Ebooks have wings. Sales soared from 1.5% of total US book sold
in 2009 to 5% of the market in just the first quarter of 2010. An increase of
over 250%.
In more recent months, in certain genres – specifically
suspense and romance - publishers are reporting electronic sales escalating
exponentially with ebooks accounting for
as much as 30% to 50% of totals.
These are serious numbers. Authors aren’t ignoring them. Agents
aren’t. And publishers certainly aren’t.
But the Gray Lady is.
As a result, the List, as the industry refers to
the New York Times Bestseller List, is not reflecting what readers are really
reading and so is in danger of becoming obsolete.
“The NY Times Bestseller List is, for
good reason, the nonpareil, go to, unimpeachable authority on what America is
reading,” says über agent, Simon Lipskar of Writers House.
“Which is why it is urgent that the NYTBR address the problem of not accounting
for the growing percentage of digital sales of high velocity titles.”
On a week-to-week basis, readers are being seriously disadvantaged. “It's obvious that the consumer isn't getting a clear picture of what's really selling when so many people are choosing to purchase the most desirable titles in electronic form,” Lipskar said.
The value of
a bestseller list is in reporting and highlighting for readers what books other
readers are most enthusiastic about on the basis of sales volume. “If it's not reflecting a reasonable
image of those sales, then the list is no longer serving that need for consumers,”
said Lipskar.
Without
ebook sales being counted, weekly multiple authors not only miss out on
unparalleled exposure that can’t be bought but loose out on bonuses based
on list placement as well as how long they remain there.
Bestselling
author Joe Finder noted that the Times does respond to changes in the
marketplace, albeit cautiously and slowly. “The first NYT bestseller list
ran in 1942, but their first children’s bestseller list didn’t come out until
2000, and that was in response to all those Harry Potter books taking up
valuable real estate on the regular fiction list.”
One
of the worries Finder and many authors, publishers and agents have is that when
the Times does recognize ebooks they are going to do it with a stand-alone
list. “To most readers, a novel is a novel and a bestseller is a bestseller,
whether it’s made out of cardboard or bytes,” he said.
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Posted by: Account Deleted | September 06, 2010 at 02:35 AM