Recent news out of the publishing industry reflects the rise... and rise... of the audiobook.
Just a few years ago, the audiobook was the "Cinderella" format while e-books were the new kid on the block, steaming ahead of print. At that time, audiobooks came only as CDs - and many of them. For example, the audiobook of my first novel, The Housemaid's Daughter, ran to a whopping 13 disks and a 15 hour listen! The Girl from Simon's Bay was slightly slimmer (!) at 10 CDs and 11 hours.
But now, with the rise of the smartphone, more and more of us are listening to books on our phones and other digital devices rather than making our way through a pile of disks. The trend is being driven by younger readers who run their lives on their smartphones, listen to music, and now listen to books. And that's great for authors everywhere. After all, it doesn't matter how our books get read, as long as they do!
But, in the background, there's another little trend taking shape.
As our lives move more and more online, guess what?
Hardback book sales are picking up. Yes, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction (Newton's 3rd Law of Physics).
So... when we want to buy someone - or ourselves - something tangible, we're buying a print book, especially a hardback.
Happy reading!
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