As traditional publishers struggle through the recession, self-publishing skyrocketed in 2009. According to the bibliographic company Bowker, 285,394 new books were published by print-on-demand companies last year--a 132 percent increase compared to 2007.

In contrast, U.S. publishers put out 275,232 new books and editions in 2008--a 3.2 percent drop compared to the year before.

Here's more from Kelly Gallagher, VP of publisher services for Bowker: "Our statistics for 2008 benchmark an historic development in the U.S. book publishing industry as we crossed a point last year in which On Demand and short-run books exceeded the number of traditional books entering the marketplace ... It remains to be seen how this trend will unfold in the coming years before we know if we just experienced a watershed year in the book publishing industry." (Via Jafurtado)