For the first eight months of 2014, adult book sales were down 1.6%, as all formats but downloadable audio had declines. E-book sales had the smallest drop, off only 0.1% to $853.3 million. Trade paperback sales were down just 0.7%, to $860.4 million. Hardcover sales were off a more noticeable 7.2% through the eight months and mass market paperback sales were down 3.4%.
In children’s/ya, e-book sales were up 56.5% and hardcover sales jumped 47.1%. E-books accounted for 15.0% of all children’s/ya sales in the January-August period up from 12.0% in the same span in 2013. E-books’ share of adult sales rose to 29.7% in 2014 from 29.2% in the first eight months of 2013. Figures are based on reports from 1,209 publishers. (From PW Article)
