4 Questions to Ask Before Writing Your Life's Story | The Huffington Post

No one knows for sure, but it's estimated that approximately 1.3 million new books are published each year and this number is increasing. This is due to the explosion in self-publishing that digital technology has enabled. This means that every day, more than 4,000 new books are published.

The vast majority - 80 to 90 percent of these - never sell much more than 100 copies. The mainstream trade publishing industry, though there may appear to be a large number of publishers, in reality has fewer than a dozen who control approximately 70 percent of the market. Five trade publishing holding companies control 50 percent of the market. These companies have bought up publishers over the years and keep using their names as brands, giving the illusion that there is much more competition than in reality.