eBook sales dropped 20% over the past week and are down 8% this year. Industry pundits would point to screen fatigue and the desire to visit physical bookstores to hold and smell printed books. But is there more to the problem than these trends? Let’s consider some of the implications. We may soon be seeing the arrival of audiobooks, digital borrowing, and serialization as well. What does this mean for the future of eBooks? Here are some ideas.

Serialization

There are many benefits to serialization, and it may be the right tactic for your digital publishing strategy. If you’re a busy person, serialization might be the perfect approach. However, it does come with some drawbacks. It requires more administration, maintenance, and upkeep, which is why people in the publishing industry often associate it with lower-quality writers. In fact, it can be an excellent tactic to gain new readers.

For starters, a serial has more reads per book. Many people don’t have the time to finish a full novel. Serialized novels are easier to read on the go, whether it’s while riding public transportation, waiting in line, or just during downtime. Furthermore, smartphones have become so popular that they are becoming as common as e-readers. Readers find serialized novels useful when they have downtime in between books. Several authors have embraced serialization trends. Andy Weir, who published a chapter of The Martian on his website, is one of them.

eBook sales have increased exponentially, with e-books accounting for one-fifth of all books sold. According to the Association of American Publishers, sales of ebooks will exceed $1 trillion by 2020. But as of the beginning of April, e-books are not yet profitable. Despite this, it’s important to note that many authors have tried to counter the emergence of free ebooks on the market. This is not a good idea.

Audiobooks

Audiobooks continue to grow rapidly, with sales increasing nearly seventy percent over a six-month period in 2019. By contrast, ebook sales only grew a modest six percent over the same period. Audiobook sales continue to outpace print sales, with the U.S. taking the lead with over forty percent of total sales last year. The continued popularity of audiobooks in the UK shows that this format is the future of ebooks.

However, while many genres are suited to audiobooks, the genre may not be as popular with all readers. Fictional books, such as romance and thrillers, tend to be shorter than nonfiction titles. As a result, romance and thriller authors may have a higher barrier to entry compared to nonfiction and memoirs. However, there are several advantages to publishing audiobooks. One of the advantages of audiobooks is that you can control the price. There are no pre-set prices or subscriptions.

Despite the difficulty of predicting the final price for an audiobook, general statistics show that it is likely to grow. Nevertheless, the final price will depend on many factors, such as the length and popularity of the book. Independent authors do not have the advantage of building an email list and will not be able to access a large customer base. However, if they’ve created a high-quality audiobook, it is possible to set their content up for success.

Digital borrowing

The UK government is trying to find a sustainable model for e-book lending. They’ve funded a study into the viability of allowing customers to borrow eBooks. But the results of the report are mixed. While the UK government has found e-lending is a good model, it’s still unclear whether this type of lending will actually increase the demand for physical books. After all, digital books don’t get better after many loans.

According to the latest study, US adults checked out more than one million digital books in 2014, with 22 of them checking out over two million. Five of those libraries checked out more than three million, and four had over four million digital titles available to check out. Some public libraries have reached the one million ebooks mark for the first time. In Canada, the number of digital titles checked out per public library system increased from seventy to eighty percent in one year.

Digital borrowing ebook trends show that the millennial generation has become the most frequent users of digital materials. However, the vast majority of people still prefer to buy hardcover books. In fact, the number of ebooks checked out by Canadian library patrons grew by 20% last year, while audiobook consumption increased by more than 100 percent. However, the number of audiobooks borrowed remained below the number of ebooks borrowed. Overall, audiobooks were the most popular digital content in the US in 2018, but they still remain behind ebooks.