1. Book sales will continue to become less important to non-fiction authors.

2. Platform rules the day.

3. Books as stand-alone apps with bonus features.

4. Digital book sales will reach 35% – 40% of revenue by year end.

5. Brick and mortar stores without significant revenue from other sources will close.

6. 100 Best-selling authors will defect from mainstream publishing and partner with smaller publishers, trading their advance for 50% royalties.

7. Authors will invest in creative repurposing of content to stand out and reach their demos from multiple angles.

8. Advances for first time authors will continue to decrease.

9. Gate keepers will continue to lose their influence as fewer authors feel the need to ask permission to publish.

10. First time authors without a sophisticated online presence and dedicated community will be rejected by major publishers before their content is considered.

11. In addition to article marketing, authors will continue to blog with a heavier focus on writing for smaller outlets with dedicated readers.

12. Thought leaders penning “business memoirs” will trend.

13. A new major chain of stores will emerge to compete with Starbucks–one with a library feel that doesn’t rely on book sales to stay in business.

14. One non-fiction graphic novel will reach the mainstream and a slew of new titles will flood the market, most of which will fail.

15. Authors will give away more books than they sell, both in print and digital formats.

16. The quality of speakers will rise as competition increases dramatically, but opportunities increase minimally.

17. Publishers will release fewer titles and invest more in support of those they release.

18. Non-fiction storytellers will dominate the business market.

19. Digitization of the backlist will become imperative.

20. A number of decade or older major titles will be rereleased digitally with bonus/creative content.

21. Thought leaders will turn to small but adventurous creative companies to drive exposure and word of mouth marketing.

22. The term “the reading experience” will be used frequently.

23. Books being “developed” like films will grow in popularity with at least one new creative “studio” launching to focus on book creation as the lead generator for new thought brands.