Publishing Trends You Don’t Want To Miss
July 14, 2021
At Lucinda Literary, we’re ready to help you reach your book publishing goals, whatever stage you may be in. One surefire way to keep on top of your game is to stay up to date on industry trends. Publishing is constantly evolving, and the pandemic has left all of us with an even stronger need to analyze what has or hasn’t been working.
Here are a few of the latest notable trends—and our perspective on them—we thought you would appreciate knowing.
- Digital marketing: With the rise of apps such as TikTok and Instagram, social media has fast become (and is seen by agents and publishers as) one of the most important platforms for reaching an audience with your book. At Lucinda Literary, we are living through this experiment right alongside you, so we can better guide our authors and community from an insider’s perspective. We hope you’ve seen us more active on Instagram, in podcast interviews, and in our writing endeavors. To learn more about the influence of social media, check out this newest trend on TikTok, #BookTok, a collaboration between authors, publishers, and influencers leaning into the benefits of digital marketing.
- Rise of fiction sales: Another trend we’ve observed is the continuing rise of fiction sales. Adult fiction sales rose 28.1% last week, while young adult fiction climbed to 49.6% over this time last year, reported by Publishers Weekly. For those writing in these areas, take heart: This summer could be your time to query agents with your novel!
- Efforts to promote diversity in books at the local and national level: Recently Baker & Taylor announced their “Diversity Analysis” tool to help identify and evaluate the representation of diverse populations in libraries’ collections. In gathering data to suggest areas of improvement, this tool will help promote diversity on the local level, coinciding with efforts on the national level; “Adult nonfiction books on social science and discrimination “have sold 700,000 more units [this year through May] than in 2020 year-to-date.” At Lucinda Literary, we are devoted to seeing these efforts continued and prioritized within our own company and on a larger scale. Like the editors with whom we do business, we are especially interested in elevating and promoting previously underrepresented voices and stories.
- Leaps in funding: BookClub raised “a $20 million Series A financing” and expects to open to the public in July. They are experimenting with interview-style discussions with authors, as well as click-through videos as people read through books. Check out BookClub’s website for more information. In terms of marketing, we may anticipate more innovative forms of digital author-reader interactions in the upcoming years, which could make for great opportunities for authors to connect with more readers.
Did any of these trends surprise you? DM us your thoughts!
This article was contributed to by our wonderful summer interns Olivia Kim and Sydney McCormack.
