Trends in Taiwan's Publishing Industry: My Observations

1. Fragmented Reading

Simple and light reading material: light novels, comics, essays, and short stories.

• Chapter Reading: quick reading during commutes or leisure time.
• Web Novel and Webtoon�

* Sales of literary fiction declines significantly.

First print run for new authors around 1,200-1,500 copies.

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Trends in Taiwan's Publishing Industry: My Observations

2. Books on Motivational Self-Help and Personal Transformation

in Constant Demand

• Personal growth and self-improvement
• Psychology, Mindfulness, Meditation, and Well-being
• Tarot, 13 Moon Almanac, Akashic Records, etc.
• NEWEST: Midlife experiences

Trends in Taiwan's Publishing Industry: My Observations

3. Practical Books and Demand for Professional Skills

• A Society of Avid Learners: Skills training, exam preparation books, and specialized knowledge in professional fields
• Money management, Interpersonal Communication Skills, Illustrated guides to theories of Social Sciences
• Digital Skills: from Python Programming to AI anxiety; HOW-TO books on mastering generative AI are on the rise

Trends in Taiwan's Publishing Industry: My Observations

4. Mangas and Graphic Novels

• Young Readers’ reduced comprehension for texts
• Worldwide Visual Reading Trend

*Brandon Sanderson's White Sand Graphic Novel series

*Robert Dreams

*Sophie’s World（Knowledge comics）

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Trends in Taiwan's Publishing Industry: My Observations

5. The Shift Towards Digital Reading

• E-Book Bookstore Communities

* Readmoo community, Rakuten Kobo community

• The Digital Natives
• Potential Effects of One-Tablet-Per-Student Initiative: Taiwan’s Ministry of Education

Trends in Taiwan's Publishing Industry: My Observations

6. IP contents and cross-media collaboration

• The Intellectual Property Economy

* United Literature's Collaborations with 7-11 on drinks and with PX Mart on bread

• Popular movies, animation and online games
• Fan-made derivative works

Azoth Books’ Publishing Orientations: 2025 and Beyond

1. Visual Narratives

• Developing Visual Literacy

2. Manga/Webtoon from Korea, Japan

3. Young Adults’ Graphic Novels from US and Europe

Azoth Books’ Publishing Orientations: 2025 and Beyond

2. YA Fiction & Illustration Books for Adults

• Stories for 0-99 year-old

*Philosophical

*Provoking

*Hilarious

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Azoth Books’ Publishing Orientations: 2025 and Beyond

3. Targeting young people

• The Mega Series of Web novels

*Fusion Fantasy: 문과라도 안 죄송한 이세계로 감

• Genre Fiction and Cross-Genre

*Horror, Suspense, Thriller, Detective, etc.

*Fantasy Romance: Fourth Wing

Content overload: Differences between Taiwan and South Korea

Korea's approaches in Taiwan:

• Social science books

*Only those incorporating current events or on-going issues gain readers’ attention

• Transcribing

*Not for improving text comprehension but a technique used by motivational books

• Book Clubs

*SNS communities’ spontaneous events

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How Taiwan tackles the problem of declining Reading Comprehension

1. Reading Specialists in School:

• Educators who focus on helping students improve their literacy skills
• Teachers become bestselling authors, specializing in reading and writing skills

2. Authors or Publishers on Campus Tour or Bookstore tour

3. Reader’s guide or Book Club Study Questions enclosed in books

4. Developing Visual Literacy

• The ability to communicate with graphics in the era of Visuals

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Taiwan in The Era of Content Overload

1. The Niche Markets

*The Power of the Intrinsic Values of the content

• The “Precision First, then Dissemination” Strategy
• How To Be “The Selected One” Among All The Options
• Every Reader Is “ The Influencer” in The Reading Community on SNS for Your Book

*Readmoo’s “community effect” for “Lesson in Chemistry”(Complex Chinese Edition)

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Taiwan in The Era of Content Overload

2. Let’s Go Visual too!

• Texts vs. Graphics
• The Digital Natives Are a Visually Driven Generation
• Visualized Texts and Beyond
• Visual Formats (Comics, Graphic Novels) As A Means for Literary Appreciation

*Adapting the novels of early Taiwanese writers into comics

*The Fine line between Collaboration and Adaptation

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In Search of Readers…

• Where Are The Readers Anyway?

*The Myth of ”Young People Don’t Read”

*The Myth of ”The Contraction of The Publishing Industry“

*The Myth of ”Reducing the Cost of Printed Books”

*The Spending Habits of The Younger Generation:

always ready to pay for whatever pleases them

The New Generation of Readers

and E-Book Devices

1. E-Book Reading Boom

• Young people’s preference for e-books over printed books.
• Active participation in marketing events held by e-book platforms and community activities

*Readmoo’s regular event “Reading Marathon”

2. Desperately in Need of a New Strategy

• E-books should no longer be regarded as an “adjunct’” to printed books
• E-books be released prior to the physical books?

Standing with The Young Generation

1. The Pricing

• Taiwan has not implemented the fixed book pricing system, and discounts remain the most effective way to boost sales.

* Rakuten Kobo e-book platform: one-day exclusive discount campaign at 99 TWD.

* E-reading: not only environmentally friendly and convenient, but also CHEAPER!

2. Issues That Matter to The Young

• Constant anxiety towards the future vs. Carpe Diem
• Issue-Oriented and SNS Influencers

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Standing with The Young Generation

3. OSMU and CONTENTS

• the Source end vs. the USE end
• Reader-Focused Approach
• The unique values that only books can provide

4. The New Battlefield in Taiwan

• The Boom in New Children’s Book Publishing Imprints

* Trade book publishers cultivating the future readers

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