In Pakistan, most of the books are published in 500 quantity. In many cases, upto 25% quantity is distributed by the writer to his contemporaries, other writers and libraries. Remaining 400 keep on waiting their buyers at book shops. Sometimes, we don’t see a second edition of a book, even after critical acclaim.
If you look at Urdu books, most of the books that see new editions light are written by prominent writers or classics by Manto, Qurat ul Ain Haider, Ashfaq Ahmed, Bano Qudsia, Mumtaz Mufti, etc. Most of these books were written during 1960s to 1980s.
What do you think has been the reason for new writers (who wrote in 1990s and afterwards) not reaching new additions of their books? The new editions of books as mentioned above say that people are still into reading, so we just can’t say that overall reading habits are at decline.