The Lifetime Value of a Reader: A European Snapshot
- griffindaly
- Sep 8
- 5 min read

What is the lifetime financial value of a reader to an author?
It’s a question that’s rarely asked — and even more rarely answered with data. But when we look closely, the numbers tell a powerful story. Across Europe, millions of readers consume hundreds of books over the course of their lives. Each book purchased contributes to the livelihood of authors, the sustainability of bookstores, and the cultural fabric of society.
Yet not all book purchases are created equal.
This blog post explores the lifetime reader value — a metric that captures how many books a person reads from age 16 to 75, how much those books cost, and how much of that value reaches the author. We’ll begin with a detailed snapshot of the Netherlands, then zoom out to reveal the broader European picture.
Along the way, we’ll highlight a critical gap: used books generate zero royalties for authors. And we’ll show how Author Advantage offers a solution — enabling readers to support authors even when buying secondhand.
Case Study — The Netherlands
To understand the lifetime financial value of a reader to an author, let’s start with the country where I live: the Netherlands. By examining how many books the average Dutch reader consumes, how much those books cost, and how much of that value reaches authors, we can build a clear picture of the economic and cultural impact of reading.
The Lifetime Impact of a Single Dutch Reader
Books Read Per Year: 8
Life Expectancy: 82.4 years
Reading Lifespan: 66.4 years (defined as ages 16–75)
Lifetime Books Read (Per Person): 531.2
Average Royalty (New Book): €2
Author Advantage Contribution (Used Book): €0.50
Over their adult lifetime, the average Dutch reader will read 531 books. If all of those books are purchased new, they generate €1,062.40 in royalties for authors. If all are purchased used, the author receives €0. However, if those used books are purchased through Author Advantage partners, the reader still contributes €265.60 — a meaningful recovery of lost value.
This simple shift — from the existing model of used book sales to Author Advantage — transforms a reader from a passive consumer into an active supporter of creative work.
Scaling Up: The National Picture
Population: 18.1 million
Lifetime Books Read (Country): 9.6 billion
Average Book Cost (New): €17
Average Book Cost (Used): €8.50
Lifetime Book Value (New): €163.45 billion
Lifetime Book Value (Used): €81.73 billion
Book Royalties (New): €19.23 billion
Book Royalties (Used): €0
These numbers reflect the reading lifetime of the population — a gross oversimplification, of course, given the many changing variables. But the intent here is not precision; it’s perspective. The goal is to set the goalposts for what current author support looks like.
More important than the upper bound of lifetime book royalties if all books were purchased new is the order of magnitude. In the Netherlands, readers should expect to generate billions of euros in royalty fees for authors. Used booksellers can expect billions of euros in revenue from secondhand sales. But these billions of euros in sales provide zero euros of support for the creatives who made the works in the first place.
Ethical and moral statements are never easy. But when we’re dealing with a case of zero value, the conversation becomes clearer. If all this value is being created — financial value to the bookseller, personal value to the reader — then surely that must be worth some financial value to the writer.
Europe-Wide Impact
Zooming out from the Netherlands, we begin to see the scale of reading’s economic footprint across Europe. Using the same methodology — average books read per year, reading lifespan, and royalty rates — we calculated the lifetime reader value for every European country we had data for.
The Lifetime Impact of a Single Reader (Across Europe)
While reading habits vary from country to country, the average European reader still consumes hundreds of books over their adult lifetime. Here’s a snapshot of five countries to show the range of reading behavior:
Country | Lifetime Books Read | Author Royalties (New) | Author Advantage Royalties (Used) |
France | 946.4 | €1,892.80 | €473.20 |
Italy | 884 | €1,768.00 | €442.00 |
Netherlands | 531.2 | €1,062.40 | €265.60 |
Austria | 425.65 | €851.29 | €212.82 |
Romania | 378.68 | €757.37 | €189.34 |
Even in countries with lower reading rates, a single reader still has the potential to contribute hundreds — or thousands — of euros to authors over their lifetime. The Netherlands sits right in the middle of this spectrum, showing how even moderate reading habits can translate into meaningful author support.
Scaling Up: The Continental Picture
When we multiply these per-reader values by national populations, the numbers become staggering:
Total Lifetime Books Read (Europe): 317 billion
Total Book Value (New): €5.39 trillion
Total Book Value (Used): €2.70 trillion
Total Royalties (New): €634 billion
Total Royalties (Author Advantage): €158.6 billion
Total Royalties (Used): €0
As with the Netherlands, these calculations are not meant to be precise representations of the book market. They are directional — a way to understand the order of magnitude of value being generated across Europe.
And that magnitude is enormous. The European book market, when viewed through the lens of a reader’s lifetime, is measured in trillions of euros. From the perspective of author support, this is a problem that costs authors hundreds of billions of euros.
Used booksellers benefit from billions in secondhand sales. Readers benefit from access and affordability. But authors — the originators of the work — receive nothing. If all this value is being created, surely some portion of it should flow back to the people who created it.
The Royalty Gap
The numbers speak for themselves: readers generate trillions of euros in book value across Europe through their lifetimes.
Yet used books — despite their popularity and economic significance — generate zero royalties for authors.
This is the core of the royalty gap.
Let’s revisit the Netherlands as an example. A single Dutch reader who buys all their books new contributes €1,062.40 to authors over their lifetime. If that same reader buys only used books, the author receives nothing. However, if those used books are purchased through Author Advantage partners, the reader still contributes €265.60 — a meaningful recovery of lost value .
Now scale that across Europe from an annual perspective:
Used Book Value (Europe): €2.70 trillion
Author Royalties from Used Books: €0
Potential Author Advantage Royalties: €158.6 billion
This gap isn’t just a financial oversight — it’s a structural flaw in how creative work is valued. Authors are the originators of the content, yet they are excluded from the secondhand economy entirely.
Used booksellers benefit. Readers benefit. Authors do not.
Author Advantage exists to change that. By purchasing used books from our partners, we can restore fairness without disrupting affordability or access. It’s about ensuring a fair distribution of value. It’s about giving readers a way to support the creators they love — even when buying secondhand.
If we accept that books have value — to readers, to sellers, to society — then we must also accept that the people who create them deserve a share of that value.
References I attached the workbook where I did the calculations for the writing above. Again I do not think these should be used for anything other than an order of magnitude check but I thought I would put them here for completeness.