Thank Goodness for the Women

An article in the NY Times this spring quoted Kelly Gallagher, VP of Publishing Services of R.R. Bowker, discussing who actually buys books these days. So, who is today's book consumer:

• The average book reader was 45 years old


• Women comprise 65% of buyers


• More than 50% of book buys were impulse purchases


• The fiction market is predominantly female, except in science fiction where men still dominate the purchases.

During this economic downturn the romance industry is doing it's share to help bump the publishing industry along. In 2007, the last full year I found statistics during my search, the romance industry sold $1.375 BILLION. Freakin amazing when you figure a lot of that is $4 or $8 at a time.

And that is pretty much why the industry is still flourishing is this downturn where one of every book in five sold is a romance novel. People - and women in particular - are looking for something hopeful and happy. They have limited money and time and they know that for $4 to $8 they can get several hours of enjoyable entertainment that will always have a happy ending. Personally, I think that is definitely a Cool Idea!