The Good and the Bad in Publishing...

The publishing world hasn't escaped the economic difficulties that have affected everything else lately, and publishers, booksellers and authors don't seem to be in line for a government bailout. But how might the current economic climate affect the kinds of books that are available and where you'll buy books? On a trip to New York last month, I got to hear from a number of publishing industry insiders, and here's what I managed to glean.

To start with, the news isn't all bad. Yes, there has been some decline in sales overall, but most of the decline has come in hardcover fiction. The sales of mass market paperbacks, especially in genres like romance and fantasy, actually went up last year. However, a lot of the sales increase can be attributed to a few really big books, so the market is very tiered, with the really big books, and then everyone else. That may mean that authors who fall in the "everyone else" group may have difficulty getting books published, but agents report that publishers are still buying books from debut authors.

Where people buy books is starting to shift. Amazon is steadily growing, while the major chains are having financial troubles. Borders is in serious difficulty and is closing stores. A major book distribution company has folded, so books may not even be getting to some outlets, like grocery stores or drugstores. With increasing availability of e-readers, e-books are starting to make a real impact on the industry. All of those trends point to potential change, but the experts aren't yet sure what the industry will do in response to these trends.

You may be seeing more of your favorite authors online, as publishers are cutting back on their marketing and authors are having to pick up the slack. Because the Internet is a cost-effective promotional tool, authors are doing things like blogging, posting to Twitter and maintaining Facebook and MySpace pages. The challenge for authors is to do all that while still writing books.

As for the kinds of books that may be coming, paranormal -- whether in the form of paranormal romance or urban fantasy -- seems to still be going strong, as many of the adult readers today are the kids who grew up with books like the Goosebumps series, and then there are all those Twilight readers. Some agents predict that difficult economic times will lead to a return to popularity for the "home and hearth" kind of books that focus on families, emotion and nostalgia. Other industry experts see a possible comeback for classic forms of romance, like the contemporary single title or the traditional historical romance -- comfort zones for readers. Genres are continuing to blend, with more combinations of standard genres to create entirely new genres.

But remember, it's generally about a year or more between the time a book sells and the time it hits store shelves, so you may not see these trends until next year.

Until next time ... Shanna

Shanna Swendson writes "Fairy Tales for Modern Times" and is the author of the Enchanted, Inc. series about a Texan in New York City, a magical NYC. Visit her website or blog for more information.