E-Book Genre Market Stats

MV64 · 12-19-2010, 02:00 PM

Does anyone know if any statistics exist as to how well various genres of e-books sell? I'm sort of interested in attempting to sell history e-books, but honestly don't want to put the effort into it if there isn't a market. As of right now, it seems romance, military sci-fi, and business are the only e-books that really sell notably.

EDIT: Should have also listed tech books.

Andrew H. · 12-19-2010, 03:21 PM

I bought Rick Atkinson's "The Day of Battle" for Kindle (a history of the invasion of sicily and Italy in WWII); the biggest issue I had with the books was the maps. They were legible, and were better when zoomed - but still weren't as good as maps in a paper books would have been.

The map flaw was ameliorated by the fact that the author put interactive maps on his website, and these maps were better than the maps in the paper book.

But in general, I think that history books are going to be hampered by e-books' general inability to display maps and pictures very well.

Having said that, if certain display issues are worked out, the ability to offer an ebook with simple interactive maps would be a plus (and I am generally skeptical of "enhanced" ebooks). Here's a link to one of the interactive maps: http://www.liberationtrilogy.com/day_of_battle_map.htm

TallMomof2 · 12-19-2010, 03:46 PM

I buy a lot of history books and the maps and pictures are sometimes lacking but not always. 1776 was good, lots of pictures. If you sell on the Kindle, then interactive maps would be a plus. For readers without an internet connection then you should carefully edit maps and use multiple pages to show details. Your main map could show the overview with numbered boxed areas that are shown enlarged on subsequent pages. Frequently, the map is simply shrunk to fit and no thought is given to how it will be viewed.

lilac_jive · 12-19-2010, 04:03 PM

I read history books but a lot of the time they are just massively over priced (usually available at a hardcover price). I buy them on special, if they are really interesting and under $12, otherwise I pass or get them at the library.

12-19-2010, 02:00 PM	#1
MV64 Addict Posts: 271 Karma: 2000000 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Sony PRS-505	E-Book Genre Market Stats Does anyone know if any statistics exist as to how well various genres of e-books sell? I'm sort of interested in attempting to sell history e-books, but honestly don't want to put the effort into it if there isn't a market. As of right now, it seems romance, military sci-fi, and business are the only e-books that really sell notably. EDIT: Should have also listed tech books.

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12-19-2010, 03:21 PM	#2
Andrew H. Grand Master of Flowers Posts: 2,201 Karma: 8389072 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Naptown Device: Kindle PW, Kindle 3 (aka Keyboard), iPhone, iPad 3 (not for reading)	I bought Rick Atkinson's "The Day of Battle" for Kindle (a history of the invasion of sicily and Italy in WWII); the biggest issue I had with the books was the maps. They were legible, and were better when zoomed - but still weren't as good as maps in a paper books would have been. The map flaw was ameliorated by the fact that the author put interactive maps on his website, and these maps were better than the maps in the paper book. But in general, I think that history books are going to be hampered by e-books' general inability to display maps and pictures very well. Having said that, if certain display issues are worked out, the ability to offer an ebook with simple interactive maps would be a plus (and I am generally skeptical of "enhanced" ebooks). Here's a link to one of the interactive maps: http://www.liberationtrilogy.com/day_of_battle_map.htm

12-19-2010, 03:46 PM	#3
TallMomof2 Kindlephilia Posts: 2,017 Karma: 1139255 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Snowpacolypse 2010 Device: Too many to count	I buy a lot of history books and the maps and pictures are sometimes lacking but not always. 1776 was good, lots of pictures. If you sell on the Kindle, then interactive maps would be a plus. For readers without an internet connection then you should carefully edit maps and use multiple pages to show details. Your main map could show the overview with numbered boxed areas that are shown enlarged on subsequent pages. Frequently, the map is simply shrunk to fit and no thought is given to how it will be viewed.

12-19-2010, 04:03 PM	#4
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	I read history books but a lot of the time they are just massively over priced (usually available at a hardcover price). I buy them on special, if they are really interesting and under $12, otherwise I pass or get them at the library.

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