Some fun and interesting publishing insights today on both the ebook and traditional print book markets: Bowker recently released its  2013 U.S. Book Consumer Demographics and Buying Behaviors Annual Review. The full report is $799, but their free preview is available at the link, with some interesting statistics that bear watching by authors, including:

• Bowker Market Research estimates 3% of books purchased by Americans (and 1% of dollars spent) were by self-published authors.
• Self-published books accounted for 8% of ebook purchases in 2012, and 10% of adult fiction ebooks.
• Women age 30-44 are the primary book buyers and women outspent men in every age category.
• There were small share gains for books in the adult fiction (thank the Fifty Shades trilogy for that) and juvenile genres and especially the young adult genre.

Galleycat also released news of the Annual Review, citing more statistics:

• Online booksellers accounted for 44 percent of American book sales in 2012.
• The growth of ebooks varies widely among the different publishing categories with their deepest penetration focused in fiction, particularly in the mystery/detective, romance, and science fiction categories, where ebooks accounted for more than 20 percent of 2012 spending.

And in more released stats, according to Infodocket.com:

• By the close of 2012, 53 percent of consumers said the economy was having no effect on their book buying habits, up from 51 percent at the end of 2011.
• Despite the growth of ebooks, traditional print book output grew three percent in 2012, from 292,037 titles in 2011 to 301,642 in 2012.

The study is based on information from Bowker Market Research’s consumer panel of almost 70,000 Americans who bought books in 2012. The 2013 Review is available by visiting www.bookconsumer.com. Through August, the report can be purchased for $799 for a single-use PDF or print copy. After August the price rises to $999.