5 ms·

> there were 2.6 million books sold online in 2020 and only 268 of them sold more than 100,000 copies I'm confused... just the top 0.0001% (268 x 100k) is 26.8

> there were 2.6 million books sold online in 2020 and only 268 of them sold more than 100,000 copies I'm confused... just the top 0.0001% (268 x 100k) is 26.8M, yet they claim only 2.6M books were sold total for the full year. Am I missing something obvious?

rmah 5y ago
I think they meant 2.6 mil titles, not copies.
- beambot 5y ago
  Ah, I'll bet you're right! Wow, that significantly changes the meaning...
warent 5y ago
2.6 million different titles sold, not 2.6 million copies
chanakya 5y ago
2.6 million different book titles. Not total sales of books online, which is about 500m, I believe.
rjp0008 5y ago
The 2.6 million is the choice of books available. Like baskin robins has 31 flavors but only 5 of them sold more than 100k scoops.
iscrewyou 5y ago
It’s confusing but the percentage figure means that 2.6 million individual titles were sold or available to be bought. Only 268 of those titles sold over 100k.
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tksmith151 5y ago
I think the 2.6 million books refers to 2.6 million different titles that were sold rather than the total number of book sales across all titles, which as you pointed out is significantly higher than 2.6 million.
- ellegriffin 5y ago
  Yes, that is correct. 2.6 million different titles were sold (not total copies.)
AS_of 5y ago
Besides the shoddy number work, does this really tell us anything? I mean, if everyone read "exactly what was needed" then that would significantly change the distribution since the current is based on "what marketers make me think I need." Therefore, this article could be viewed as positive improvement of efficiency in the book buying market. Ie more people buying "the book they need" vs "want because of flashy marketing" based on increased access to search and reviews.
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Finnucane 5y ago
It's also not clear if those numbers are just 'trade' books (i.e., books sold through regular bookstores), or includes academic titles, textbooks, reference books, etc. I mean, there's a lot of stuff published that has a fairly specialized or otherwise limited market. Probably the overwhelming majority of books fall into categories that are never going to sell 100K or more no matter what.
fredgrott 5y ago
they are comparing apples and orangs as total books sold is those sold online + those sold through bookstores. That being said it points to not that writing books is not economical viable but that have someone else publish it is not economically viable! My bias, I am self publishing my first book at the end of this year in flutter app dev with using paid article writing using Medium.com to pay the costs of setting up the LLC, and other costs such as purchasing a brand new mac laptop. Note, since most people in tech do not buy 2nd screens just to read and use a book it's some skewed towards the 45k number in those niches, my own opinion. Most publisher advertising gets one to the 15k number which is why I am using a social-media and Medium article combined route to advertising the book.

rmah 5y ago

I think they meant 2.6 mil titles, not copies.

beambot 5y ago
Ah, I'll bet you're right! Wow, that significantly changes the meaning...

warent 5y ago

2.6 million different titles sold, not 2.6 million copies

chanakya 5y ago

2.6 million different book titles. Not total sales of books online, which is about 500m, I believe.

rjp0008 5y ago

The 2.6 million is the choice of books available. Like baskin robins has 31 flavors but only 5 of them sold more than 100k scoops.

iscrewyou 5y ago

It’s confusing but the percentage figure means that 2.6 million individual titles were sold or available to be bought. Only 268 of those titles sold over 100k.

deleted 5y ago

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tksmith151 5y ago

I think the 2.6 million books refers to 2.6 million different titles that were sold rather than the total number of book sales across all titles, which as you pointed out is significantly higher than 2.6 million.

ellegriffin 5y ago
Yes, that is correct. 2.6 million different titles were sold (not total copies.)

AS_of 5y ago

Besides the shoddy number work, does this really tell us anything? I mean, if everyone read "exactly what was needed" then that would significantly change the distribution since the current is based on "what marketers make me think I need." Therefore, this article could be viewed as positive improvement of efficiency in the book buying market. Ie more people buying "the book they need" vs "want because of flashy marketing" based on increased access to search and reviews.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

Finnucane 5y ago

It's also not clear if those numbers are just 'trade' books (i.e., books sold through regular bookstores), or includes academic titles, textbooks, reference books, etc. I mean, there's a lot of stuff published that has a fairly specialized or otherwise limited market. Probably the overwhelming majority of books fall into categories that are never going to sell 100K or more no matter what.

fredgrott 5y ago

they are comparing apples and orangs as total books sold is those sold online + those sold through bookstores. That being said it points to not that writing books is not economical viable but that have someone else publish it is not economically viable! My bias, I am self publishing my first book at the end of this year in flutter app dev with using paid article writing using Medium.com to pay the costs of setting up the LLC, and other costs such as purchasing a brand new mac laptop. Note, since most people in tech do not buy 2nd screens just to read and use a book it's some skewed towards the 45k number in those niches, my own opinion. Most publisher advertising gets one to the 15k number which is why I am using a social-media and Medium article combined route to advertising the book.