Spacekiwi wrote:Thats interesting to see how many sci fi books were sold in 2012. However, I wonder if that is worldwide, or just US sales? And I wonder what caused the 20% drop in sci fi sales in 2012? And where are the numbers for E-books?
I would say, being an old and die-hard science fiction fan, that a good bit of the "drop" in sales is simply because of a lack of really good authors. A large percentage of the "new" science fiction is crap, at best, at worst, something recycled - usually badly - from some similar story authored decades ago. I think, in some cases, this merely indicates a severe lack of imagination in many new authors; since similar story lines *can* be rejuvenated by adding unexpected plot twists, newly theorized future technology, or different imagined settings.
Look at David, for example. The Safehold series is doing quite well, and has a very loyal following, yet it is, in many ways, just a combination of a pinch of the Honorverse, a slightly larger bit of the Starfire one, and a large bit of the Dahak one; with a much more detailed (and, somewhat, drawn out) story line. Nothing entirely *NEW*; but recombining previous plot bits and pieces in a new way to create an entirely different - and interesting - universe.
Also, there's this mingling with "Fantasy". Much of the "Fantasy and Science Fiction" sections in most of the stores selling new (as opposed to used) books is truly "fantasy". No "science" to the story line at all. Witches, wizards, dragons, etc. No actual "technology". A lot of folks interested in science fiction are *technical* folks. We like some *science* there. Sure, there can be some magic or fantasy style creatures mixed in, but we're interested in hardware as well. That's why series like Andre Norton's "Witch World" or MZB's "Darkover" were so popular in their day. That's also why some of the "old, dead" authors books are still selling *well*.
As for tracking book sales, there's the problem that a book doesn't sell just *ONCE*, so trying to equate the "first sale" of a book with "market share" doesn't really work. There's a huge market in resale. Indeed, when it comes to mysteries, especially ones closer to the start of various author's series, my wife (who likes that genre) tends to find more of the books she buys at used book stores and consignment/thrift shops like Goodwill. At, I might add, at much more acceptable pricing. I don't know how many times I've heard "It's out of print" or "We can special order it" at the local Barnes and Noble. Great if you have #2-10 of a series but not #1, right?
And on the subject of ebooks, there's another can of worms - namely that "copies" of such works end up on p2p file shares almost as soon as they become available online, if not sooner. No doubt some of this is due to the (relatively) high cost of a ebook vs the actual cost to provide it; but I'm sure a good bit is simply the human penchant for wanting something for nothing.
