Publishing Industry Market Update; Vol. 4, Issue 6
Not Too Shabby
In these uncertain economic times, good news seems even gooder. The Association of American Publishers (AAP) reported its Q1 2023 publishing industry results last week with an increase in total sales of 3.2% over Q1 2022. March 2023, in and of itself, shot up 6.6% in a year, with audio and ebook segments each posting double-digit gains both for the month and for the quarter.
The AAP also put out its final report on the 2022 results, with the total sales for the year slipping only 2.6% below banner 2021. That figure bested their preliminary “negative-Nancy” projection of a 6.4% drop. The early projections did not include K-12 educational publishing, which exceeded the prior year by a whopping 16.6%, and helped offset a 6.1% drop in trade sales.
As promised in last month’s issue, we now have Q1 results from Big 5 member, HarperCollins. After some documented struggles—and some layoffs—HC appears to have stabilized. Following a notable drop in the last half of 2022, revenues were even in Q1 2023 compared to the prior year. Though, still at odds with cost increases in freight and manufacturing, HC’s earnings decreased by 9%.
More M & A News
With Simon & Schuster out of its reach, courtesy of the Department of Justice, Penguin Random House, who recently acquired a majority stake in independent publisher Sourcebooks, has doubled down in acquiring small publishers – since the DoJ won’t let them buy anyone big. Through Sourcebooks, PRH is folding in Castillo Media, primarily a children’s book publisher with around 200 employees. Sourcebooks leadership will take over the day-to-day management.
On the European side of the ledger, French media conglomerate Vivendi’s long-suffering acquisition of another French media conglomerate Lagardere (parent to global publisher Hachette Livre) won European Commission approval. The last hurdle to satisfy the regulators was cleared by offloading French publisher Editis from Vivendi’s balance sheet. The conglomerated conglomerate will boast over 66,000 employees with projected revenues of about € 17 billion.
Is Self-Publishing the Way to Go?
In an interesting (though small) survey conducted by the Alliance of Independent Authors, the median income of self-published authors more than doubled in 2022 over the prior year. The study surveyed approximately 2,200 self-published English-speaking authors (over half from the U.S.) and found that the median was nearly $13,000 in 2022. That is notably higher than the roughly $6,000 that the Author’s Guild reported as the median income for traditionally published authors. The Author's Guild survey dates back to 2018, but it’s hard to think that number has grown much since.
Weekly Numbers
Here are the weekly results for May:
Week ended May 6, 2023: Down 6.7%
Week ended May 13, 2023: Up 1.3% [thanks to a huge 13.1% jump in adult fiction]
Week ended May 20, 2023: Down 5.7%
Week ended May 27, 2023: Down 5.5%
Week ended June 3, 2023: Down 6.1%
Take Action: Talk to a professional
If you feel like you need guidance and encouragement in your author journey, you can schedule a one-on-one consultation with one of our agents. We can help you focus on what you can control and offer the type of feedback and inspiration to get you to your publishing finish line. One-on-coaching is open to everyone and we would love to help you reach your full potential using our unparalleled experience, hard-won wisdom, and industry-leading strengths. Schedule a one-on-one meeting today!
