More books, more choice, a win for readers
It is interesting to note in recent sales stats which were released by the publishing industry, that although both print and digital book sales have continued to decline markedly with the Big5, sales with retailers, particularly Amazon, have increased.
That caused the traditional publishing industry to sit up and ask the question to which every small and indie publisher and author knew the answer five years ago: The increase in sales come directly from said small and indie publishers and authors. From whom, it should be noted, sales stats are rarely, or never, collected.
The consumer doesn’t want to pay over $15 (sometimes as much as $45!) for a book that doesn’t physically exist in the case of eBooks. And consumers are also tired of the same-old-same-old coming out from the Big5. Add to that the reduced risk of disappointment to monetary investment ratio when purchasing small and indie published books, and you have an increased reader interest in what the small and indie publishers and authors are producing.
It also means the small and indie publishers and authors are realizing more sales, but not necessarily enough to retire. More money being made by more people. But more choice for the consumer.
In my view, that’s very positive.