E-book sales lead off 2003

Electronic books, a new addition to the Association of American Publishers monthly sales report, began 2003 with impressive numbers, up 1,447.4 percent, according to figures just released by the AAP.

The electronic book segment grew from $211,000 in net sales in January 2002 to slightly more than $3.3 million in January 2003, a sign that consumer interest in electronic books is growing. Sales of bibles, testaments, hymnals and prayerbooks, collected for the first time in a number of years, rose 36.8 percent with sales of $11.6 million. The other religious category dropped 7.3 percent ($2.9 million).

University press sales were looking up in January, with hardcover sales up 52.5 percent ($5.5 million) and paperback up 24.7 percent ($6.1 million). Sales of professional and scholarly books also rose in January, up 6.8 percent with sales of $28.7 million. Declines were posted in a number of categories, including adult hardcover and paperback, children’s hardcover and paperback, and audio books.

Adult hardcover sales fell 13.7 percent ($76.8 million), while paperback sales dropped 15.4 percent with sales of $81.8 million. The adult mass market category dropped 10.1 percent with sales of $57.6 million. Children’s books were hit hard in January, with hardcover down 42.3 percent ($17.4 million) and paperback down 34.6 percent ($20.1 million).

Audio books also started off the year weak, falling 40.3 percent with sales of $4.5 million. It is likely that concerns about the US economy and the possibility of war adversely impacted the retail book selling sector. Higher education sales began the year slowly with sales down a slight 2.7 percent ($189.8 million), however, el-hi (elementary/high school) sales rose 6.8 percent with sales of $70.3 million. The other category (book clubs, coloring books, calendars, etc.) dropped 36.7 percent with sales of $1.1 million.

The Association of American Publishers is the principal trade association for the U.S. book publishing industry with some 300 members, comprising most of the major commercial book publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and medium-sized houses, non-profit publishers, university presses, and scholarly societies.

Also See: ebook libraries.

About The Author:

Bruce Langdon is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.1st-in-ebooks.com. A source of information on creating, writing and publishing an e-book.