So, I learned something this week. Book sales, it would seem, reach their low point in the marketplace during two months in particular—July, when people are spending more time outdoors and enjoying their summer vacation—and in February, when people are hungover from the holiday season. I noticed a slide in my own book sales this month and was wondering what was going on. I did some research and it turns out several things happen that contribute to the February malaise.
The main reason for the slowdown is that the holiday shopping cycle is behind us, as is the January shopping surge, when people who have new Kindles and other reading devices acquire new content to read. I always thought that January would be when sales drop off, but I never accounted for all of the people returning the gifts they received at Christmas. Apparently, some 15-30% of all holiday gifts are returned, so plenty of people go back to the store to exchange a book they already read for something new. Or maybe they were returning something completely different, but once at the store, decided to peruse the aisles with their store credit.
Another reason for the February book blues is that everyone has a new trove of books to get through, so they need time before their next round of acquisitions. I’ve already read a bunch this winter and still have a stack of about eight books by my bedside. I’m probably going to need another couple of months before I’m ready to buy anything new.
Yeah, Matt? Your Point?
So what? Why bring this up? If you’re a writer, I don’t mean to tell you this to depress you. Actually, hopefully it gives you a little lift knowing that your book isn’t the problem—everyone else is! But while you’re waiting for the book sales to rise again in March, I see this February news as a welcome gift for the writer. It’s a time to ignore outside feedback, either through online comments or lack of purchases, and get back to the thing you’d rather be doing anyway: writing.
You have a quiet time here, where you can excuse all the other aspects of book writing and get down to your core wish, which is to create. To produce something you want others to benefit from. And, well… I guess I could go on, but now I want to get back to my book, so away I go.