As I write the introduction and conclusion of my book, my mind is wandering to the next phase: getting published. It’s easy to get discouraged when reading facts about the book industry. Most statistics-based articles say “it’s really, really hard” and “don’t get your hopes up.” I can’t think of a better underdog challenge!
It takes optimism and tenacity (and skill) to achieve great things, so I will be ignoring the following:
– Over one million books were published in 2009
– Amazon.com has 74,000 change management and 640,000 change books
– In the first quarter of 2011, the number of print books sold in Canada dropped by 10.9 percent
– Book industry sales declined by 5 percent between 2007 and 2009 in the U.S.
– Less than 2 percent of published books are commercially viable
– 70 percent of books published do not earn back their advance
– 80 percent of book sales are controlled by five publishing conglomerates
– Out of 1.2 million books tracked by Nielsen Book Scan (as of 2004), 950,000 books sold fewer than 99 copies, and another 200,000 sold fewer than 1,000 copies
– The average U.S. non-fiction book sells less than 250 copies per year
– A book has less than 1 percent chance of being stocked in a bookstore

Phil