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Indie Book Sales 2021

This article concern our opinion on indie book sales in 2021 for most of the indie authors and the indie book market as a whole

Chalita Majang
11/01/2022
General, Ramblings, Self-Publishing, Writing

Indie Book Sales 2021 — My Survey of Indie Authors

I have done a small poll about indie book sales in 2021 around my author friends, and I would like to share the results with you.

Not all of the authors surveyed had books in all of the categories below, and I am not taking genres into account. Still, I think that the results are interesting. Let me know your opinion, please.

eBooks: ebook sales seemed to be at best flat, but several authors reported a definite dip in sales. Some said that this was probably due to the profligacy of ‘lenders’ like Scribt, Overdrive and the dozens of others, including local public libraries. Some reported a drop of as much as 66% on the previous year.

Indie book sales in 2021

Paperbacks: This has been a surprising, but very welcome sector for those who have made the effort to provide paperback copies for their readers. One author reported a 300% increase in paperback sales over 2021, which is quite a leap considering the extra cost. Perhaps, people are coming around to, or just remembering, the fact that paperbacks make better ornaments than ebooks.

Hardbacks: hardbacks are in the same class as paperbacks, but are hideously expensive, and no-one reported a significant swing in that direction.

Audiobooks: the audiobook sector has been the winner of the year by far! Many authors have brushed them aside as a fad, but how wrong they were. At least in as much as sales are still booming.

Never say never, though, eh? Perhaps, they will go the way of ebooks one day, but somehow, I don’t think so.

An audiobook is like listening to a play on the radio, isn’t it? So, you can listen while doing the ironing, driving the car or even falling asleep.

Several authors reported that audiobook ( will we ever call them abooks?) sales outstripped their sales of all other formats combined by ten to one!

Beat that!

Translations: some people are getting into having their books translated, but sales are sluggish. The problem seems to be that foreign translators are not used to having to promote their work. They are used to getting paid for the job and moving on to the next one. However, what would the average writer do with a book in, say, French? Does he/she have any French friends, or even speak French well enough to write promotional material?

Mostly not. Therefore, the translator is vital for successful sales revenue. Few of them seem to grasp this concept though, and seem to be waiting for the end of Covid so that everything can return to normal.

It’s a shame, and a missed opportunity

Having said that, at least one author is seeing a slow but steady gentle rise in foreign sales.

Did Covid increase book sales? I think that most writers would say that it didn’t much. People had a lot more free time, but then the children were home too. Perhaps, the TV and Netflix benefitted the most, although it seems that some people were listening to audiobooks too.

Best wishes,

Chalita.

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Chalita Majang

Chalita took over from Owen Jones as the owner of this blog, because Mr. Jones wanted to devote more time to writing, while Chalita wanted to get into blogging and help readers and writers to follow their passion for books.
Chalita is new to blogging and reviewing books, but she is learning quickly and is eager to help.
'If I cannot help directly, I know that I can always call on Owen', she says. 'Owen has vast experience in reading and writing books, and has more than a thousand books registered in his name at the British Library'.
The dog, Angun, which means Grape or Grapes in Thai, was an eighteenth birthday present from a friend. She was a lovely dog in every way imaginable, but was killed shortly after giving birth to and raising her first brood of puppies. She is sadly missed, and hasn't been replaced.
'A new dog just wouldn't be the same', she said sadly.
Anyway, times have changed, and Chalita now has a demanding job in Bangkok.
'I will be devoting as much time as I can to running the blog though', she said earnestly. 'And, if I see that people like my style of blogging, then I will rearrange my life a little in order to devote more time to it. I love reading and interacting with people anyway, so that wouldn't be a hardship. I suppose that I have to wait for the older visitors to get used to my style, and to try to attract new people who will come here for me.
'If you have any ideas about what you would like to see on this blog, please drop me a line' :-)
In the meantime, the format of Megan Publishing Services will remain roughly what it is now - a resource for readers and writers and a showcase for the books of Welsh writer Owen Jones.
Owen Jones has written fifty-odd novels in various genres mostly set in Wales, Spain and Thailand (the three countries where he spends most of his time). Similarly, many of his books have an element of the supernatural or paranormal, but not all of them, since he has a 700,000-word fictional biography, a spy thriller and military drama. Mr. Jones is strong on series. He only has a couple of stand-alone novels.

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