books and quaratine
As most of the world shutters through months of lockdown many industries have been feeling the pinch. Is the book industry going to suffer the same shrink that is occurring in other leisure industries like cinemas and cafes?
The trepidation towards traditional book buying has seen a somewhat slump in recent years, with many new avenues such as kindles, online book buying services and audio books, leading the charge over traditional book buying. But this ever evolving landscape has adapted well to the new change, with stores like Dymocks offering a points based system that translate to discounts and Robertsons opening in store cafes where patrons can seamlessly pick up a book and grab a coffee at the same time.
One thing that no one could have predicted was a virus that would ground the world to a near complete halt.
Publishers became wary of sales as events were cancelled across the globe, how could they possibly predict how well a book would sell if an author couldn’t accurately promote their latest work? and with some launch parties scaled down to a fraction of the original size, how can the publisher guarantee that the wide reach they usually observe is going to be acheived? Sending a nervous ripple across the board of publisher for all upcoming releases, how long would this last? Do we plan book releases for a years time? should we be more conservative?
Well there is no easy answer to those questions, but with the introduction of technology, it's a change or perish zone. Most authors have come up with creative ways to promote their book, facebook events, instagram live secession and podcast viewings, that were all important promotional tools that ensured that books were still hitting the New York Times best seller list. This is a growing industry, people love to read, they love to hear new voices and stories.
The real question here is, Is the global pandemic slowing down book sales?
The answer... i don't believe so. In fact, it seems people have more time to read than ever before. With most outdoor activities banned, that leaves little to do inside; with the choices limited to watching tv, cooking, cleaning and reading. If the bookstragram space is anything to look at, within the last month alone, the amount of accounts opened has tripled with people turning their hand at showing the wider population what they are reading and their favourite authors.
I am excited to see how this space continues to change and evolve with the coming trends.
The trepidation towards traditional book buying has seen a somewhat slump in recent years, with many new avenues such as kindles, online book buying services and audio books, leading the charge over traditional book buying. But this ever evolving landscape has adapted well to the new change, with stores like Dymocks offering a points based system that translate to discounts and Robertsons opening in store cafes where patrons can seamlessly pick up a book and grab a coffee at the same time.
One thing that no one could have predicted was a virus that would ground the world to a near complete halt.
Publishers became wary of sales as events were cancelled across the globe, how could they possibly predict how well a book would sell if an author couldn’t accurately promote their latest work? and with some launch parties scaled down to a fraction of the original size, how can the publisher guarantee that the wide reach they usually observe is going to be acheived? Sending a nervous ripple across the board of publisher for all upcoming releases, how long would this last? Do we plan book releases for a years time? should we be more conservative?
Well there is no easy answer to those questions, but with the introduction of technology, it's a change or perish zone. Most authors have come up with creative ways to promote their book, facebook events, instagram live secession and podcast viewings, that were all important promotional tools that ensured that books were still hitting the New York Times best seller list. This is a growing industry, people love to read, they love to hear new voices and stories.
The real question here is, Is the global pandemic slowing down book sales?
The answer... i don't believe so. In fact, it seems people have more time to read than ever before. With most outdoor activities banned, that leaves little to do inside; with the choices limited to watching tv, cooking, cleaning and reading. If the bookstragram space is anything to look at, within the last month alone, the amount of accounts opened has tripled with people turning their hand at showing the wider population what they are reading and their favourite authors.
I am excited to see how this space continues to change and evolve with the coming trends.
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