The Joy of Self-Publishing. Mike MD Buchanan

title. A young lady next to me said her firm’s top-selling title was on breeding and raising chickens. I regret to say that I laughed along with some of the other publishers. The speaker tapped the book title into his computer and declared it was the highest-selling book that any publisher at the annual seminars had ever put forward. The laughter stopped. Expect more books on chickens to be published soon.

      You may wish to look at gaps in the market or pick up early signs of new trends. BookScan has been measuring sales in the UK, Ireland, and many other key English-speaking territories since 1998. This data allows you to see what is selling, the format, and the price. It gives commercial publishers the opportunity to research new books prior to commissioning. BookScan can provide simple title/ISBN or author reports for relatively low costs, or you can have more in-depth analysis using their subscription service.

      Once you have published your title you can set realistic targets, compare your performance with your competitors, and make more informed print decisions. See Chapter 8 for more details or go to their website: Nielsenbookscan.co.uk