• Tweet
• Buffer

• Tweet

What exactly does 2014 have in store for authors, readers, and publishers? Will independent bookstores finally rebound once and for all and become what they once were? Will Google Plus usurp Facebook? Anything can happen. In fact, the beauty of a new year is being able to wipe the slate clean and venturing yet again into the unknown.

There are certain things we know for sure based on the chatter and observations of 2013.  Shenanigans abound for you, dear indie author. Your future doesn’t hang in the balance like Barnes & Noble and other aspects of the publishing world. One thing is for sure and that’s your foothold in the market. Bravo!

Here are our  publishing predictions for 2014:

1. We’ll hear the term “hybrid” more often

In a  survey compiled by the  2013 Digital Book World and Writer’s Digest, research showed that authors who identified as “hybrid” made more money, published more books, and achieved greater “success.”  Of course success is different for every author, but we predict that in 2014, we’ll see more traditionally-published authors own “hybrid” as a term that means they’ll self-publish directly to readers when it makes more financial sense.

We’ll also see more indie authors partnering with agents and royalty publishers to package and market their books. The lines between traditional and self-publishing will become increasingly blurred as authors, agents, and publishers meet more in the middle as it relates to dollars, time, marketing, and royalty allocation.

2. Crowdfunding for authors will be huge

In 2013, we saw authors raise funds for their publishing expenses using sites like Kickstarter, Unbound, and our personal favorite, Pubslush. We predict that we’ll see an influx of authors use crowdfunding to invigorate their fanbase while also mitigating some financial risk.

3. Mobile commerce will become more common

In-app purchasing, mobile-friendly websites, QR codes in books, and devices like Square have empowered buyers (i.e. readers) to impulsively make their purchases from their smartphones more than ever. More authors will develop their content into apps in 2014 and provide more mobile-friendly purchasing options.

4. We’ll say goodbye to more “traditional” bookstores

2013 was year two without Borders and countless other bookstores that couldn’t compete with the increase of online book purchasing. In 2014, brick-and-mortar bookstore chains will continue to fight for their lives. But, we’ll see more indie bookstores take center stage due to their ability to be nimble and creative in ways big chains are limited.

They’ll surface more as a place to meet for lunch, for entrepreneurs to co-work, patrons to catch a concert, and for readers to hang out with a book they might not actually purchase. We’ll see more concerted efforts from bookstores to specialize in speciality items, used books, rare books, and art.  Stores like Monkey’s Paw in Toronto are leading the way in thinking outside the box with it’s recent addition of the Biblio-Mat, the world’s first randomizing vending machine for old books.

5. Readers will drive book prices down

If you want to know the big reason indie books continue to steal one or two spots on the bestsellers’ lists, you need only look at the list price. Indie books are steadily priced lower than traditionally-published books and readers have noticed.

Now that we’re all used to reading decent e-books priced below $4.99 and a boatload for free, readers will cause publishers to cave a little on book pricing. With the outing of Apple and the Big Six in E-book Gate and the outcry at overpriced new releases, we’ll see more readers going the way of purchasing cheaper e-books and using library lending platforms like OverDrive.

What do you think? What do you hope to see happen this year in publishing and what do you hope goes away?

Subscribe to the blog

Have every new post delivered to your inbox every time we publish a new article. Your email address will never be shared!