Publishers

Digital growth at the Hachette Book Group’s net sales from digital products which include eBooks and audiobooks increased 130% in 2011. These digital products represented 22% of the company’s overall revenue in 2011, compared with 8% in 2010. The publisher also reported today that it had 62 titles hit the New York Times eBook bestseller chart in 2011.

Lagardère SCA, Hachette’s parent company released these figures today along with its 2011 full year revenue report. While Lagardère’s net sales for 2011 were €7,657m, a 3.9% drop on a reported basis from 2010, digital books did well across the group.

At Hachette Livre, fourth quarter eBook sales accounted for 20% of adult trade sales in the U.S. and 10% in the U.K.  In 2011 eBooks accounted for 6% of Lagardère Publishing’s total net sales.

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Bloomsbury had a record holiday season for eBook sales. The company reported this week that its eBook sales grew 38% in the fourth quarter of 2011 over sales during the same period last year.

The company attributed the sales to the growth of eReaders in the UK. The press release has more: “YouGov reported that over 1.3 million ebook readers were sold in the UK over the Christmas period.”

Chief executive Nigel Newton, stated: “We have a robust business, strongly adapted to the digital market place, that we have positioned to take full advantage of the continuing opportunities arising from growth of online sales and sales of ebooks.”

The publisher’s bestsellers during the period include: River Cottage Veg Everyday! by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall; Heston at Home by Heston Blumenthal; Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman; as well as the Harry Potter box sets.

Earlier this week, publishing house Hachette leaked an internal document to Digital Book World that explains why publishers are relevant.

The document calls self-publishing a “misnomer” and defends the role of the publisher. Here is an excerpt from Digital Book World: “Publishing requires a complex series of engagements, both behind the scenes and public facing. Digital distribution (which is what most people mean when they say self-publishing) is just one of the components of bringing a book to market and helping the public take notice of it.” The document goes on to outline the work that publishers do including curating, brand building, selling and distributing books.

Author J.A. Konrath, a self-published author who has sold more than a million eBooks through the Kindle book store alone, responded to this post telling publishers to get their act together. In an email sent to Digital Book World, he wrote: “Publishers should stop trying to convince themselves and others that they’re relevant, and start actually being relevant. Here’s how: 1. Offer much better royalties to authors. 2. Release titles faster. It can take 18 months after a book is turned in to be published. I can do it myself in a week.” Follow this link to see his entire email.

 

To help offset some of the money lost on MP3 file sharing and illegal downloading, many smart bands and record labels create special edition CDs and vinyl records for albums that are also released digitally.

The idea is to create a product that is beautifully designed that fans will want to own. Often, these extensive boxsets and heavy vinyl packages, come with a code to download the album for free for those who purchase it. Let’s face it, even those people who will shell out more money to buy a 180 gram vinyl version of an album, are probably going to actually be listening to MP3s more often.

The New York Times is reporting that this trend is beginning to happen in book publishing, citing examples of books with elaborate print packages from Jay-Z, Haruki Murakami and Stephen King. The Times reports: “The eagerly anticipated 925-page novel by Haruki Murakami, ’1Q84,’ arrived in bookstores in October wrapped in a translucent jacket with the arresting gaze of a young woman peering through.”

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Lagardère SCA, the company that owns the Hachette Book Group, announced its third quarter revenues today, and reported that its digital book business continues to grow.

According to the company, eBooks now represent 21% of HBG’s net sales, which is up from 9% of net sales for Q3 2010. This is a 134% growth over total eBook sales in 2010.Bestsellers helped contribute to these sales as Hachette on the New York Times’ new eBook bestseller list.

According to the press release, eBook sales helped the company, since net sales in English-speaking countries during the quarter. Net sales fell 8% in the US and 10% in the UK which the company attributed to the impact of lower margins from eBooks and retail bankruptcies such as Borders going out of business.

British publisher Bloomsbury’s eBook sales spiked 564% in the first half of 2011. eBook sales brought in £2.5 million for the company, in the six months that ended August 31, 2011. This is up from the £0.4 million that the publisher earned from eBook sales during the same period in 2010.

Overall, the publishing house that publishes the Harry Potter books and Elizabeth Gilbert‘s bestseller Eat, Pray, Love, had a successful six month period. Turnover was 16% to £44.9 million, from £38.6 million in 2010. The adult division, which focused on digital investment during the period, generated 49% of group sales. This was down from 52% of group sales in 2010, however, sales were up by 10.5% year-over-year to £22.1 million.

The company will continue to focus on its digital business going forward. For example, the children’s division which released four enhanced ebooks during the period, will release its first enhanced title and simultaneous print run next year.

Two Princeton academics have launched a new eBook imprint that ties public domain eBooks and current movies. Scarlet Oak Press is making enhanced eBook editions of major films based on classic books that are coming out this fall and winter.

The enhanced editions include original introductions, an annotated study guide, maps and illustrations, as well as what Scarlet Oak Press is calling a “page-to-screen history.”

 

Simon & Schuster has a new Facebook fan page to promote books and host book club events. The initiative is called Something to Read About: The S&S Book Club.

In exchange for “liking” the page, readers can access exclusive content such as moderated discussions with “Book-of-the-Month” titles, as well as the opportunity to interact with selected authors. Fans can also check out photos and videos and win free books.

The first S&S Book Club event is for Jaycee Dugard’s memoir A Stolen Life. The virtual event will take place on Wednesday, October 12 from 1-4 pm EST. A Simon & Schuster moderator will lead the discussion, as Dugard is not participating in the discussion.

For publishers and authors interested in hosting their own virtual book clubs, check out our post on How to Host A Video Book Club Visit.

Random House saw eBook sales triple in the first half of 2011, as compared to sales in the same period in 2010.

Bertelsmann, the group that owns the publisher, released its revenues for the first half of 2011 earlier this week. Random House revenues hit €787 million, down slightly from the company’s revenues in 2010 for the same period which hit €791 million. However, the earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) was €69 million, up from €40 million. The publisher attributed this favorable EBIT to strong U.S. performance.

According to Random House, overall gains were driven by bestsellers, and eBook sales across all territories. In the U.S., digital sales accounted for more than 20 percent of all revenues. At the reporting date, Random House imprints had more than 27,000 eBooks available worldwide.

Lagardère Publishing, the company that owns the Hachette Book Group, reported its first half of 2011 sales figures yesterday, and revealed that eBook sales now represent 5% of total net sales throughout the company.

The company saw sharp growth in eBook sales in English-speaking countries during the first half of this year. In the US, eBooks accounted for 20% of net sales in the trade segment. In the UK, eBooks accounted for 8% of net sales in the trade segment. Both countries doubled their eBook net sales figures from last year.

Lagardère Publishing reported €900 million in revenues in the first half of 2011, down 6% on a like-for-like basis from 2010. The company attributed these figures to “expected decline in sales of the last book in the Stephenie Meyer series, significant progress in eBooks in English-speaking countries and solid performances in France by the General Literature and Education segments.”