The chareidi reading-book market mirrors the population
increase. In recent years the number of Hebrew reading books
has nearly tripled, with a large gap between the percentage
of readers and the percentage of buyers.
The industry used to be considered a gold mine for new
authors. But today, due to the many interested parties,
typically book ventures require high investment and yield
relatively low returns. Gitler Publishing speaks of an
unprecedented inundation of authors, reaching record
proportions with 30-40 new books appearing last Chanukah,
primary due to the proliferation of periodicals which make
publishing easier and more accessible to writers. A book
based on a story that has appeared as a serial in a
publication is already ready and can be published, almost,
with just one click.
Abramovitz Publishing believes that the rise in the book
market is related to rise in the numbers of the chareidi
community, the growing consciousness surrounding reading and
peak sales before Pesach and other holidays when consumers
are shopping for gifts.
Yeffeih Nof Publishers notes the inundation of reading books
in the market is apparent in the shift from private
consumption to general consumption through libraries. Except
for a few authors who can be counted on one hand, most sell
very little even though they are sometimes widely read. Yoni
Posen of Yeffeih Nof draws a distinction between the Torah
book market, which maintains regular sales and demand in
accordance with the number of bar mitzvas and grooms, and the
reading book market, which was once thriving but now sales
are on the back burner. Today over 50 percent of books
published in Israel are sifrei kodesh, Posen says.
Abramovitz Publishing notes that seasonal sales of sifrei
kodesh are on the rise: haggodos before Pesach,
megillos before Purim, etc.
Dovid Gitler of Gitler Publishing provides a quantitative
comparison. An average of ten sifrei kodesh
(especially halochoh lema'aseh books) come out every
month, whereas only 4-5 new reading books reach the
bookstores every month. The main difference in the case of
reading books is the pressure on the markets: horizontal
rather than vertical distribution, i.e. more books with fewer
copies. A successful reading book sells somewhere between
1,000 and 2,000 copies whereas a new halochoh book can sell
10,000-20,000 copies.
All agree that advertising is essential. According to Ifat
Advertising Monitoring the majority of book publications
earmark a portion of the budget for advertising. Sometimes
the ad campaigns are operated independently, sometimes
through an ad agency. Since the beginning of the year,
Mesivta Torah Study Books has led their ad rankings with a
total of 69 spots in ten ad campaigns in the chareidi press.
Mesivta also spent the most on advertising with a $58,985-
campaign for Maseches Shekolim ("Lo poschim al
Shekalim"), a $34,926-campaign for Maseches Pesochim
("Keneged arba banim dibrah Torah") and a $20,733-
campaign for the Mesivta Shas in general ("Hashanah kulanu
lomdim beMesivta").
