Industry leaders talk candidly about issues affecting the industry—from distribution to rising costs to an increased focus on content.

By Jim Calder

According to ‘Trends 2006,’ net revenues for all books are projected to top $40.4 billion by 2010. This reflects aggregate growth over a five-year period of 16.9 percent.

“It has never been easier to set up as a publisher, though many might argue that it has also never been harder to succeed as one,” Healy says.

Figures provided by the U.S. ISBN Agency, R.R. Bowker—which compiles comprehensive title and publisher information—show record growth in the numbers of new publishers established and titles published, according to Healy. “I understand from contacts at R.R. Bowker that approximately 200,000 new titles were published in 2005, and more than 10,000 new publishers were given ISBN prefixes for the first time,” Healy says.

“I expect the book industry to continue to grow modestly,
2 percent on average, in the coming years,” Smith predicts.

The important thing to remember is that distribution will only take you as far as your content value will travel. BB