Publishers are increasingly ditching nonfiction paperback books, much to the chagrin of authors.
For years, the standard model of book sales has been for publishers to open with a more expensive hardcover, followed by a wave of cheaper paperbacks months later. However, the growing popularity of e-books and audiobooks, a near monopoly by a few book publishers, and changing reader habits have led to a drastic change in this model over the past six years, with paperbacks becoming more and more rare, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Data from Bowker Books in Print showed a collapse of new adult nonfiction paperback titles by 42% from 2019 to 2024, to just under 40,000. New adult nonfiction hardcover titles fell by 9% over the same period.
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