Toilet Paper and the Future of Publishing

The book publishing industry isn’t doing too badly despite the pandemic. Publishing trends are looking rosy. Book sales are up since people are seeking an escape from the scary world around them. They want to truly get lost in a good book.

Market research company the NPD group notes that the book market has always done well during economic downturns. Even independent booksellers are figuring out how to make it work. Some have turned to online fundraising to keep themselves afloat; others have turned into mini mail-order warehouses.

But how do you do book promotion during quarantine, when in-person events at bookstores aren’t recommended? That’s forced book promotion to get a little more creative.

Big-box retailers noticed that when they placed books next to household essentials, shoppers snapped up paperbacks and novels right alongside grabbing pasta, beans, and toilet paper. It seems counterintuitive, but it is brilliant. It makes the case that reading and enjoying a good book is just as critical as these household goods.

The publishing trends indicate that consumers agree. At the end of March in the UK, sales of fiction went up by a third, while materials in children's education went up by a whopping 234%.

Longer books, such as Hilary Mantel's Cromwell trilogy and classics such as Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez have gained popularity.

A 900-page book like those written by Mantel no longer seems intimidating when people have to remain inside due to quarantine and social distancing measures. Wired reports similar trends on this side of the pond.

Book sales climbed in April at the start of the pandemic, especially in the gardening, cooking, and children's education categories. This is a reflection of how society has changed during the pandemic: people are both seeking new hobbies and trying to educate their children at home.

Reading a physical book is also a great distraction from all-day Zoom meetings. Zoom fatigue is real, as anyone who’s been on for five hours a day can tell you. What better than to curl up with a great book after having to stare at a screen for hours? Self-published authors have an opportunity in this new world of book promotion. This is the perfect time to engage directly with your target audience.

Your readers probably want to escape from reality, and they can do so by climbing inside your book. You can even get your work out faster by book publishing yourself. Sales of e-books are up alongside sales of physical books, so it's quicker to bring your title to market.

Hollywood is also getting in on the game by snapping up book rights during the pandemic. Executives in Hollywood have been paying attention to the increase in book sales, so they've been grabbing the rights for many novels and nonfiction works to develop into future hit movies or tv shows. For example, Creative Artists Agency (CAA) has sold 175 book titles for film and TV production.

They are focusing their efforts on getting books, not screenplays, sold to studios. Some popular books come with a built-in audience, which makes it easier to make the sale. There's less marketing work involved pitching a familiar book title to a big-name studio.

The influenza epidemic of 1918 has some parallels to our situation today. It was a world ravaged by war and disease, much like our own. The political and social situation was also tense. The need for books, entertainment, and great stories was as immediate then as it is today. A good story, well told, can provide a welcome escape.

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