2012 fiction books published with an ISBN: adult fiction 67,254; YA and juvenile fiction 20,3392012 Net book sales: $27.1 billion
2011 books published: traditionally published 347,178; self-published 235,000
76 percent of all books released in 2008 were self-published
Roughly 50 percent of all fiction published (traditional or self-published) is a romance, mystery, sci-fi, or fantasy story
1900 independent bookstore locations in 2012
1 percent chance across all genres of a published book being stocked in a brick-and-mortar store
20 percent of all books sold in 2012 were e-books
Approximately 185 U.S. institutions granting MFAs in fiction
Best markets for fiction sales: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington D.C.
600-700 books received weekly by LA Times for review consideration
197,768 self-reporting writers in 2009
39 percent increase between 1990 and 2005 in the number of writers and authors
The author of the entertaining post roughly (very roughly) estimates that one million Americans are writing novels at this very moment. He also estimates that only 10,000 Americans are novelists in the professional sense—meaning, are published in the traditional or established system.
My confession: I did not read one novel in 2013.
