Self Publishing Stats and Hot Genres

I don’t know about you, but I’m always interested in what’s selling. Which genre is hot right now? How is self publishing doing against standard publishing? Are people buying print books?

I went searching and here’s the latest information I could find. The first is on Self-publishing from Bowker and the second part is the hot genres from Ingram Spark, but it’s about 2018. Still, I found it interesting. Let me know if you have any thoughts.

Annual Bowker report shows sustained growth in print self-publishing

New Providence, NJ, October, 10, 2018 – According to the latest report from ProQuest affiliate Bowker, self-publishing grew at a rate of more than 28 percent in 2017, up from an 8 percent increase during the prior year. The total number of self-published titles grew from 786,935 to 1,009,188, surpassing the million mark for the first time.

Self-publishing of print books increased by 38 percent in 2017 for a total of 879,587. This is the fifth consecutive year of print growth – driven by a 50 percent increase at CreateSpace, a self-publishing platform. Self-published ebooks decreased by 13 percent, continuing a downward trend for the third successive year. Two service providers, Smashwords and Lulu, accounted for 105,037 ebook titles, 81 percent of the ebook total of 129,601.

As the numbers confirm, self-publishing continues to grow each year. According to Beat Barblan, Director of Identifier Services at Bowker, “Self-publishing shows no signs of slowing down and continues to grow at a steady rate. CreateSpace was very popular in 2017 – and now that its customers are moving to the new Kindle Direct Publishing platform, we don’t expect any decline in self-publishing.”

Since 2012, the number of ISBNs assigned to self-published titles has grown 156 percent. “We believe that this is due, in large part, to the increasing number and quality of products and services now available from several providers to aid authors who choose to publish some or all of their titles independently,” Barblan said. “In addition, there are numerous associations serving the indie author community that promote best practices and stand ready to offer solutions and support.

“Authors who set out to self-publish, market and distribute high-quality books now have more resources than ever.”

This annual study from Bowker highlights self-publishing trends in print and ebook formats from 2012 to 2017, based on the number of titles registered in the Bowker Books In Print® database.

Genre: What's Hot, What's Not?

 Toward the end of 2017, you probably noticed poetry books by Rupi Kaur (Milk and Honey) and r.h. Sin (whiskey words & a shovel) among the bestsellers both online and in bookstores. This is a trend we predict will continue throughout 2018, along with a return to chick-lit, romance novels, and books about witches.

What you won't be seeing much of in the 2018 bestsellers are zombies and vampires. This was a trend that lasted a few years but has its best days behind it—at least for now.

The publishing industry in general, but particularly the self-publishing side, has also had its fill when it comes to political thrillers. We've noticed that readers are becoming less and less interested in reading about politics as of late.

And although you've probably read at least one or two of the top-selling books whose main character is, to put it kindly, a little unsteady (think Gone Girl), we believe the unreliable female narrator has left the publishing stage for 2018. In her place is a different, much stronger woman like the women of 2017 who marched in the street and created a movement.