New York, NY and Falls Church, VA — September 19, 2012 The results of the 4th Annual eBook Production Survey are now available. Issued in April of this year and sponsored by Publishers Weekly (PW) magazine and Aptara, the survey tracks the eBook publishing trends, challenges, and strategies that have emerged since 2009 when the eBook market began taking shape. The surveys represent the Trade, Education, Professional, and Corporate publishing sectors.
“As mobile device adoption rises and consumer reading habits change, so does publishing’s competitive landscape,” said Dev Ganesan, Aptara’s President and CEO. “This year’s survey data reveals that while publishers continue to ramp-up production to meet the eBook market demand, they are finally starting to make money in the process. But as the survey highlights, publishers need to better optimize digital production in order to fully capitalize on eBook revenues.”
“The latest survey results provide valuable market intelligence for all members of the book industry and offer unique insight into the dynamic changes of the last three years,” said Jim Milliot, Co-Editorial Director, Publishers Weekly.
Excerpts from the 4th eBook Survey of Publishers findings:
- 4 out of 5 publishers now produce eBooks, a remarkable 30% increase in three years.
- 36% of eBook publishers are realizing double-digit annual eBook revenues, an astonishing 100% increase (in publishers) since last year.
- 31% of eBook publishers produce enhanced eBooks, though only 12% correlate the enhancements with a positive impact on sales.
- Amazon is the most lucrative eBook sales channel. Publishers’ own websites come in a distant second place for generating the most eBook sales.
- 60% of eBook publishers still employ print-based editorial and production workflows that add time and cost to each eBook.
- More than half of publishers’ content is going to “digital waste”: 65% of eBook publishers have converted less than half of their legacy titles (backlist) into eBooks.
Download the 4th eBook Survey of Publishers results and analysis.
About Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly is the international newsmagazine of the book publishing industry. Founded in 1872 and published continuously since then, the weekly trade magazine publishes six newsletters, including PW Daily and PW Tip Sheet; five blogs; and a robust Web site. The magazine has also launched a mobile edition, digital editions and an app. Publishers Weekly reviews more than 8,000 books each year, in addition to featuring author interviews and news about bookselling, marketing, merchandising and the publishing trade, along with regular columns on rights, people in publishing and bestsellers. For more information: www.publishersweekly.com.
About Aptara
Aptara enriches content for capitalizing on all digital mediums. Providing full content lifecycle production – from content creation and design, to new media enhancements, content technology solutions, and production for all mobile devices and platforms – Aptara develops innovative digital products that deliver content how, when, and where recipients want it, while providing publishers renewed agility and revenue opportunities.
Serving 9 of the 10 largest publishers in the world, Aptara is a US-based company founded in 1988 around its unique publishing technical expertise. Our over 5,500 professionals are deployed globally to help content providers create, enrich, publish, monetize, and manage their assets in the digital age.
