Out of curiosity, I got online and tried to hunt down a publishing industry statistic -- namely, how many works of fiction are issued each year. This proved a very difficult number to find. Many record-keepers don't bother to mention what types of books, exactly, they're counting: paper and/or electronic; reissued as well as original titles; the output of all publishers or only larger publishers; POD and independently-published pieces or not. As you can see, there are many variables.
This article states "...There are around 100,000 new English-language works of long-form prose fiction published globally each year." That averages out to 274 a day. However, for 2009, R.R. Bowker tallied 48,738 works of fiction (a figure determined, apparently, through the number and types of ISBNs issued), which breaks down to 134 works a day. Could this be for US publishers alone? I'm not sure.
Click on the post title to read yet another confusing overview.
A while back (less than two years, I think), I saw a list of GLBT titles published over a thirty-day period. The list had been compiled by the diligent and tireless Elisa Rolle. I believe I stopped counting at 150 entries. That's a hefty number for a fairly small fiction niche for one month, and I'm willing to bet it's even bigger now. EDITED TO ADD: I just counted the titles on Elisa's current list. There are close to 300 of them! O_O
Lordie, why can't I be a video game developer!
9 comments:
Honey, I'm working with video game developers now. It ain't all unicorns shitting rainbows. To make the really big games "Tomb Raider", etc. You are talking millions to pull of that quality which you hope like hell you make back. (People want everything for free now.) For small games like Angry Birds and Farmville you make very little money and have to churn them out quick and dirty. Farmville is free, you just hope like hell the idiots will pay real world cash for fake farm cash (and they do). It's a tough industry these days. Not as tough as publishing m/m but not easy.
Orthodonture and dentistry are where it's at. Of course, staring in someone's mouth all day is it's own brand of hell I suppose.
Lol - I'm gonna pretend I didn't read this since I got my first contract yesterday. :P
Karen
Well, hell, Tamabamarama, now what am I going to do?
Oh, I know! I'll create the next "must-have" motionless pet (you know, like the Pet Rock or Chia Pet) and sell them via infomercials!
Congratulations, Karen! Don't be dismayed; just be realistic. ;-)
Now THAT is the kind of thinking that made America great KZ. Create something useless then convince everyone they need it. Brilliant.
Elisa publishes those lists every month and they just get longer...
I linked to an interesting post by Ann Somerville in which she shared numbers of what she sold through various sales portals. Seemed useful for authors.
I didn't know Elisa was still compiling those lists, Chris. Maybe, subconsciously, I've avoided looking for them. :)
It's gotten to the point where I can't determine if e-publishing has been a boon or a bane to the book world. Seems half the people on the planet are "writers" now that publication has become so easy. And the scent of blood is definitely in the air. Authors and publishers routinely work themselves into promotional frenzies, scramble to forge mutually beneficial alliances, take potshots at competitors, agonize over criticism (and belittle critics), and just generally act more manic than in the past. It's really getting weird out there.
Ack, Chris, nearly 300 books on Elisa's list for September!
Yup. It's crazy.
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