Are Books Dying Out?

Today we're responding to a series of articles that have gone viral over the last couple of weeks. They're all about the publishing industry, and whether or not it's dying out.

Included: how big is the market for books? Is it growing or shrinking? Are publishers profitable? Is it even worth writing books anymore? What about indie books, self-publishing, e-books, and audio? What do publishers get right and what do they get wrong.

James says the C word twice and apologises to all the Americans for being Australian.

Main sources:

No One Buys Books by Elle Griffin (elysian.press/p/no-one-buys-books)

People Buy Books, Publishing Is Thriving, and Substack Will Never Replace Books, by Brooke Warner (brookewarner.substack.com/p/people-buy-books-p…) which also links to several other great pieces. The one we used most heavily was:

Yes, People Do Buy Books, by Lincolm Michel (countercraft.substack.com/p/yes-people-do-buy-…)