It has been a little over six months since our Distributor locked their doors and all sales generated for an entire year, including most inventory, was lost. In these months since, the bankruptcy of the distributor has had a lingering effect, felt even more painfully when one walks into a bookstore where we had previously established an account prior to signing with the Distributor, and are told that the books are no longer available.

Unfortunately, that has been a side effect of this loss that has lingered into 2008. In January Silver Leaf Books signed an agreement with Ingram Books, giving us representation with both of the two largest Wholesalers. While this was a huge win celebrated by all, the Bookworld bankruptcy was continued to be felt as part of the Distribution agreement had us turn over all accounts to them. With them closed, it is in many ways like starting all over again, as brick and mortar stores need to reestablish our account, which in many cases involves a lengthy application process.

The comforting line: "Many Bookworld customers are going through similar concerns." As always, we continue to move forward, planning our upcoming releases and working on the books that will be coming out in 2009 as well as the new authors currently under review for consideration for publication. We also are spending much of this year working to reestablish ourselves in the market with our current titles.

In light of this experience, and the current state of the economy, we have begun wondering how the publishing industry overall is faring at the moment. Annually we participate in the Book Industry Study Group analysis of the industry by providing detailed reports of all volumes and activities for inclusion in their study. March of this year, Book Statistics pulled information from this study and from other sources, and presented a factual outlook of the industry (elements included here with permission):

Some 30 percent of the 200,000 new titles printed last year were printed in quantities of less than 100 units.
--Noel Ward, OnDemandJournal.com, July 2006.

A successful fiction book sells 5,000 copies.
--Authors Guild. http://www.authorsguild.org/

“Of the 950,000 titles out of the 1.2 million tracked by Nielsen Bookscan sold fewer than 99 copies (79%). Another 200,000 sold fewer than 1,000 copies (17%). Only 25,000 sold more than 5,000 copies (2%). The average book in America sells about 500 copies.”
-- Publisher’s Weekly, July 17, 2006

A book must move in the stores in six weeks.
--Brian DeFiore, Maui Writers Conference.
http://www.defioreandco.com/

70% of the books published do not make a profit.
--Jerrold Jenkins, 15 May 99. http://www.bookpublishing.com/

Everyone judges a book by its cover. On the average, a book store browser spends eight seconds looking at the front cover and 15 seconds looking at the back cover.
--The Wall Street Journal

Word of mouth top seller of books. According to The Independent, "Publishers can spend a fortune promoting their hottest literary discoveries. Bookshops can deploy all their marketing ingenuity to produce imaginative displays. But when the book-buying public comes to choose a new read, it is word of mouth that counts." Next comes author loyalty. See
http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/books/news/story.jsp?story=616312

Out of every 10,000 children’s books, 3 get published.
--Jerrold Jenkins. 15 May 99.
http://www.bookpublishing.com

Returns - Books are displayed in bookstores for one selling season of four months. Those books that do not sell are returned for a refund. Yes, books may be "gone today, here tomorrow."

• 40 percent of manufactured books never sell.
• The typical waiting period before books start the long and expensive trek back to the warehouse is a mere four months.
• The industry return rate is 36.3 percent for hardcover and 25 percent for paperback.
• Superstores like Barnes & Noble sell around 70–80 percent of what they order, discounters like Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club only 60 percent.
• 37 percent of all books sent to stores in 2002 were returned.
• Between 65 and 95 percent of returned books are destroyed once they come back from a bookseller
http://www.beneaththecover.com/2007/03/20/love-hate/

With some of these statistics in mind, as well as our recent experiences, Silver Leaf Books will be looking to be more selective with our title choices, bringing our readers quality books with engaging and entertaining stories. We also will be closely monitoring the industry trends and make print run and book format decisions accordingly.

As we look at some of the exciting projects and titles in our pipeline, we look forward to reestablishing ourselves in 2009 with new books, new authors, and new series. We also will continue to look to regain the market presence we previously had, and ultimately exceed it, and make certain that our titles are available to each and every one of our readers.

As always, thank you for your continued support of Silver Leaf Books.