Issue #1
If all books were placed end to end they would wrap around the world a gazillion times. Ok, that's not exactly accurate. No one knows how many books have been printed since Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1440.
Back in 2010, Google Books algorithm came up with 129,864,880 books total. A rough estimate to be sure. According to Bowker, the organization responsible for tracking all new US based ISBNs, nearly one million new titles were published between 2011-2013.
In his book, Brief Answers to the Big Questions, Stephen Hawking stated that “if you stacked the new books being published next to each other, at the present rate of production you would have to move at ninety miles an hour just to keep up with the end of the line.” My 11yr old Honda Civic can only do about 80 before it starts to shake, rattle and roll.
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) tracks books published by country. UNESCO estimates 2.2 million new titles are published globally each year. If you take 2.2 million times 10 add it to 129 million, by 2020 we up to 140 million new books.
What does all this mean for us authors? It means there's a ton of competition out there, especially if your a small fish in that big ocean of writers. All hope is not lost. Everyday new technologies are helping the no name, no TV show, no famous friends, no connection to a big publishing house self-publisher find ways to be noticed.
Besides, if you write it (an awesome novel), they will read it.
See you next week.
Be safe, be happy.
Anne
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