Digital book sales have decreased 4.8% in the first six months of 2018 according to the American Publishers Association. The format has generated $504 million dollars and will likely crack over a billion when it’s all said and done by the end of the year. Audiobooks continue to be the fastest growing segment in publishing and they grew 35% and brought in over $213 million dollars.
Publishers revenue for consumer trade books increased by $115.5 million (+3.6%) for the first six months of 2018 (Jan. – June) compared to the same period in 2017. The biggest revenue gains in the first half of the year in terms of dollars came from Adult Books, which were up $90.6 million (+4.2%). Five consecutive months of positive revenue for trade publishers helped to mitigate June’s -6.3% decline in revenue for trade books (fiction/non-fiction/religious).
Hardback books had the greatest revenue gains, with an additional $63.5 million in revenue with $50.2 million of hardback book sales coming from Adult Books.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
