Mainland period drama "Nirvana in Fire" is based on a novel by Hai Yan of the same name. (Photo : YouTube)
The popularity of certain TV shows has prompted an increase in the readership of books, according to a 2015 book sales report released by Amazon.cn, which revealed that books that have been adapted into hit TV series or films have enjoyed increased sales, as reported by the Global Times.
Comparing the sales of a few novels before and after the debut of their adaptations, Amazon.cn found out that "The Ordinary World" by Lu Yao had sales increase by 500 percent, "The Journey of Flower" by Fresh Guoguo by 900 percent, and "Nirvana in Fire" by Hai Yan by 3,300 percent. All three books were adapted into successful TV series that used the books' name.
Literary works, especially online literature, have seen a positive boost in recent years, with studios looking to them when in search of an IP that they can turn into a franchise.
Tianxia Bachang, author of the novel "Ghost Blows Out the Light," said that studios competing over adaptation rights for books became a major trend in 2015.
"TV and film works, as well as online games, became tied together with literary works," said Tianxia. He also said that book sales do not matter as much to author's incomes as they once did.
"Ten years ago, a book would be considered a bestseller only if it sold more than 1 million copies, but today 200,000 copies is considered as selling super well," said Tianxia. "Book prices haven't changed much from 10 years ago, so if someone were to ask for the kind of remuneration that was standard in the past, not many publishing houses would sign him. The money from TV and film adaptations more or less makes up for lost income though."
While today's readers mainly read blogs and social media posts, these TV and film adaptations have inspired a lot of them to read longer novels.
"TV dramas and films are stirring people's enthusiasm for reading. This is an encouraging phenomenon because it brings people back to deeper reading," said Shi Jianjun, the vice president of Amazon.cn.
According to a survey by Amazon.cn, 51 percent of the respondents spend over an hour reading social media posts each day, while only 36 percent read print or e-books for more than an hour each day.
