The democratisation of culture is translating into ever greater participation by its members and a blurring of the roles previously reserved for 'professional' authors.
Bloggers, vloggers, podcasters and Instagrammers are online creators who are eager to monetise their popularity by publishing books – both traditional and digital. What does this publishing market look like? What will it look like in a year, when problems with paper availability intensify?
Writing books is a way for online creators – including bloggers, podcasters and YouTubers – to monetise their activity and recognisability on the internet. Thanks to them, they do not have to base their business model (exclusively) on commercial collaborations with brands and can diversify their income. Because of the ability to make independent decisions and better earnings, they often choose self-publishing, i.e. publishing a book themselves, bypassing traditional publishing houses.
Help in creating, selling and shipping products made by influencers and independent authors is offered by, among others, the company IMKER. In 2021, using its software, clients sold nearly half a million products with a total value of PLN 68.5 million, of which almost 40 per cent were content in electronic form. A significant part of the sales is accounted for by books in various formats.
Which formats do independent authors choose?
IMKER analysed more than 400 titles sold by independent creators using the software and the company's logistics facilities. The data shows that paper-format titles account for half of their offer. E-books account for more than 43 per cent and audiobooks for more than 7 per cent of published works.
The largest group, 35 per cent of authors, still chooses to publish only a paper book, but 28 per cent publish only an e-book. One in four publishes a book in two formats: paper and as an e-book. More than 7 per cent offer readers a full set to choose from – paper, e-book or audiobook.
Traditional books are often children's books, celebrity autobiographies or specialist guides, for example in medicine or accounting. E-books are chosen primarily by food bloggers publishing seasonal recipes or influencers writing business guides. The choice of audio form does not clearly correlate with the subject matter of the author's online activity.
How can influencers increase e-book sales?
Authors mainly record the audio version of their books themselves – financial or parenting bloggers – for whom speaking to their fans is natural. They often simultaneously create podcasts or publish video stories on social media, and their audiences are used to their voice and like listening to them.
How much is that e-book? Or pricing policy
IMKER's data shows that the average price of a paper book is more than PLN 67. E-books and audiobooks are priced about PLN 17 lower, with their prices comparable – on average around PLN 50-52. Meanwhile, according to data collected by Nielsen BookScan Polska, the average price per book copy in a bookshop in 2020 was PLN 25.21.
– In the self-publishing market, prices are set by the authors. They set them by calculating the costs of publishing, distribution and promotion of the book, pricing the knowledge conveyed, the time spent writing/recording and promoting the title. They also take into account their audiences' purchasing power. Looking at the successes of authors such as Michał Szafrański (Jakoszczedzacpieniadze.pl), Ola Budzyńska (Pani Swojego Czasu) or Krzysztof Gonciarz, it is clear that such a policy is effective – notes Krzysztof Bartnik, founder and CEO of IMKER.
– We advise the book authors we work with to price the paper and digital formats the same. Because although printing a book does not cost the same as producing an e-book, and recording the audio version takes more time than preparing an epub file, we believe that it is the content and not the form that should be priced – explains Krzysztof Bartnik. – And indeed, more and more creators using our services and deciding to publish in three formats keep to a single price. We also see this sales strategy in publishing houses and bookshops. The times when e-books were treated as less valuable are over – adds Bartnik.
Meanwhile, the situation in the publishing market is being affected by the shortage of paper and delays in supply chains.
– The prices of paper books will probably rise over the year, by as much as 15-30 per cent. We forecast that this will lead to a greater share of digital formats among books published by creators working with us – assesses Krzysztof Bartnik.
The growth potential of audio content
According to the recurring Omdia Digital Audiobooks Forecast report, the value of audiobook sales worldwide in 2021 was USD 4.8 billion and will nearly double over the next 5 years – to USD 9.3 billion. Interest in books in digital format rose sharply during the pandemic, especially when bookshops and libraries were closed. For several years, the popularity of subscription-based streaming platforms with audio and e-books, such as Audioteka, Legimi and Empik Go, has been growing – both the number of users and the content available on them has been rising by double digits year on year.
Meanwhile, recording and publishing audio works by independent creators still seems to be a challenge.
– To record a good-quality audiobook, authors often decide to rent a professional studio, which fortunately is becoming more and more popular and accessible. The difficulties begin with the distribution of the material. In bookshops, audiobooks are still released in the form of a CD, and yet audiences often no longer have CD players. A file to download onto a device such as a mobile phone may be too heavy and take up too much memory. On the other hand, the commission-based settlement model with subscription platforms is not favourable for authors. They will benefit more from platforms enabling streaming of specific files that can be easily integrated with a sales system and that charge for the transfer used, i.e. for actual listens – advises the expert.
The era of the influencer
The group of people creating online is growing year by year and shows no sign of shrinking. An analysis by the American VC fund SignalFire shows that around 50 million people worldwide are considered online creators, of whom only 4 per cent are professionals (i.e. those who support themselves solely from their online creativity). The publishing activity of online authors is developing thanks, among other things, to audiences' demand for digital content – content that matches their interests, is available immediately and is convenient to consume.
Regardless of whether we are considering entertainment content or substantive guides – e-books and audiobooks from influencers will only gain in popularity.
