Who Reads?

What is really going on in the book-buying world? To be perfectly honest, I didn’t know much about who was buying books and where they were buying them from. (How’s that for grammar? Don’t tell anyone that I write and edit for a living!) But as I started this foray into publishing, I figured it would behoove me to know who I was trying to sell the book to. (Uh oh, another dangling participle!)

Check out this survey by the American Booksellers Association.

Here are some facts that surprised me:
  • Avid readers (those who read five or more hours per week) are generally older and female.
  • There are 62.4 million avid readers in the US. That’s a lot.
  • Independent booksellers are the preferred retailers of avid readers.
  • E-book readers are still buying paper copies. (So all those fears of paper books disappearing are likely over-blown.)
  • Almost 7 percent of bookbuyers own e-book readers, and this number is going to grow.
  • Most readers want to pay less than $10 for an ebook.

These facts helped me understand more about were I needed to concentrate my efforts so that I didn’t end up trying to get Charlotte Collins, a Continuation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, in the wrong bookstore or spend all my time marketing to people who would never buy it. Maybe it will help you too.