2008 Book Buying

Bowker has released its annual report on book buying, or as they call it, an indepth look at “book data, demographics, psychographics, genre category breakdowns and distribution channel analysis" for 2008.

For authors, the report would prove interesting, with lots of information on the book buying habits of readers. It may also be out of the price range for most authors. It sells for $999. Yikes!

Bowker did release a few tantalizing tidbits.

57% of book buyers are women yet women purchase 65% of the books sold in the U.S.

So, this tells you that last year men bought books almost as often as women, but women bought more books than men. But what does it tell you about marketing or the way publishers present books? Or the way bookstores display books?

Mystery books are the most popular genre for book club sales, with 17% of all purchases of mystery books coming directly from book clubs

Bowker says mysteries are the most popular, but they represent only 17% - that leaves room for other genres. How can you work toward getting your book listed with book clubs?

Generation X consumers buy more books online than any other demographic group, with 30% of them buying their books through the Internet

First of all, who are the people making up Generation X? It can vary, but most say it is that generation born between 1961 and 1981. That’s a pretty wide spread, but it tells you that Generation X and most likely those born after 1981 are adept at buying things online. What does this tell you about e-books?

21% of book buyers said they became aware of a book through some sort of online promotion or ad

We used to find out about books from our friends or reading reviews in the paper. Increasingly, those avenues are becoming less relevant. So, what does this say about where you should be promoting your book?

Women made the majority of the purchases in the paperback, hardcover and audio-book segments, but men accounted for 55% of e-book purchases

The majority of women buy books they can touch and hold. The majority of men buy e-books. Consider this when deciding what format(s) to choose for your book and how to promote that book.

That covers the free information Bowker provided. If anyone buys the full thing, let me know. Also, tell us your ideas on these stats. Does it change your way of thinking? Do you think you’ll do things differently or change your focus?