Most Popualar Formats, Smashwords

BillSmithBooks · 10-20-2012, 01:21 PM

Don't know if anyone remembers this blog post from Mark Coker at Smashwords from two (now nearly three) years ago --

Most Popular Smashwords Formats

I was wondering:

1) If there was any sort of update to see how the market is shifting, format wise

2) Look at some of the interesting data from two years ago: PDF was 35% of the market, Epub 22%, plain text was 9%

I gotta wonder if back then people were downloading lots of PDF and plain text (combined nearly 45% of the market) because they know they could read the texts anywhere.

3) I still have to wonder how HTML/HTML zip would fare as a % of market share if it was offered just simply because it would be the only "universal" format that could be read on almost every device in the world.

4) Looking at the data from 2008-2009, notice how PDF % went UP from 19% in '08-09 to 35% in '10 -- how in the heck did that happen? Maybe readers really just want something simple and easy to use and don't care about the frills nearly as much as the book designers do?

(Sorry for the typo in the title...argh)

Quexos · 10-20-2012, 06:19 PM

What is the current market share for epub vs pdf ?

starrigger · 10-21-2012, 02:25 AM

My own experience 2-3 years ago was that PDF was the most downloaded of my own books, but I think there's been a steady shift toward epub and mobi with the proliferation of new e-readers. I can't quote data, and even for my own books at SW, I have no way of knowing what format people are downloading, but my sense from this and that is that the trend is definitely toward real ebook formats.

hwlester · 10-21-2012, 12:06 PM

The funny thing is that the article mentions zipped HTML, which is essentially what EPUB is (and MOBI as well although it doesn't use zip compression), plus some metadata. Without DRM in the picture, you should be able to take either of these and use them or convert them to any future device.

Tarana · 10-21-2012, 04:54 PM

Virtually none of the books I've purchased in the last 2 years from places other than Amazon and B&N were even available in pdf form. However, the magazines are mostly in pdf form. Now, my bookbuying has been limited to the sci-fi/thriller genres, which don't really represent the majority of books out there.

10-20-2012, 01:21 PM	#1
BillSmithBooks Padawan Learner Posts: 243 Karma: 1085815 Join Date: May 2009 Location: www.OutlawGalaxy.com, Foothills of NY's Adirondack mountains Device: My PC...using Puppy Linux (FBReader, Calibre, Kindle Cloud Reader,	Most Popualar Formats, Smashwords Don't know if anyone remembers this blog post from Mark Coker at Smashwords from two (now nearly three) years ago -- Most Popular Smashwords Formats I was wondering: 1) If there was any sort of update to see how the market is shifting, format wise 2) Look at some of the interesting data from two years ago: PDF was 35% of the market, Epub 22%, plain text was 9% I gotta wonder if back then people were downloading lots of PDF and plain text (combined nearly 45% of the market) because they know they could read the texts anywhere. 3) I still have to wonder how HTML/HTML zip would fare as a % of market share if it was offered just simply because it would be the only "universal" format that could be read on almost every device in the world. 4) Looking at the data from 2008-2009, notice how PDF % went UP from 19% in '08-09 to 35% in '10 -- how in the heck did that happen? Maybe readers really just want something simple and easy to use and don't care about the frills nearly as much as the book designers do? (Sorry for the typo in the title...argh) Last edited by BillSmithBooks; 10-20-2012 at 01:27 PM.

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10-20-2012, 06:19 PM	#2
Quexos Member Retired Posts: 1,999 Karma: 11348924 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Limbo Device: none	What is the current market share for epub vs pdf ?

10-21-2012, 02:25 AM	#3
starrigger Jeffrey A. Carver Posts: 1,355 Karma: 1107383 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Massachusetts, USA Device: Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus, Droid phone, Nook HD+	My own experience 2-3 years ago was that PDF was the most downloaded of my own books, but I think there's been a steady shift toward epub and mobi with the proliferation of new e-readers. I can't quote data, and even for my own books at SW, I have no way of knowing what format people are downloading, but my sense from this and that is that the trend is definitely toward real ebook formats.

10-21-2012, 12:06 PM	#4
hwlester Wizard Posts: 1,343 Karma: 2786741 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Birmingham, AL Device: Sony Reader PRS-T1, Kindle Touch, misc. Android devices, Nook HD+	The funny thing is that the article mentions zipped HTML, which is essentially what EPUB is (and MOBI as well although it doesn't use zip compression), plus some metadata. Without DRM in the picture, you should be able to take either of these and use them or convert them to any future device.

10-21-2012, 04:54 PM	#5
Tarana Wizard Posts: 3,982 Karma: 38840460 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Minneapolis Device: PWSE, Voyage, K3, HDX, KBasic 7 & 8, Nook Glo3, Echos, Nanos	Virtually none of the books I've purchased in the last 2 years from places other than Amazon and B&N were even available in pdf form. However, the magazines are mostly in pdf form. Now, my bookbuying has been limited to the sci-fi/thriller genres, which don't really represent the majority of books out there.

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