Where the Growth Is

Independent Publishers■$5 million annually grew at five times the industry average,at a rate of over 15 percent, while publishers netting less than$500,000 annually grew at four times the industry average, ata rate just under 13 percent.It could be argued that these two publishing segments—thesegments that include IBPA members—were responsible forthe overall marginal industry growth.You can convincinglyconclude that we constitutethe industry’s healthiest andfastest-growing segment.Causes for CelebrationOften the press of day-to-day operations can leave you feelingas if you are on your own, fighting an uphill battle to make,and make known, the titles you work tirelessly to produce. Ibelieve it is important for IBPA members to know two veryimportant things as we celebrate these numbers.Collectively, your segments of the industry are making1 a significant contribution to the publishing communityin the United States. At this moment, they are the only onesshowing significant growth in all categories, revenue, units,and population.This means that not only is there a place for publishers ofyour shape and size, but you are helping the industry continueto grow.The independent publisher segments are also impressive interms of the industry’s total value. In 2011, publishers withannual net sales of less than $500,000 contributed nearly ahalf billion dollars, while publishers with annual net salesbetween $500,000 and $5 million contributed just under$1.7 billion, for a combined total of $2.2 billion.It is a little tricky to estimate how many publishers there arein these segments. But we do know for sure that smaller publishers—definedas those publishing fewer than 10 ISBNs ayear—are multiplying quickly. A recent study published byR.R. Bowker estimated the growth rate from 2006 to 2011at over 69 percent, and noted that this group of publishersnow numbers nearly 21, 000, excluding companies such asSmashwords and those who publish through them.2520151050Small Publishers in Thousands(