Booktopia's collapse has rocked an industry that was already financially on thin ice, so what will fill the giant hole left by its collapse?
The collapse of popular website Booktopia is highlighting how much Australia's publishing industry relies on patriotic retailers to keep itself both diverse and financially viable.
Meaning, for a mid-range publisher, an homegrown bestseller is a book that sells 5,000 copies — over its entire lifetime.Rising costsThe price of freight and paper is going up, and publishers have been reluctant to jack prices in response, fearing they'll spook Australia's dwindling number of readers during a cost-of-living crisis.
Some in the book business will tell you Kmart and Big W’s buying habits are pushing publishers into investing in more “commercial” Australian titles, like the current BookTok romance trend known by some as “fairy porn”. Many are lucky to ever reach the threshold to receive royalties off their work, as one writer who put out a book in the last year just reminded me.
"There's a great deal of sadness in the industry about Booktopia," publishing expert Dr Jan Zwar from Macquarie University told me.Dr Zwar's sentiments are reiterated by the publishing industry body. It is also worth noting that selling an Australian book doesn't just rest on a retailer's landing page.
In a statement, Nielsen told ABC News sales have dropped by 3 per cent so far this year compared to the same period, to around half a billion dollars."The rise of audiobooks has been swift, and that trend looks set to continue," the APA said in its statement.For the little guys, the ones putting out those voices you might only find in Better Read Than Dead, it has been anecdotally tougher times.
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