posted on November 14, 2019 by Lyn Cote

Where Have All the Print Books Gone?

Last month I asked: Print or Ebook–Your Opinion? I received many more replies than usual. If you’re interested in reading them, here’s the link. Thanks to the ladies who weighed in and brought up many good points!

I appreciated their responses. But I promised at the end of that blog to let you in on why ebooks are so plentiful and print books are less available.  Here goes!

In 2007 Amazon released the first Kindle.  But not long after that happened, the Borders and Waldenbook stores that had been in nearly every mall in the US folded. Take a moment and think about how that impacted publishers and authors. They lost HUGE amounts of selling space. Since then, Barnes & Noble has been near bankruptcy and has shut many stores and has reduced the bookshelf space in favor of toys, etc. Walmart is another major bookstore and it has also begun to reduce the space it holds for book sales. Until two years ago, my little hometown had a Book World but that chain shut down all its 45 stores too.

Now some drugstores, grocery stores  and some Targets still stock books but they only handle the top bestselling authors such as Danielle Steel, Stephen King, etc. I’m what’s called a Mid-list author which means I’m not a new author and have an established readership but not all my titles reach the top lists like the NY Times.

There’s only so much shelf space in those stores and the publishers only want to stock the authors who will sell the most to the most readers, those who do reach those lists regularly. It’s kind of like WHEEL OF FORTUNE–only the big winner goes to the bonus round.   So….

So authors and publishers have moved to ebooks which don’t take up physical shelf space in a store. I don’t expect this trend to change. Market forces are at work. So now you know the rest of the story. BTW, did you know that 50% of all paperbacks are sold on Amazon.com now? So that’s a heads-up to all print-lovers.

This month’s question is: Do you buy print books on Amazon or BN?   Well?

BTW, if you read ebooks, I have a free ebook that will help you get in the mood for Christmas, Winter’s Secret and Loving Winter, a Christmas novella in the same series on sale for 99 cents.

Happy Harvest Time!

Lyn Cote

Lyn Cote

Lyn Cote

USA Today best-selling author of over 40 romances, Lyn Cote writes award-winning contemporary and historical romance. Her brand is "Strong Women, Brave Stories." Her books feature a strong heroine, often a multi-cultural cast of characters and authentic history or contemporary life. She lives with her real life hero in a lakeside cottage in the northwoods with two fun cats. (She loves dogs too. :-)

https://BooksbyLynCote.com/SWBS

Lyn Cote Contest

Lyn Cote is giving away an ebook copy of NORTHERN INTRIGUE BOOKS 1-3 box set to one winner.  

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3 thoughts on “Where Have All the Print Books Gone?”

  1. flchen1 says:

    Interesting, Lyn! And yes, I do buy both ebooks and print titles from Amazon. I tend to buy only print from Barnes and Noble because I no longer have a Nook and don’t use the Nook app. Thanks for the free read this month!

  2. Lyn Cote says:

    You’re welcome. I’m glad some Nook readers took advantage of the “deal.” I’m going to do more.

  3. Lucy Sharp says:

    That was interesting. I recently bought a few books from Amazon but don’t make a habit of it. We have used book stores in my area and I frequent them. I am also reading books that I have read years ago (like 20-30) since I read so much and I’ve have forgotten the story lines. Old age creeping up or rather has arrived.
    I don’t have a Kindle or any electronic reader since I like having a book in my hand. Not saying I won’t eventually have one but will resist as long as possible.

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