# Is demand for fiction diminishing?



## PenCat (Jul 12, 2015)

I have heard/read that the demand for fiction is diminishing. I must admit not being a huge reader of books myself, so I don't see what's hot in book stores..I don't have exposure to industry data.

Is it true that demand for fiction is waning? Are people immersed more in science? Computer books? 

If current movies are any indication, it would seem that peoples' taste for a good story is as strong as ever...loads of fiction in movies.

Can anyone comment on this?

Thank you!


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## escorial (Jul 12, 2015)

i mostly buy fiction...nearly all fiction really....


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## blazeofglory (Jul 12, 2015)

Demand for fiction is not waning. But the fact is people are currently buying more and more of online versions and paperback books are on the decline. Nevertheless interest in fiction is not dead. I read books and 60 percent of what I read comes from the internet. When it comes to reading the classics I get from sites like Gutenberg freely. Fiction is an integral part of life and what we get in fiction, that is something that resembles life is fiction since it is only fiction that deeply, profoundly and subtly portrays every aspect of life. Fiction is something whether it is through TV serials, or cinemas or short stories  that center around all aspects of ourselves


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## PenCat (Jul 13, 2015)

Does a drop in paper-based books and a rise in eBooks mean anything significant to the writer?

I assume that readers of eBooks want book content and not necessarily interactive items with links and jumpy, flashy things?


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## movieman (Jul 22, 2015)

PenCat said:


> Does a drop in paper-based books and a rise in eBooks mean anything significant to the writer?



To list a few:

1. Some publishers are releasing new writers' books ebook-only, and only releasing print versions of the ebooks that sell well.
2. Publishers are less important to writers whose books are only released as ebooks, since you're just another ebook among millions on Amazon, not one of a few hundred or thousand print books on a book store's shelves.
3. The 'out of print' rights reversion clause in the publishing contract will never be triggered, as your book will always be 'in print' as an ebook.


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## PenCat (Jul 22, 2015)

That sounds pretty bleak...


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## movieman (Jul 22, 2015)

PenCat said:


> That sounds pretty bleak...



To be fair, it's always been bleak for new writers. It's just that, twenty years ago, your books were only competing with the others in the book store, not a million ebooks on Amazon.

Many of the books I own, I bought just because I happened to see them on a book store shelf. Merely being there gave you a good chance of selling. Most of the ebooks I buy come from Amazon recommendations, or 'also boughts', so if your book isn't popular enough to show up in those, I probably won't even see it.

And you can still hope that a publisher likes your book enough to release it in print and throw lots of marketing behind it.

Edit: One other interesting factoid is that a couple of successful writers have said that publishers will no longer do print-only deals for their books that have proven successful when self-published. So it looks like they're having a hard time making money on print these days.


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## PenCat (Jul 22, 2015)

Well with things so tight and lousy for authors,  especially new ones sounds like the rewards are slim to non - existent. .


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## movieman (Jul 22, 2015)

PenCat said:


> Well with things so tight and lousy for authors,  especially new ones sounds like the rewards are slim to non - existent. .



Actually, the Irish Times was complaining about that today:

http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/a-lament-for-modern-publishing-1.2292101 

Basically, it's much easier to get published today, as you can just self-publish your book if publishers aren't interested. But much harder to make a living.


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## Bloggsworth (Jul 22, 2015)

Not amongst politicians it isn't...


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## Thaumiel (Jul 22, 2015)

No. 

The way I see it, we're coming out of a massive spike of interest in fiction. Remember how not that long ago everyone and their dog was reading Fifty Shades of Grey? Or Harry Potter before then? When you get a book that starts a massive trend like that suddenly it seems like there a much bigger market for fiction. When the trends die out it goes back to just being the people that were reading anyway, which I think is probably a pretty consistent number.


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## PenCat (Jul 22, 2015)

Well hate to sound negative but why don't writers just say to hell with it rather than slave away for crumbs?


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## movieman (Jul 22, 2015)

PenCat said:


> Well hate to sound negative but why don't writers just say to hell with it rather than slave away for crumbs?



People have been asking that question pretty much since writing was invented.

The answer is: writers write. If they can stop writing, most do.


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## AaronR316 (Jul 23, 2015)

Interesting question. It's definitely not dead, if it was dead we wouldn't be seeing so many movies based on books due to the popularity.


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## Sam (Jul 23, 2015)

They said the same thing two hundred years ago.


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## Folcro (Jul 23, 2015)

PenCat said:


> I have heard/read that the demand for fiction is diminishing.



Can you cite where you heard/read this? I'll be sure to avoid said publication in the future; obviously they are out of touch with their senses.


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## Pidgeon84 (Jul 24, 2015)

The medium in which people get their stories may be changing. Books may not last as attention span diminishes. But fiction will continue to be in demand through whatever mediums are big at the time. Right now, movies, TV and video games are hogging the market and I only see that growing bigger. Especially video games.


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