Sales seasonal or roughly continuous?

From what I've heard around the ol' KB water cooler, the summer is a slow season for all "entertainment" sales except for blockbuster movies. That means print books and e-books see a lull unless you're actively putting out new stuff like the next book in a series.

I've also heard that from Labor Day until after Christmas are the better months, but who the heck knows?

I just started in May, basically so, we shall see! 

I don't think book reading is really seasonal. Not any more than writing or sex are seasonal.

MikeAngel said:

I don't think book reading is really seasonal. Not any more than writing or sex are seasonal.

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As often as that?

MikeAngel said:

I don't think book reading is really seasonal. Not any more than writing or sex are seasonal.

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Not true, I only get have sex on my birthday, which is in the Winter. So, sirruh, your theory is dashed.

John Waylon said:

Not true, I only get have sex on my birthday, which is in the Winter. So, sirruh, your theory is dashed.

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So...what season is your birthday in?

I would say "roughly continuous" although what goes up must come down at some point. For me, I had a few months of great growth, and then a few months of coming down from that growth. But sales can't go down forever, just as they can't grow forever either.

Vicki

June and July are usually pretty slow. Last year my sales picked up in August and continued on post-Christmas.

I think sales peak towards the holidays because (as stated above) ereaders have become popular gifts to give. Hand someone a Kindle or Nook and what's the first thing they're going to do? Go searching for books.

I'm not sure we really know yet.

Several things came together last October/November -- and I think the key was ereader market penetration over the 16% level for heavy readers. Sales exploded, got a lot of attention, dragged a lot more books into the mix, and a lot more readers as well. It's hard to know if the fluctuations we're seeing are the result of a seasonal shift in the market, an artifact of the marketplace itself (in terms of reading device availability and popularity), or something else.

I think it's a good bet that we'll see a holiday burst, but depending on niche, that might result in more sales for a particular book -- or not. 

The market is changing so fast, it's going to be a while before we get a feel for how cyclical (or not) the market really is just because the number of devices is changing so fast.

MikeAngel said:

I don't think book reading is really seasonal. Not any more than writing or sex are seasonal.

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Sex isn't seasonal? Damn, I've been duped.

I agree that reading isn't seasonal, but book buying probably is.

People tend to stock up around holidays. Before holidays is a good time for print sales, and after holidays for e-books. (Lots of people are giving Kindles as big ticket gifts, and if you receive one, you need to stock it up!)

Right now we're in a stretch of the calendar where there aren't any gift-giving holidays, and people are focused on shopping for back-to-school.

However, reading preferences might be seasonal. I know that in the winter, I tend to read heavier, longer, more dramatic books (perfect for curling up under a pile of blankets), but in the summer, I want short, breezy fun reads (perfect for lounging by the pool or on the beach).

In the good weather, there are more activities that compete with reading for available time. People are playing softball, biking, chatting on the front porch, gardening, going to the kids' Litttle League games, etc. It would be interesting to compare book sales by season for Maine vs Florida.

Terrence OBrien said:

In the good weather, there are more activities that compete with reading for available time. People are playing softball, biking, chatting on the front porch, gardening, going to the kids' Litttle League games, etc. It would be interesting to compare book sales by season for Maine vs Florida.

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LOL, "good weather"? Really?

The majority of the US has been mired in 90-100+ degree weather for two weeks straight. There's definitely no softball, biking, chatting on the front porch, or Little League games competing with sitting inside a/c and reading around here! (If anyone is outside, it's to go swimming.)

Amanda Brice said:

LOL, "good weather"? Really?

The majority of the US has been mired in 90-100+ degree weather for two weeks straight. There's definitely no softball, biking, chatting on the front porch, or Little League games competing with sitting inside a/c and reading around here! (If anyone is outside, it's to go swimming.)

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Glad to hear I'm not the only hot-weather-wimp. Once the temp soars above 90, I don't even want to walk to the mailbox or across a parking lot. I just hibernate and dream of snow. Kindles--which save you from the hot parking lot thing--are a blessing in this weather.

It's a "cool" day today... (currently 89 degrees, but feels like 93 with the humidity)

Considering as we'd had a stretch of 100+ there for a couple of weeks (that felt like 118-120 with the humidity), seriously, this feels very cool in comparison. I'm actually planning to walk home from work -- something I would not have done even just a few days ago.

I don't think I'm being a hot weather wimp. Of course, I'm pregnant, so it feels a good 10 degrees warmer to me. LOL

See, I suffer through the heat since we're buried under snow 4 months out of the year Northern IL). Walking the dogs is no fun when the sidewalks are pure ice. Is there anywhere in the world that has a moderate climate all year?

We don't have any hard data for self-publishers. We only have limited data for trade publishers.

According to the monthly American Association of Publishers (AAP) figures, there was a huge e-boom in which began in November last year and carried right through to February.

There was a similar boom for print which stopped dead at Christmas, as usual.

E-books would seem to be seasonal just like print books. The extended "season" of e-books will only be a feature of the market at an early stage. It's being skewed right now by new entrants - people buying e-readers for the first time and loading up their devices. Once the device market is saturated in a few years, it seems likely to me that the seasonality of e-books could well begin to reflect that of print books.

Sales may or may not be "seasonal" but Christmas presents sure are. It's pretty basic: when a whole ton of people unwrap new Kindles, the first thing they're going to do is load up their Kindle with books. This is why so many of us saw phenomenal increases in January and February. When another Christmas shopping season gets around, and a 99 dollar Kindle is another hit during Christmas, it should be another fine time to be an indie author.

Hot? Nonsense. I lived in Saudi Arabia for eight straight years building oil fields. The temps went over 100 in April. By May they were at 110. June, July, and August routinely ran at 110 to 120.

But that's dry heat, someone says. Nope. Dry heat is in the interior. All the oil is in the Eastern Province next to the Arabian Gulf. Humidity regularly was over 80% with temp at 110 to 120. Nobody bothered with heat index.

If you walked out of an air conditioned building you were immediately soaking wet because clothing and skin were at a much lower temp than the outside air. Moisture in the air immediately condensed. Glasses dripped water, and my patio doors had a constant stream of water running down them.

You get used to it. And I rode my bike to work everyday. Uphill both ways.

But want a perfect climate? From Oct to March Saudi is as good as it gets. Temps are 65 to 70, low humidity, brilliant blue sky, gentle breezes.