Lies, Lies and Damned E-Book Lies: Where WSJ Got It Wrong

7/12/2012 |Forbes 

An issue of The Wall Street Journal in a recycling container in Grand Central Terminal in New York City. (Image credit: Getty Images North America via @daylife)

Stats are a funny thing. They can be taken out of context, they can be massaged or they can be completely made up.
In the case of e-books and the incredible growth e-books have shown over the past several years, we’re up to our ears in stats and it’s easy to let a false one slip by.
One big one published recently in the Wall Street Journal falls under both the “taken out of context” and “massaged” categories and seems to be making the rounds.
In a widely read article about how e-book retailers are tracking readers (something the publishing industry has long known about) titled “Your E-Book Is Reading You” by Alexandra Alter in a June issue of the Wall Street Journal, the reporter writes, “In the first quarter of 2012, e-books generated $282 million in sales, compared to $230 million for print, the Association of American Publishers recently found.”
Makes you think that e-book revenues have eclipsed print book revenues, right? Well, it’s patently untrue.
The number that Alter is citing is for hardcover books. In the first quarter, there were $230 million in hardcover revenues versus $282 million in e-book revenues, according to the Association of American Publishers. This does not count children’s books, paperback books and a host of other categories.
As long as we’re here, let’s investigate the real numbers.
Through the first three months of this year (the most up-to-date numbers available), the publishing industry as tracked by the AAP generated $2.33 billion in total revenue. The AAP does not break out all the individual numbers but this figure includes Trade, K-12, higher education and professional and scholarly publishing.
The AAP does give quarterly breakdowns for the following specific categories: children’s, religious and adult trade.
Within each category, AAP measures hardcover, paperback and e-book. In the case of adult trade, it also breaks down mass market paperback and downloaded audio.
Rest of story at Forbes