Is Anyone Buying Books? Anyone? Anyone...?

I read about this survey in Dan Poynter's newsletter this week. What's great about it is it casts aside the notion that no one is buying books anymore. Most of us are buying less these days so to see a decline would be natural, but the chicken little approach to publishing (no one's buying, no one's buying) is likely an overboard reaction.

This kind of information is vital whether you're publishing independently or pitching traditional houses. As you read it, think about the audience you're trying to reach. The survey breaks things down nicely by gender and age. Consider their spending habits and how you think you can reach them best. And just as a reminder, your audience is not everyone. No such book (other than the Bible). If you haven't narrowed down your audience yet, the survey will be a useful tool. Start with a broad category and dissect from there. As a quick example, maybe you'll start with women ages 35-50 and from there go to Christian women of that age with children who also work outside the home.

Who are you trying to reach? Let us know, let's see how our results match with who's buying.

*Note you may have to scroll through the slides yourself with the numbers under the screen, not sure why it's not running in presentation mode.


Good Writing & God Bless,
Cheryl Pickett