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Size of the Science Fiction market?

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Re: Size of the Science Fiction market?
Post by Roguevictory   » Mon Jun 22, 2015 6:44 pm

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SWM wrote:
phillies wrote:Media books bring fans into the market. Media books are therefore good. I am old enough to remember when SF conventions were overwhelmingly male events. Star Trek and a few other media events changed that.

There is some truth to the idea that media books bring fans into the market, including female fans. But it is also pushing other science fiction off the shelves. Look at the science fiction shelves in any bookstore. More than half of the shelf space is held by media books--hundreds of titles for Star Wars, Star Trek, Dungeons and Dragons, and various computer games. For the last year or two most of the remaining shelf space is dedicated to the vampire/werewolf/zombie books that are the latest fad. Those new fans coming into the market are not even seeing the full scope of science fiction because media books and the latest fad have pushed most of it off the bookshelves.



I don't know where you shop but my local bookstore has basically 4 large cases worth of scifi, 2 front and back plus a few smaller new release displays which include scifi books. The Media franchise section is less then one side of a front and back case plus a few books on the new release displays typically.

And both Star Wars and Star Trek have cut down on their novel releases a lot. Trek used to release roughly one book a week and is now down to approximately one per month while Star Wars is releasing new books a few months apart and the occasional re-release. Don't know how fast Dungeons and Dragons novels are coming out because I doubt read them.
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Re: Size of the Science Fiction market?
Post by SWM   » Mon Jun 22, 2015 9:48 pm

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Roguevictory wrote:
SWM wrote:There is some truth to the idea that media books bring fans into the market, including female fans. But it is also pushing other science fiction off the shelves. Look at the science fiction shelves in any bookstore. More than half of the shelf space is held by media books--hundreds of titles for Star Wars, Star Trek, Dungeons and Dragons, and various computer games. For the last year or two most of the remaining shelf space is dedicated to the vampire/werewolf/zombie books that are the latest fad. Those new fans coming into the market are not even seeing the full scope of science fiction because media books and the latest fad have pushed most of it off the bookshelves.



I don't know where you shop but my local bookstore has basically 4 large cases worth of scifi, 2 front and back plus a few smaller new release displays which include scifi books. The Media franchise section is less then one side of a front and back case plus a few books on the new release displays typically.

And both Star Wars and Star Trek have cut down on their novel releases a lot. Trek used to release roughly one book a week and is now down to approximately one per month while Star Wars is releasing new books a few months apart and the occasional re-release. Don't know how fast Dungeons and Dragons novels are coming out because I doubt read them.

The post you are quoting is from two years ago. I have been glad to see things improve in the last three years. There has been some very good stuff out, and the bookstores have noticed.
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Re: Size of the Science Fiction market?
Post by SWM   » Mon Jun 22, 2015 9:49 pm

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HB of CJ wrote:Soss ... for an unknown writer to even break into the field, perhaps the best idea would be a science fiction novel morphed into a childrens book wrapped around a steamy romance with a little bit of porn thrown in for good measure? Sounds good to me. HB :)

I've seen some books like that. :lol:
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Re: Size of the Science Fiction market?
Post by Lunan   » Mon Jun 22, 2015 10:01 pm

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HB of CJ wrote:Soss ... for an unknown writer to even break into the field, perhaps the best idea would be a science fiction novel morphed into a childrens book wrapped around a steamy romance with a little bit of porn thrown in for good measure? Sounds good to me. HB :)



you mean John Ringo books?
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Re: Size of the Science Fiction market?
Post by SWM   » Mon Jun 22, 2015 10:13 pm

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Lunan wrote:
HB of CJ wrote:Soss ... for an unknown writer to even break into the field, perhaps the best idea would be a science fiction novel morphed into a childrens book wrapped around a steamy romance with a little bit of porn thrown in for good measure? Sounds good to me. HB :)



you mean John Ringo books?

Try Gini Koch. :D
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Re: Size of the Science Fiction market?
Post by roseandheather   » Tue Jun 23, 2015 4:37 pm

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SWM wrote:
phillies wrote:Media books bring fans into the market. Media books are therefore good. I am old enough to remember when SF conventions were overwhelmingly male events. Star Trek and a few other media events changed that.

There is some truth to the idea that media books bring fans into the market, including female fans. But it is also pushing other science fiction off the shelves. Look at the science fiction shelves in any bookstore. More than half of the shelf space is held by media books--hundreds of titles for Star Wars, Star Trek, Dungeons and Dragons, and various computer games. For the last year or two most of the remaining shelf space is dedicated to the vampire/werewolf/zombie books that are the latest fad. Those new fans coming into the market are not even seeing the full scope of science fiction because media books and the latest fad have pushed most of it off the bookshelves.



I am a big fan of media tie-in novels, as they expand some of my favorite universes beyond what was shown onscreen.

Unfortunately, as SWM accurately pointed out, most of them are dreck.

That said, not all of them are dreck. Diane Duane's Star Trek novels, for instance, are absolutely superb and in some places even superior to the series itself. David Mack's Destiny trilogy, while controversial, is also excellent. And for Star Wars, I have zero interest in the rest of the Expanded Universe but am seriously considering reading the Thrawn Trilogy because it is, apparently, just that damn good.
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Re: Size of the Science Fiction market?
Post by Annachie   » Tue Jun 23, 2015 5:50 pm

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Read the Thrawn stuff. It is worth is.

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Re: Size of the Science Fiction market?
Post by Senior Chief   » Tue Jun 23, 2015 7:40 pm

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ericth wrote:I came across this link, which tracks paper book sales and either Sci Fi sells a ton more e-books than I had realized or the market segment is far smaller than I thought:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-t ... -2012.html


The most relevant line is ART ranked at #7
7. A Rising Thunder by David Weber. Baen Books. 25,348


The link is relevant for the year 2012 and is now THREE years out of date. How about posting links to a 2014 or 2015 bestsellers survey...

Yeah some of the authors are dead and buried and their books are still selling... perhaps their next-of-kin need some extra money and are pushing them or hopefully readers are rediscovering those authors... or even better yet the younger generation of today is now learning to read. Just a thought and thank you for starting this thread since it is interesting.
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Re: Size of the Science Fiction market?
Post by SWM   » Tue Jun 23, 2015 10:15 pm

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Senior Chief wrote:
ericth wrote:I came across this link, which tracks paper book sales and either Sci Fi sells a ton more e-books than I had realized or the market segment is far smaller than I thought:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-t ... -2012.html


The most relevant line is ART ranked at #7
7. A Rising Thunder by David Weber. Baen Books. 25,348


The link is relevant for the year 2012 and is now THREE years out of date. How about posting links to a 2014 or 2015 bestsellers survey...

Yeah some of the authors are dead and buried and their books are still selling... perhaps their next-of-kin need some extra money and are pushing them or hopefully readers are rediscovering those authors... or even better yet the younger generation of today is now learning to read. Just a thought and thank you for starting this thread since it is interesting.

Check the date of the post. It was posted when the numbers were CURRENT.

This is an old thread that was revived.
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Re: Size of the Science Fiction market?
Post by Dafmeister   » Wed Jun 24, 2015 8:46 am

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Annachie wrote:Read the Thrawn stuff. It is worth is.

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Oh Lord, we're going to unleash R&H on the shipping possibilities of the Thrawn books? Talon Karrde? Mara Jade? Captain Pellaeon? Winter? Thrawn himself? This is going to get complicated...
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