DropCap Q&A: Top Publishing Trends for 2022
The start of a new year is an opportunity to reflect on the year gone by and to approach the year ahead with fresh ideas and an open mind. January always comes with a special vibe and at DropCap we have fully embraced it: there has been a lot of thinking about what challenges, opportunities and trends lie ahead of us. Our very own Allison Olson and Monica Meehan kindly agreed to echo those conversations by answering a few questions on the top publishing trends for 2022. Who better than them could guide us through these topics? With their deep understanding of the publishing industry, they have plenty to share.
How would you summarize 2021 for DropCap?
Allison: 2021, our third year in business, was a tremendous growth year for us. We grew our number of licenses by 35%, our number of international publishing partners by 80% and added 20 fabulous publishers to our family including: Scribe, Girl Friday Books, Stone Bridge Press, The Himalayan Institute, and Wonderwell to name a few. Our team grew from 4 to 8 and we are well positioned as we start 2022.
Monica: It was also an exciting time to vet independent authors’ foreign rights and to work on several literary agenting proposals. Authors like Buddhist fiction author David Michie, historical thrillers by Soren Petrek, business-minded books by Phil Simon and Evan McFarland, kids books giving dads more limelight including The Fan Brothers endorsed book My Dad, My Rock, and co-agenting first time author Kodo NiIshimura, who in 2021 was voted one of twenty TIME magazine’s next generation thought leaders. I was also thrilled to join DropCap on the first day of the year!
What are the biggest lessons that you learned in the past year?
Allison: Technology, including Zoom, is fantastic but us “book people” are missing our in-person gatherings and yearning to reconnect.
Monica: Patience and gratitude! To realize that efforts are rewarded, it just may take a little longer than in past years.
What are, in your opinion, the new challenges ahead?
Allison: The obvious one, COVID. We are hoping our in-person book fairs can return this spring in Bologna and London. Supply chain issues continue to slow publication of new releases. And finding new readers, meeting them with content and the delivery method they seek will continue to challenge our industry.
Monica: Not necessarily re-inventing the wheel, but finding fresh wheels: new stories, implementing new tech innovation, which is at the front and center of our business, and finding more time to explore new partnerships. Time is everyone’s biggest currency so finding a way to balance priorities in an increasingly remote world will play a significant role, as well.
What genres will fare better in 2022? What trends do you foresee in the coming year?
Allison: Independent authors will continue to earn market share as well as hybrid publishers; it is an exciting time for them. Uplifting non-fiction that helps us navigate getting back to a new normal post-pandemic, #BookTok will continue to grow into the mainstream, it will be interesting to watch if the sales follow.
Monica: Anything emphasizing cozy should continue to thrive from high caliber commercial fiction to nonfiction memoirs by our heroes, to book to film tie-ins. Books you can envision reading by the fire or on a beach. Or reliving on the big / small screen.
Any advice you want to share with our international publishing partners to make the most of these trends?
Allison: Reserve one slot to capitalize on a trend and get a book out while it's still hot. We see a lot of our European and Asian publishers do this with great success.
Monica: Don’t be afraid to take a chance again. This is how publishing started, and understandably, the last two years tended to gravitate to “safe” backlist. Find a book you love and go for it!
