Comments on: How do the bookstores figure in the publishing equation? http://www.hawaiireaders.com/blog/2009/11/12/how-do-the-bookstores-figure-in-the-publishing-equation/ The Hawaii Readers site Sat, 11 Feb 2012 18:18:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Page Turner http://www.hawaiireaders.com/blog/2009/11/12/how-do-the-bookstores-figure-in-the-publishing-equation/comment-page-1/#comment-1540 Page Turner Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:43:06 +0000 http://www.hawaiireaders.com/?p=5923#comment-1540 RJ wrote: “...probably half the books published in Hawaii are sold outside regular bookstores.” This guesstimate may be like an editorial hunch in need of real data from a tracking program—wonder if there’s a way to find out. My guess: a sizeable majority of local books are sold via bookstores, in the long run, though the percentage varies according to type of book. I say “long run” since Costco might throw things off during the 3-6 months they stock a title before returning to the publisher. In Hawaii (compared to other states) there seems to be more non-bookstore retailers that carry books—visitor shops, gift shops, Longs.... Roger, was that your line of thinking? I imagine Ben Cayetano’s memoir would sell mostly via bookstores but a cookbook or children’s book could be ubiquitous. RJ wrote: “...probably half the books published in Hawaii are sold outside regular bookstores.” This guesstimate may be like an editorial hunch in need of real data from a tracking program—wonder if there’s a way to find out. My guess: a sizeable majority of local books are sold via bookstores, in the long run, though the percentage varies according to type of book. I say “long run” since Costco might throw things off during the 3-6 months they stock a title before returning to the publisher. In Hawaii (compared to other states) there seems to be more non-bookstore retailers that carry books—visitor shops, gift shops, Longs.... Roger, was that your line of thinking? I imagine Ben Cayetano’s memoir would sell mostly via bookstores but a cookbook or children’s book could be ubiquitous.

]]> By: Roger Jellinek http://www.hawaiireaders.com/blog/2009/11/12/how-do-the-bookstores-figure-in-the-publishing-equation/comment-page-1/#comment-1101 Roger Jellinek Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:11:47 +0000 http://www.hawaiireaders.com/?p=5923#comment-1101 Last I heard Amazon.com accounts for about 10% of book sales. But It's a bit like counting minority percentages in Hawaii--they usually add up to well over 100%. Amazon.com recently reported it's best thee quarters ever, which is significant, given the recession, and the fact that most publishers are reporting downturns of as much as 10% for the year. Amazon.com doesn't break out it's sources of income, and it keeps it's Kindle sales (of the Kindle itself, and the e-books you get via Kindle) secret. I'll look out for more definitive numbers. It's fairly well established that the Kindle is Amazon's leading product at the moment, and presumably significant numbers of books are being sold via the Kindle. --Roger Last I heard Amazon.com accounts for about 10% of book sales. But It's a bit like counting minority percentages in Hawaii--they usually add up to well over 100%. Amazon.com recently reported it's best thee quarters ever, which is significant, given the recession, and the fact that most publishers are reporting downturns of as much as 10% for the year. Amazon.com doesn't break out it's sources of income, and it keeps it's Kindle sales (of the Kindle itself, and the e-books you get via Kindle) secret. I'll look out for more definitive numbers. It's fairly well established that the Kindle is Amazon's leading product at the moment, and presumably significant numbers of books are being sold via the Kindle.
--Roger

]]> By: Makana Risser Chai http://www.hawaiireaders.com/blog/2009/11/12/how-do-the-bookstores-figure-in-the-publishing-equation/comment-page-1/#comment-1053 Makana Risser Chai Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:33:41 +0000 http://www.hawaiireaders.com/?p=5923#comment-1053 Really interesting, Roger. You write: Some 80% of general trade books from national publishers are sold via the big chains, like Barnes & Noble and Borders, the rest via independents, and increasingly the big box stores like Walmart, Target, Costco and Sam’s. Where is amazon in all this? Really interesting, Roger. You write: Some 80% of general trade books from national publishers are sold via the big chains, like Barnes & Noble and Borders, the rest via independents, and increasingly the big box stores like Walmart, Target, Costco and Sam’s.

Where is amazon in all this?

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