book.
You know, the one that crisp, woodsy smell
of freshly bound pages and ink.
It's familiar to every reader,
but is it a scent that's soon to go extinct?
Well, back in the good old days before the technology boom
it seemed like reading was one of top choices
for how people spent their leisure time.
Turning on Netflix or getting sucked into
endless TikTok videos wasn't an option
but books have been an option for thousands of years.
We used to be a civilized culture
who appreciated a good book
rather than the newest television show
or social media app.
Oh that time is a fairytale.
We made that up, it didn't ever exist.
All you need to do are look up stats
from the Gallup surveys in 1957,
not even a quarter of Americans were reading a book.
Almost 50 years later in 2005 that's after TV and internet,
remember that stat, it had shot to 47%.
And despite the constant rise in technology since then
we're actually reading more than ever before.
Yep, we're reading more than ever before.
In 2019 a survey from the NPD group
reported that nearly three outta four consumers in the U.S.
that's 75% reported reading a book
or listening to an audiobook within the last year.
In fact, 2021 was a record breaking year for book sales.
And I'm not talking eBooks or audio books.
I'm talking actual physical hold in your hand,
best smell, ever printed books.
Sales of all printed books in the U.S.
rose nearly 9% in 2021 from 2020.
It totaled 825 million copies sold.
That's the highest ever seen
since the start of NPD's tracking.
And it's not just fiction books
that are seeing increases in sales.
They do lead the charts.
Young adult fiction increased by 30%.
Looks like our teens aren't stuck on social media
all the time like every parent seems to worry.
They're actually reading more this year.
Kids fiction also rose by almost 10% and nonfiction books,
the category you might be worried about
if you're in the throws of your #noboringbook manuscript.
Well, sales jumped up over 5% last year
with the travel category leading the way with a 20% increase
followed by business and economic books at almost 20%.
So yeah, people definitely still read these days.
Non-fiction books included and despite the panic and fear
that some have had that technology would trump printed books
and digital reading would take over,
that does not seem to be the case.
Physical books aren't becoming obsolete at all.
And it's predicted that into this next year,
physical retail will be more important than ever
as consumers get back into in-person shopping habits.
Now, that's not saying that digital forms of reading
aren't here to stay.
Technology didn't knock out printed books
from our bookshelves but it did change the way we read.
And with paper costs rising and gas prices skyrocketing,
I think eBooks and audio books
are becoming more and more popular
because they're less costly and nobody has to deliver
and or pick them up.
Prior to digital advancements and the internet,
our brains read in a totally different way.
We didn't deal with nearly as many distractions.
So our brains processed in a predominantly linear way
reading one page at a time before moving on to the next.
Now, when we read with a digital device like an ebook,
tablet or computer,
we're managing dealing with multiple distractions
while commanding the tech to do what we want.
Whether that's using our finger to swipe
or clicking with a mouse.
These seem like tiny interruptions,
but they still affect our reading comprehension,
accuracy, and speed.
But there's no denying digital advancements
in the publishing industry have better
and improved reading overall.
If you wanna start a new book
all you need to do is grab your Kindle, download it
and get going.
The love for eBooks isn't fading,
even as printed book sales are booming.
About one in every six books sold last year were eBooks
and there are still some readers
who prefer an ebook over a physical one.
If you're publishing a book
you'll wanna make sure that you do both formats
to really give your sales the best chance of success.
And if you really wanna boost that success even more
make sure you include an audiobook.
Over the past few years,
audiobook sales have seen double digit growth
and guess which category is seeing the biggest increase
in audiobook sales?
Go ahead, post it down below.
And while you're thinking
don't forget to hit that thumbs up button.
See it right there, yeah, go ahead, hit it.
Did you guess adult nonfiction?
Because if you did, you're the winner.
In 2020 adult nonfiction saw a 49% growth
from the previous year for audiobook sales.
More and more readers are turning to audio
for their nonfiction reads,
especially those between the ages of 18 and 44
who are the biggest consumers in the audiobook category.
Lucky for you.
I have just the video you need
to help narrate your audiobook.
Check it out right here.
And don't forget to turn your notifications on.
So you don't miss any upcoming ones coming out.
Oh, and if you're still writing your book
and need some tips, this video right here
is also a must see.
The coffee's on, I'll meet you there.