The publishing industry is never going to settle into a norm. Frankly, it never has, it’s just we, as members of different generations, enter the business at different times, with different books, in different genres, with different styles of publishing, and with different concepts of marketing, and as a result we establish our own sense of norm. However, serious change occurs almost monthly, at least seasonally, so if you enter this profession, get used to change. The adaptable types wind up the most successful.

In other words, no hand-wringing and crying about how things are not fair. In still more words, you chose this gig.

On to the changes of late:

1) Library lending through OverDrive is up 16 percent. Partly due to the infusion of federal COVID funds and partly due to the increase in library patronage. Publishers appeared more sympathetic to libraries in terms of costs.

2) Reading was up around the world last year, but it’s sluggish this year.

3) Print sales were up in 2021, with adult fiction the primary catalyst.

4 )The majority of sales in 2021 were due to backlists, justifying why an author always ought to be writing on the next book.

5) The cost of publishing is jumping. A major producer of self-published books is raising its costs again after a six percent raise in November and a four percent increase a year ago. Paper is costly now. Expect the cost of all books to go up.

6) Bookstores are back with even more popping up.

Probably like you, I often delete emails and social media posts that pine about the plight of publishing or future of authors. I also don’t want to read ad nauseum all the What You Can Expect in 2022 projections. I cannot control what’s happening, and I’m so far down the food chain that I cannot make a difference. All that those lengthy epistles do is depress me, and that’s the last thing I need when writing a book.

However, I can handle short and sweet talk about what has happened along with the current trends (based on facts, not gut feeling). Give me pure journalism (if there is still such a thing anymore). I will continue to pass along some of these things in the newsletter and on social media, but to me, a writer’s gotta write, first and foremost. If you are going to let publishing dictate what and how you write, you’ll forever be slung around based on other people’s whims. Besides, whatever trend you see today might not be the situation by the time your book gets written, must less published.

Write because you want to write. Some years you’ll make money and others you will not, but the whole process hinges on whether your heart is in it or not.

(NOTE: Much of this information came from research by Jane Friedman in The Hot Sheet. This is a paid subscription that is the most accurate publication I have found on current trends in publishing. It’s accurate, timely, and written in layman’s terms by a woman who cares about writers. She is genius, and if you ever get to meet her at a conference, tell her to think of Hope when she has her next bourbon.)

To sign up for this fantastic publication, read here.