Steven Piersanti, President, of one the best independent publishers, Berrett-Koehler, cheers us up with these awful truths, including:
3. Average book sales are shockingly small, and falling fast.
5. A book has less than a 1% chance of being stocked in an average bookstore.
7. Most books today are selling only to the authors’ and publishers’ communities.
8. Most book marketing today is done by authors, not by publishers.
The saddest part – this was written in 2007 – when the industry was much stronger than it is now.
Behind the gloom are some important insights, particularly #7. The list is here:
http://www.bkpextranet.com/AuthorMaterials/10AwfulTruths.htm