Quote:
Originally Posted by Shane R
If publishers are surprised by the decline of P in favor of E their senior leadership is not worth the salaries that they're being paid.
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No "if... then..." needed.
A straight declaratory will suffice.
The bad news here is the seasonality aspect.
Holiday sales are peak book selling season because of gifting by non-readers and one reason publishers schedule their "surefire bestsellers" for fall release to build up their buzz for holiday sales. A lot of those books are purchased by non-readers whose choices are driven by buzz, bestseller status, and store placement...all the things publishers do for their "surefire bestsellers" but not for midlisters.
Gifting cards shift book choice to the reader and shift sales from pricey pbooks at bookstores to ebooks, a cheaper format where indie titles are increasingly common. Instead of two hyped $15 bestsellers a $30 gift card might result in ten indie sales. Or three midlist tradpub titles. Either way, it eats away at total bestseller sales and B&M sales and anything that undercuts bestsellers and bookstores is undercutting the primary reason why tradpub authors stick with the BPHs.
So, as the report says: lower holiday pbook sales is a serious matter.
One that few folks around here are surprised to see. It is inevitable.