I just read on GalleyCat that the adult mass market paperback book sales dropped almost 31% in January 2011 when compared to January 2010. Hardback sales dropped around 11%.  It went on to say that total book sales dropped by 1.9%, totally $805.7 million. They have a total breakdown of the sales here.

Also at GalleyCat, eBook sales were up 115.8%. That is a jump from $32.4 million to $69.9 million. It stated that there has been an increase in sales in the past nine years since the Association of American Publishing has been tracking it. You can read the breakdown of the sales here.

I find it extremely interesting. I don’t know what it means for the future of publishing, but I do know that ePublishing will be a part of the future, for sure. I’m sure it opens up many avenues for publishing, even for big name traditional publishers.

I would think that without having to purchase paper, printing ink, and all that traditional publishing entails, these publishers could take on more clients and get more books out. It probably means smaller advances, cheaper ebooks, and smaller sales, but maybe the trade off is people buying more books. Hey, it’s cheaper and they can get it instantly!

What do you think about it?