This spring dedicated e-readers as well as “multifunctional” devices gained ground even as computers continued to lose ground. The portability and instant access to data is greatly contributing to the growth of eBooks and Kindles. The net result is between May 2010 and May 2011 consumer buying habits found all of these devices nearly neck-in-neck with computers.
According to the Book Industry Study Group's "Consumer Attitudes Toward E-Book Reading," e-book buyers continued to spend more money on e-books while cutting back on purchases of print titles. Oh, those of little faith who mere years ago said eBooks were not real books.
In September, e-book buyers reduced spending on hardcovers and paperbacks by 40% each. What a significant drop! The survey also shows the impact the holiday season had on overall book buying. After receiving or buying devices in December, the percentage of e-book buyers who increased their spending on all book formats rose to about 35% in January, and then fell back slightly in May.
Amazon remained the dominant place to buy e-books, with more than 70% of e-book buyers using the store to buy titles in May 2011. Barnes & Noble.com stayed ahead of the iBookstore and iTunes in May with about 27% of e-book buyers going to B&N.com, while e-book buyers using the Apple stores stayed below 10% (and actually fell slightly from January). The only issue that e-book buyers said became more of a hindrance in buying e-books between May 2010 and May 2011 was the cost of titles, with prices rising from about 22% to 28% for e-book buyers.
According to consumers, receiving free chapters or samples had the biggest impact on getting them to buy an e-book in May, while reading an online review fell to second place.
In that regard, Writers’ Tricks of the Trade, 39 Things You Need to Know About the ABCs of Writing Fiction is now available in Kindle and eBook and the paperback can be pre-ordered at Amazon. Click here for an Amazon "Look Inside" through Chapter 3 to whet your appetite.
