The publishing industry is full of surprises and many authors, readers, and publishers can’t wait to see what the future has in store for them. Anything can happen in publishing but there are some changes that can be reasonably predicted based on the trends of yesteryear. The following are some predictions of things that people should expect from the publishing industry.

Mobile commerce will be the order of the day

The sale of books on the Internet is expected to increase significantly. Among the factors that will drive purchases of books using mobile devices include: mobile-friendly websites, in-app purchases, QR codes, and the use of such devices as Square. The proliferation of smartphones has increased impulsive purchases of books and the trend is expected to continue. To take advantage of this fact, more authors will adapt their content to be used on mobile devices and they will also make it easier to buy the content with mobile devices.

More traditional bookstores might go under

In 2013, bookstores were under a lot of pressure to stay afloat. This is because they are unable to avoid losing customers to online book sellers. This trend is only just beginning and traditional bookstores all over the place are being forced to close shop as more of their customers move to online shops. Indie bookstores can quickly and creatively change their businesses so they should be around for the foreseeable future. However, bigger bookstores are struggling because they cannot adapt as quickly and as effectively as indie bookstores.

Book prices will be driven down by readers

One of the reasons why indie books are doing so well is because of their price. Compared to traditionally published books, indie books are consistently priced lower and more readers are beginning to take notice. As a result we expect to see traditional publishers moving to counteract the negative effects that low-price books have on their revenues by reducing prices.

The term ‘hybrid’ will be used more often

In 2013, the Digital Book World and Writer’s Digest conducted a survey about the writers that earned the most money. The survey showed that writers who are identified as ‘hybrid’ published more books, earned more money, and were generally more successful. It is true that success comes in different forms for authors but the future might see more hybrid authors coming up. The term hybrid means that an author publishes books in the traditional way (using big publishing houses) but the author could also self-publish if it made more financial sense.

Also, more indie authors might partner with agents and royalty publishers to sell their books to more people. The line between self-publishing and traditional publishing will become more blurred.

Authors will take advantage of crowdfunding

In 2013, there was a growing habit among authors to collect money for their publishing expenses from the public. Authors used sites like Unbound, Kickstarter, and Pubslush to raise funds to cater for their publishing expenses. More authors might join the action in an effort to invigorate their followers and mitigate some of the financial risk involved with publishing.