The future of publishing trends and insights in 2025

Publishing trends from being the hottest topics in different parts of the world to becoming forgotten and replaced by a new development in one industry or the other. Publishing trends are typically topics and predictions that are hot in the world of publishing at any time period.

The world is rapidly growing, and so is the scope of publishing. Physical books from bookstores might have been the thing in the past, but there’s now a growing demand for ebooks and online bookstores.

What about marketing?

Which platforms are best to publish and market a new book in 2024?

You’re about to find that out and more.

In this article, we’ll be giving you some of the most important publishing trends and insights to keep you up to speed with the world of publishing as 2024 comes to a close. We’ll also try to predict how much the market will change in the coming years.

If that interests you (we hope it does), then let’s dive right in.

Tech development: Technology as a cutting edge

Technology is developing faster than you can say Jack Robinson, and as it develops, it takes with it an industry it gets its fingers into.

The point is, technology advances to advance other industries around it, and the publishing industry is no exception. New advancements in tech are helping authors to not only do research and write, but to also edit, publish, and market books. Writing software such as Google Docs, Microsoft Word, and Evernote is becoming more and more popular among writers as a result of their easy organization, affordability, and online and offline capabilities.

Google Docs is currently the most popular writing software on the internet, with about a billion monthly users worldwide. Microsoft Word is a close second with 750 million monthly users.

This is because of Google Docs’ ease of access, features, compatibility with most devices, and pricing. It’s free.

On the other hand, technology is making the publishing process easier than ever, with many authors keying into different self-publishing options they have online. Not only do they get to keep 100% rights to their books, they also don’t have to wait years to get published and start receiving royalties. Amazon alone pays $520 million in royalties a year to

Authors on their platform, and it’s not so difficult to get there. Writing books in general is also easier thanks to the latest trends in AI. Research, outlining, writing, and editing are becoming automated thanks to recent tools in artificial intelligence.

Tech is one trend that is sure to keep advancing as long as people have innovation, and writers who are known for creativity won’t be left behind.

AI grows more popular than ever

The use of artificial intelligence in writing is something that has raised a lot of eyebrows and a lot of heated arguments. While some believed that AI could fully automate the writing process to make books and writing services a lot cheaper, others argued that writing and storytelling is an art that can’t be taken from people. A lot of people don’t think any block of text is worth reading if the writer didn’t care enough to write it.

However, AI is still growing popular in writing by the day. While it can’t write compelling fiction, AI is still good for writing articles and editing, and quite a number of publishers use AI-powered tools for these purposes.

Searches for AI writing have increased by 9100% in the last 5 years, and it remains a hot topic today.

Search trend for “AI writing.”

Some publishers explore the possibility of AI replacing writers. These publishers are the ones who need a continuous supply of articles or short stories to keep their business running. However, the reception has not been as good as anyone would expect. A few months ago, a tech website known as CNET published AI-generated articles that became the focus of criticism by other blogs and newspaper channels.

In an article on the Washington Post, CNET’s AI articles were said to be subpar, containing too many inaccuracies.

A news site used AI to write Articles. It was a journalistic disaster.

The tech website later declared that they only did what they did as an experiment. However, readers could accept that they experimented with so many articles. So, they called them AI-assisted articles instead. In the end, it didn’t end well.

AI has made a lot of groundbreaking achievements in different fields like healthcare and visual arts. It’s not crazy to think that they could replace writers in the future. However, it’s probably too soon to predict, as people still desire stories told from the hearts of other people.

Self-publishing surges in popularity

Self-publishing is moving from being a publishing option to being the monstrosity of an industry. Writers are now, more than ever, choosing to go solo and publish their manuscripts themselves. Some writers who have been traditionally published are self-publishing for different reasons. By self-publishing, authors can now bypass the daunting process of reaching out to agents and publishing houses and waiting for approval just to get their books into the industry. They also get to have more control over their ideas and finances when they self-publish.

The publishing route is becoming a massive industry, with 300 million self-published books worth $1.25 billion being sold every year. Those numbers are only going to rise with current advances in technology, which makes the self-publishing process a lot easier.

Amazon, which owns the biggest book retailer in the world (KDP), pays $520 million in royalties to self-published authors each year, and selling a book there is as easy as having a prepared manuscript, a book cover, and an account. People can dust off old and rejected manuscripts and turn them into assets by having them published on Amazon KDP and selling them with a good strategy.

The global market for self-publishing is on an expected rise, and it is expected to grow in CAGR by 17% each year. This means that more authors are taking steps towards self-publishing, and the industry isn’t expected to slow down for any reason in the near future.

Interactive and immersive content offered widely

Content on the internet is affecting publishing in more ways than one. Authors are creating content across different media to build platforms, engage audiences, and most importantly, market their books. It doesn’t stop there. Interactive content is also being made by independent content creators, influencers, and even publishers. People go on the internet to discuss their experience reading new books, and then other people key into that because it is something they enjoy. These contents aren’t limited to written words and blog posts as they used to be. Pictures are more popular; videos and reels are more popular than ever.

Platforms like TikTok and YouTube are influencing readers, authors, and the scope of publishing on a large scale. It is quite safe to say that these platforms will be influencing marketing decisions in the near future.

Tiktok’s growing market and publishing trends

With its vast algorithm and high user retention, TikTok is one of the few platforms that authors can use to market their books without paying for any ads. Tiktok has 1.04 billion monthly users, and its algorithm is one that gives creators the opportunity to share videos far across the globe. Authors who can make their own content on the platform will have access to a wide audience of readers that they can market their book to. And if they can’t create content, they just have to get their books across to someone in the Booktok community.

Booktok is a niche community on TikTok where readers come together to discuss,criticize,e and theorize their favorite books. The community’s popularity has skyrocketed in the last five years, and it has helped authors in very unimaginable ways.

Searches for “Booktok”

In 2021, booktok helped in selling around 20 million books which was around 2.4% of all book sales that year. The community brought authors like Adam Silvera and Colleen Hoover to best-selling status in 2023, and is still helping other authors grow in popularity.

Tiktok helped Colleen Hoover sell 1.3 million copies of her books in 2022, new data shows

With its rising popularity and its ability to sell books, the tiktok market is hardly about to be overlooked. More authors are going to want to use BookTok to their advantage. Some authors are already partnering with booktok influencers to help review and promote their new books.

Conclusion

The publishing industry is growing and spreading its branches in different directions. Keeping up with this growth and trend will make the difference in your author journey. You just might be the next Booktok sensation to rise to being a best-seller. You might even come up with your own trends and set the trail in the industry.

Make sure you keep your eyes open and be up-to-date with what’s happening and  how it can be an advantage to you.