• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Login
  • Register
Publishers Lunch logo Publishers Lunch logo
  • Publishers Marketplace
  • Site Guide
  • Help
Login Sign Up
  • Personnel
  • AI
  • Compensation
  • Unions
  • Book Bans
  • New Releases
  • Earnings
  • The Trial
  • Archives
Publishers Lunch logo
  • Publishers Marketplace
  • Site Guide
  • Help
  • Publishers Marketplace
  • Site Guide
  • Help

June 5, 2012By Michael Cader

“Traditional” Print Titles Grew Almost 6 Percent in 2011, As POD Factories Pulled Back

June 5, 2012By Michael Cader

Bowker followed those self-publishing-focused statistics we noted yesterday with the formal release of their estimates of print book production in 2011. What they call “traditional” output–which includes self-publishers like Create Space, but excludes public domain POD factories like BiblioBazaar–grew for the sixth consecutive year. The preliminary title count was 347,178, up almost 6 percent from 2010’s final count of 328,259. (NB we have observed that the final count is almost always higher than the preliminary tally; that 2010 number listed here is about 12,000 titles higher than the preliminary estimate issued this time a year ago.) As reported yesterday, at least, self-published print books comprise about 124,700 of those ISBNs, or 36 percent of the total “traditional” output.

Bear in mind, however, that Bowker’s official stats continue to measure only books issued in print form (including print on demand). They still do not tabulate counts for ebooks issued during the year, so the numbers clearly under-represent the actual amount of new volumes coming to market, particularly with the dramatic but unquantified rise of digital-only titles. Anecdotally we all know this is an area of explosive growth, but because of inconsistent application of identifiers (among other factors), it remains untrackable. To understand the real nature of new-title production from year-to-year,  we’ll need to figure out how to “size” ebook releases as well.

While regular print title creation grew modestly, the public domain business clearly peaked in 2010–when it exploded to 3.8 million titles–falling back to a mere 1.185 million titles in 2011, a dramatic drop but still the second-largest year for this segment of the business.

Among “traditional” titles, fiction remains the largest single category, rising 13 percent to roughly 60,000 titles, with the broad listing of juveniles second at 36,000 titles, followed by sociology/economics at 31,600 titles.

Filed Under: Free, Industry Statistics

sidebar

Primary Free Sidebar

Login

Forgot Password Quick Pass User Login
Get Full Access
The Publishing Industry’s Essential Daily Read

Each Publishers Lunch Deluxe subscription includes full access to our searchable multi-year archive of industry news, a nightly email reporting 10 to 50 deal transactions, and our database of industry contacts, scripts, and posting privileges.

Learn More

RSS Automat

  • The WSJ on Scholastic's Turnaround Efforts July 15, 2025 WSJ
  • Fourth Wing Coloring Book and Calendar to be Published by Andrews McMeel July 15, 2025 Press release
  • Nielsen Successor (And Owner of Nielsen Bookscan) NIQ Files for IPO, Raising Over $1 Billion on a $7.25 Billion Value July 14, 2025 Reuters
  • Sally Kim Discusses Working at Each of the Big 5 July 10, 2025 Open Book Podcast
  • Authors Write An Open Letter to Publishers Against AI July 1, 2025 Lit Hub
  • Pearson and Google Partner on AI Tools June 27, 2025 Press Release
  • Author of "Life as We Knew It," Among 76 Books of "Complex Stories for Young Adults" Susan Beth Pfeffer Dies at 77 June 26, 2025 NYT
  • Why Man Not Read Fiction We Think Should? IDK -- Let's Ask A Tourist Bookstore June 26, 2025 NYT
  • Baseball Writer Scott Miller Dies at 62 June 24, 2025 NY Post
  • Accusations of Plagiarism, AI Use, and Bullying on BookTok June 23, 2025 NBC News
Publishers Marketplace logo

Contact Us

News

  • Publishers Marketplace
  • Report News
  • Discuss
  • Classifieds
  • Rights Offerings

Deals

  • Report A Deal

Books

  • Buzz Books

Jobs

  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy Terms of Use