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| Facebook Page of Boomer Lit Goodreads Group |
Here are some excerpts:
Publishers might be making a mistake if they overlook the potentially huge market of the aging. This is especially true when it comes to Baby Boomers [...] Boomers are now retiring at the rate of 3.5 million per year, that’s 10,000 per day. They have time to read and they want books that cater to them specifically...
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Hollywood was the first to notice this opportunity. The number of films featuring mature Boomers has increased exponentially in the past few years and they have been (nearly) all box office successes, notably RED (Retired Extremely Dangerous), The King’s Speech, Something’s Gotta Give, It’s Complicated, The Descendants, Carnage, Flight, etc…Heck, even James Bond has gotten older and a little slower. Just think of the issues central in the latest film iteration Skyfall.
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Some in publishing and bookselling may be unhappy at the idea of having to deal with yet another genre and leery of what they see as books focused on old age.[...]Boomers have already changed so much about the way they see the world and they are now going to change the way people grapple with aging in our society. Boomer Lit is going to be the vehicle of choice to express this. A group has already been created to discuss Boomer Lit on Goodreads. It has its own Facebook page and Twitter account. Within three months of being established, the group attracted some 240 members who listed some 70 Boomer book titles on its bookshelf.
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So, why should publishers really care? Maybe they sell enough books already? The fact is that there is ample proof that the Boomer Lit genre is selling and was selling even before it had a name.[...]
Why is Boomer lit emerging now? Many factors have contributed to making 2013 a “magic” year for the birth of this new genre.
First: the Internet accelerates such changes. A few years ago, the appearance of a novel like Rachel Joyce’s might have passed unnoticed; today, thanks to the digital revolution, it resonates with masses of readers and writers: on Amazon it has earned over 644 customer reviews and on Goodreads an amazing 14,105 ratings and 3,378 reviews.
Second, the changing demographics. As I mentioned earlier, Boomers are now retiring at the rate of 3.5 million per year, that’s 10,000 per day. Inevitably, this translates in a change in culture and society’s interests.
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Third, the marketing industry has also awakening to the need to restructure its marketing strategies and re-focus on Boomers. [...] As Matt Thornhill, one of the two authors of the [ "Boomer Consumer" marketing guide] told the Miami Herald, to think that Boomers will go into retirement lying low and spending less is undoubtedly a mistake: they will spend at “Boomer levels.”
And they will buy books, provided they have stories of concern to them. Under the circumstances, it is no surprise that Boomer Lit should be the Next Big Genre. The first among major publishers to set up an imprint focused on Boomers is likely to find he’s come up with a winner…
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What is your take? Anything to add to the reasons why Boomer lit is emerging now?
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