Odds of Becoming a Bestseller
Of the 500,000+ books published each year, less than 20 sell a million copies. The average book sells about 500 copies. Those blockbusters are minute anomalies: Only 10 books sold over a million copies last year, and fewer than 500 sold over 100,000 copies.
The Financials of Book Authorship
To break even on a $5,000 advance, you would need to sell at least 4,000 copies of a $25 book.
A typical book author barely makes minimum wage from advances and 10% royalties.
Record Breakers
The most sold book ever is Don Quixote at over 500 million copies. The first Harry Potter book sold over 100 million copies, making it one of the best-selling books ever. The last four Harry Potter books set records as the fastest-selling books of all time.
Book Market Overview
In the trade book market, physical books still dominate. Of the close to 4 million new titles published yearly, most self-published works are print-on-demand. Traditional publishers print thousands of copies upfront, requiring more resources.
Romance is the most popular U.S. genre, selling over 30 million print copies in 2022. Despite more books being published, books sold in the U.S. remains stagnant as the industry struggles to compete.