Indie publishers generate more than half their revenue from overseas, IPG report finds

Independent publishers now generate more than half their revenue from overseas while nearly a quarter of sales come from digital content, the 2023 Independent Publishing Report has revealed. 

IPG members were surveyed on a range of subjects, with respondents reporting receiving 48% of their net invoiced sales from the home market in 2022 and 52% from exports and rights. The reopening of international markets following lockdowns was also thought to have been partly responsible for an increase in digital turnover from the past few years. 

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of respondents’ 2022 sales came from print content, with 28% from digital or audio formats. While this continues a shift towards digital content, there are signs that e-books and other digital formats are now plateauing.

Meanwhile, independent publishers have been supporting new writing talent, with an average of 19% of respondents’ new titles in 2022 being by first-time authors.

The report also found that two-thirds of publishing teams are female. At the end of 2022, 14% of staff were from non-white British backgrounds, which the IPG said marks "a significant year-on-year increase, though more progress is needed before staffing is fully representative of the country at large".

This year’s report also focused on returns and the end-of-life treatment of books. It found that an average of 35% of returned books are pulped, while 56% are put back into stock and 9% donated to charity or otherwise handled. These findings will support the work of the IPG’s ongoing Book Journeys Project, which is looking at ways to reduce returns and avoid pulping by keeping books in circulation for longer.

IPG chief executive Bridget Shine said: “These figures emphasise how IPG members are properly global and digital-enabled publishers. They show how highly British publishers’ content is valued around the world, and how even the smallest and newest of independents are innovative and tech-savvy.

"It’s also clear that IPG members are vital supporters of new and underrepresented voices in publishing and are making good progress on diversifying their organisations—though they also know that more work needs to be done. All these and other insights from the report will be important foundations for the IPG’s work in the months to come.”