Wallet Two by Mandy Pattullo
Last week I did a survey/giveaway asking readers how many quilt books they've bought in 2016.
Below the results---Illustrated with some altered books and book art.
Schaduwlichtje
The results were no surprise to me as there is a direct correlation between the number of quilt books sold every year and the number of shoes in my closet. Both numbers are lower than they used to be.
A cup by Cecilia Levy
I counted 190 responses.
Bought No Quilt Books: 19 - 10%
Bought 1-5: 103 - 54%
Bought 6-10: 36 - 19%
Bought 11 or More: 32 - 17%
Rachel Ashe, My Owl Barn
Now, this sounds pretty good for the publishing business and the authors. 90% of you bought at least one quilt book last year, and over a third of you bought more than five.
The Man Ray Footprint, Elisabetta Gut
http://broadstrokes.org/2010/09/08/books-without-words-the-visual-poetry-of-elisabetta-gut-opens-on-friday/Except that many of those purchases were second hand, an aftermarket with no income for publishers or authors.
Kate Parzych
Only a few mentioned buying a new book in a quilt shop, the consumer/retailer standard ten to fifteen years ago. People don't buy books in quilt shops; quilt shops don't offer many books anymore.
Dorothy Yuki
Only a few of you mentioned buying a digital book or a book for a Kindle device, etc. I do sell a few digital books every year, but as everyone in the publishing industry has realized, digital books are not going to generate the same kind of sales paper books used to.
Oak by Julia McKenzie
The small statistics I present are just an echo of the larger world of publishing. That's why two of the major quilt book publishers are no longer publishing quilt books.
Mayan Calendar of Sorts by Llyzabeth
The publishers cannot change the trend. The authors can't either. Book buyers could but that is NOT going to happen.
Paper Dolls by Ginger Burrell
Commerce evolves all the time and the people who prosper take advantage of the trends. So there's no sense complaining---or trying to change the trends.
Book Two by Mandy Pattullo
Although I do like to whine, "It's hard to live through times of change!"
Emily Dickinson by Libby Smith