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Kindle's E-Book Sales Officially Surpass Print Books
The $1 billion e-book industry is growing at its fastest rate in 10 years -- good news for small-business book publishers, authors and readers.
Posted 5/ 20 11 at 12:30 PM | News, Online Business, Consumer Products & Services, Retail
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Sales of electronic books for Amazon's Kindle have now officially surpassed the sale of print books -- hardcover and paperback combined -- the e-commerce site announced Thursday. To date in 2011, Amazon has sold more than three times as many Kindle books as it did during this same period last year, the company reported in a statement. Overall, Amazon is seeing the fastest year-over-year growth rate for book sales in all formats -- print and digital -- than it has in the past 10 years. Amazon's first indication that e-book sales were taking off was in July 2010, when Kindle book sales surpassed hardcover book sales on the site, just shy of the 3-year mark of the Kindle's release.
According to a report released in late 2010 by Forrester Research, the e-book market is now a $1 billion industry, with sales expected to reach $2.81 billion by 2015. Small-business owners have had an opportunity to capture a slice of that market through Kindle's Direct Publishing program, which allows anyone to self-publish a book through the Amazon Kindle Store without requiring the backing of a publishing house.
The U.S. Kindle Store currently has more than 950,000 books for sale, and a search turns up more than 5,000 small-business titles. A good portion of the titles listed in the Kindle Store include the work of indie writers like 26-year-old Amanda Hocking, who began self-publishing her work on Amazon and is now one of the top-selling independent authors on Amazon. Hocking, who sells about 100,000 copies of her books a month, charges between 99 cents and $3, and through Amazon's royalty program, she brings in 70 percent of those sales.
"We had high hopes that this would happen eventually, but we never imagined it would happen this quickly -- we've been selling print books for 15 years and Kindle books for less than four years," Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, said in a statement.
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Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Nope not interested. I love books, real books. I love my built in book shelves to be filled with books. I'm not a big fan of this 24 hour society and all that comes with it.
Trees are a renewable resource, which means that once one is cut down another can be planted in its place. Much of the wood used by paper companies in the U.S. comes from privately owned tree farms where forests are planted, groomed and thinned for harvest in 20 to 35 year cycles, depending on the tree species. However, making paper is far from green. I conserve other ways, but I am keeping my books. I only buy used anyway.
Totally agree with you in every respect. I want to read a Real Book!
5-23-2011 Whle E-books may have their place, my preferences, and the preference of others I know - is with the printed page, in hand, where I can sit back and relax to read what I need to read, or rest it on a desk. With this I can make faster handwritten notes, and underlining, and whatever, on the actual printed page of books and such - exactly where I want it.
I'm not in to the touch screen's either, All this is literatly painful on the back, the neck and the hands and arms, ulnar nerves, great for troubles with the wrists, too, and headaches, and eye strains, for too long a period of time, which sometimes are not long.
While I have my gladly gleaned uses of the computer, and the mouse, forget the the ball, and touchpads and finger typing on the phones, etc, I prefer the actual printed page. The others are too much strain on everything, and some features, far too slow. The small items, are extra slow for fingertyping - this is going back in to the dark ages, and eye strain, and neck strain, etc.
I realize some of the new items have their place, but it is not good for all the time uses, not healthy - not even ebooks.
I like to write and because ebooks are also in use, maybe one day if I publish something - some will go on these, too. Even then, my preference is the actual printed page. And there are many things, like bookmarks, photos and more, that are best seen and used in hardcopy, including planners and calendars - though some online can be helpful in it's own right.
Again, I know of enough others who see it the same way, and even more so for the paper products.
Besides, with all the storms, etc in this world today, knocking out power, etc - and you can have some hard copy on hand - this will work best, while in some of these instances, it would be helpful to have both.
Just a thought.
Thank you!
Luddists with books , ugh!!
You know how many trees that saves?
Good point Jim...I think I'll go have my e-breakfast now.
A Kindle is too thin to use as a booster seat at the breakfast table, you can't use a Kindle as a foot stool, no hight; nor a fly swatter it's too expensive. A row of Kindles in a bookcase has neather warmth nor beauty. You can keep your Kindle, I'll keep my book.
I drive truck over the road, and having the "kindle-e book" reduces the amount of books I have in the truck. Reference, and other kinds of books adds up before you know it, such as the writings of the Early Church Fathers which is in printed form 38 volumes. In agreeing with some of the other good individuals, I too prefer the printed book, but one must do, what one must do to save space.
I love my kindle.I use it for my bible reading.I do not have to keep my reading glasses in my purse.
I also miss the Phone book! Now That was a great Booster seat. The world will fall apart one day because the electricity will go off and no one Except us oldies will know how to funtion! Try checking out at any store when the elect is out or their computers are down. No way. Also ask a clerk to Actually Make change WITHOUT the computerized cash register telling her/him the amount. They can't do it!
I have already read scores of books on my Kindle. Especially good for me is the print adjustment - easy to get any size print you want. I now have five or so books waiting to be read, two Bibles and the Koran in my Kindle. If the book does not have a kindle version, I do not buy it.
I'm writing on my first novel that I will try and get published when it's completed. I hope to be able to sign it for the people who buy it from a book store. How do you do that with E-Books? Can you do that with E-Books. E-Books seems so impersonal to the book reading public to me. However, it's an avenue I will look into.
Amazon.com is not the entire book market by any means. It is misleading to label Amazon's results as a market-wide fact when it is is actuality only a fact for Amazon's share, and their heavy promotion of Kindles. I have nothing against e-books; two of my books are sold in both forms and the e-versions represent about one-third of total sales over the past four years. My personal preference is for a paper version because 1) it is easier to carry, 2) you can't read an e-book in a plane that is landing or taking off, 3) I find it easier to flip back and forth between pages.
I have MS that has weakend my hands, thus not able to hold a book. I was not able to read for a few years. When I was given a Kindle by my children my life became what it was before MS took away my greatest pleasure..reading. I have a cover which becomes an easel. Don't even have to hold the Kindle, just press key to turn page.
Never gonna happen with me. The feel, the smell...it's all part of diving head-first into a good book.
Sucks! Realtiy of a good book, the smell, the feel of the pages.. the joy of going into a bookstore new or used.. where has America gone VIRTUAL? Next we will have virtual toilets and virtual kitchens. Why live life if you can't read a real book, feel the pages of real paper, look at books before you check it out. Let's just be robotic!!!!!!!!
I hope you don't lay it down as you gather your carry ons and leave it at the airport! It's one thing to lose a book (I have) at the airport, another to lose a $$$$Kindle. Everything has it's place, (LBK Lady) but they also have limitations.
When e-books are fluent in Color and Graphics, I may consider publishing one. For the reader, unless the work is study material, a good savings can be realized. So far, I don't have a version conducive to e-book publishing. A good book is best kept for ages on a shelf for easy reference.
You must not get out much. Pick a country, any country, and go there. Then come back and tell me how sad your life is. We are pretty darn lucky to live in the U.S.A!