Report: U.S. Publishers See Rapid Sales Growth Worldwide in Print and E-Formats

Africa — 21.9% total increase in revenue; that translated to 636.8% gain in eBooks and 17.1% in print

According to publishers, growth in print and e-format export sales has been complementary for several years and will continue to follow this pattern for the foreseeable future, with a considerable percentage of print format revenue coming from the international marketplace. Historically, foreign distributors — particularly those in non-English language countries — offered only 5-10% of US publishers’ English-language titles, mainly bestsellers and in print formats. Internet access, however, has brought the full slate of titles to consumers in these countries; this was followed by the international emergence of eBooks in 2009 and the most dramatic growth in that sector over the last 12 months.

Another reason for the growth comes from US Trade publishers actively expanding their global strategies. Over the past few years, publishers have reached deeper into the international consumer base through marketing and publicity, especially digitally and with social media; sales; and distribution. US publishers have established a strong presence across the world.

Finally, various factors were cited by publishers regarding the popularity of US titles. Often, the draw is the original US edition itself. Certain genres such as entertainment, US pop culture and American business topics have special appeal as well as children’s/young adult books in countries where English as a second language is important.

Data for this report was extrapolated from BookStats 2011 figures and supplemental data provided by major publishers and their distribution clients, presenting a total of 161 publishers. Participating publishers included Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan, MIT, Penguin, Perseus, Random House, Simon & Schuster and W.W. Norton.

*Canada is excluded from all figures cited in this highlights summary release since its sales reporting status (whether it is included in domestic or foreign revenue) differs based on publisher. The full report, which has more comprehensive analysis and detailed data, includes Canada.