Potter and Reading (was Re: Final thoughts on Harry surviving....)

[lupinlore]

No: HPFGUIDX 171688

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Maeg <chaomath at ...> wrote:
>

Indeed, as the series draws to a much-lamented
> close, federal statistics show that the percentage of youngsters
who
> read for fun continues to drop significantly as children get
older,
> at almost exactly the same rate as before Harry Potter came along."
>
> While I'm happy with any book that encourages a kid to read or set
> foot in a bookstore or library, we shouldn't overstate the effect
the
> Harry Potter phenomenon has had.

Which matches with statistics for reading and booksales in general.
The reading public continues to decline in numbers at a steady rate,
much to the frustration of booksellers.  Indeed, many booksellers are
not particularly happy about the way the Harry Potter phenomenon has
developed, as the heavy discounts imposed by the various distribution
and sales markets, combines with the trouble and expense of readings,
launching parties, late night events, etc., mean that their profits
are only a small fraction of what one would expect.  More
importantly, the subsidiary sales (i.e. people who come to buy Harry
Potter and grab a couple of other books off the shelf that they
wouldn't have ordinarily bought), once expected to be relatively
high, are extremely disappointing when measured against the copies of
Potter sold.

All of which lines up with a presentation I heard from a literary
agent a year or so ago.  He said (paraphrasing), "Best seller lists
and sales numbers are very misleading.  Best sellers are by
definition an extreme exception to market conditions, and
extraordinary best sellers like Stephen King's books or the Harry
Potter series are especially misleading.  One would think from their
sales that the readership of fantasy, horror, and sci-fi is booming.
In fact, the sales numbers are overall dismal for all types of
fiction, and the young adult market is almost completely stagnant
with the exception of Harry Potter.  King and J.K. Rowling and a few
others manage briefly to monopolize a corner of the market, making
incredible sales for one product over a given period of time.  But
that doesn't mean that the market as a whole is doing well or that
readership isn't decreasing.  It just means that a very high
percentage of the people who are still buying books happen to be
buying a few products.  Ninety-five percent of all books still sell
less than a hundred copies, and that includes non-fiction which sells
much better, on average, than fiction.  The number of books that make
anything like a return on total investment (i.e. the time and expense
of the author, agent, publisher, and seller) is vanishingly small --
a fraction of a percent.  In essence, authors like Rowling, Clive
Cussler, King, and a few others are subsidizing the entire market by
keeping the infrastructure afloat."

Which is why, if JKR kills off Harry, there will be lots of extremely
angry people willing to go shares on a hit man for reasons having
absolutely nothing to do with sentiment.


Lupinlore