Monday, June 29, 2015

Millennials are the New Hot Segment in Publishing

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The entire publishing industry has been zeroing in on the hottest new segment, millennials. A new gold rush is currently underway to sign up superstar YouTube celebrities who have built a ravenous community that will likely buy anything they write.

The term millennials often refers to anyone born after the turn of the century and are between the 16 and 24. This demographic is notoriously hard to market books to, because they don’t read very much. Recently Deloitte released their annual Media Consumer Report and it surveyed 2,000 UK consumers about their media habits. It found that 25% of 16-24 year-olds had bought an e-book in the last 24 months and less than 14% read daily.

The vast majority of millennials are watching YouTube and Vine videos and are fiercely loyal to Alfie Deyes, Grace Helbig, Zoe Sugg or the beauty queen Michelle Phan. The book deals these creators get pale in comparison mainstream celebrities have enjoyed crazy million dollar deals, but the lack of sales soured most publishers.

This year there are a number of surefire bestsellers that are all slatted to sell thousands of copies. Lets take a look at the most notable ones that have been released this year or will come out in the near future.

Mamrie Hart: You Deserve a Drink (May 2015)

Mamrie is the last of the unholy trinity (that includes Helbig and Hannah Hart, no relation) to release a book into the world. You Deserve a Drink is a combination cocktail recipe book and memoir, with drinks accompanying each tale of Hart's debaucherous life.

Shay Carl: Fat Dad, Fat Kid (September 2015)

YouTube forefather Shay Carl put pen to paper to craft a father-son weight-loss memoir, coming this fall on Keywords Press, Simon & Schuster's dedicated YouTube imprint.

Jenn McAllister: Really Professional Internet Person (August 2015)

Scholastic recently announced the publication of teenage YouTuber Jenn McAllister's first book, a compendium that uses her trademark top 10 lists and social media posting to document her life. McAllister has also expanded beyond YouTube into film, with a role in the upcoming Bad Night.

iJustine: I, Justine: An Analog Memoir (June 2015)

Justine Ezarik's memoir, inspired by nine years of documenting her life online as iJustine, will be released this spring. In addition to writing and her digital life, Ezarik also served as a producer on an anti-bullying film that premiered at South by Southwest.

Connor Franta: A Work in Progress (April 2015)

It's bold to want to share a life story at the ripe old age of 22, but YouTuber Connor Franta has packed a lot in a short time. As formerly one-sixth of YouTube collab sensation Our2ndLife, Franta gained a massive fan base, and after breaking off from the group and coming out on his channel, he's grown even more. In addition to penning a memoir about his journey from small town kid to Internet sensation, he's also released a coffee line and series of compilation CDs.

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