Books

Chapter 7

A brief history

• Early books were inscribed by had, very detailed, like works of art

• The invention of moveable metal type (Gutenberg)

• Printed books appeared in England in 1476• Colonial America: Early publishers were also

authors (Benjamin Franklin). Most book content was religious and political

A brief history• Penny Press era: changes in printing technology

and increased literacy helped the publishing industry

• Book prices declined, public education and the penny press papers created a demand for reading materials

• The Paperback Boom: “Dime novels” accounted for one-third of all books published (Many bestselling paperbacks were actually pirated editions of best-sellers in England, and a new copyright law was enacted)

A brief history

• The Early 20th Century: the commercialization of publishing, became more businesslike, advent of literary agents, introduced modern promotion and distribution techniques to the industry

• Postwar: Paperbacks were popular again, reading as a leisure activity, large corporations acquired publishing houses and merging operations

The contemporary book industry

• Amazon changed the way people buy books• A jump in the number of outlets that sell

books (Wal-Mart, Starbucks)• Bookstores are also suffering due to the

recent economic downturn• E-books gaining in popularity

Books in the digital age

• E-book: digital books. As e-readers become more popular, so do e-books. Major producers of e-readers include Sony, Amazon, B&N, Apple

• Books are the last stronghold of the print industry. The majority of customers still purchase a print product versus a purely digital form

• Printing on Demand: the books is printed after it is sold. This cuts down on production and distribution costs

Books in the digital age

• Mobile books: describes viewing on a device other than a dedicated e-reader. Example: reading a book on an iPhone or Blackberry

• User-generated content: Blogs that put out print books (“I Can Has Cheezburger?”)

• Social Media: utilized to promote books and authors

Defining Features of Books

• The least “mass” of the mass media• Can have a huge cultural impact• The oldest and most enduring of the mass

media

Organization of the book industry

• Publishers: those who transform manuscripts into books. Annually, 100,000 – 150,000 books are published. Highly segmented industry. (See list on pg. 138)

• Distributors: Three main ways books get to people: distributed to wholesalers who then sell to retail outlets, direct from the seller (Amazon), publisher to consumer (e-book downloads)

Organization of the book industry

Retailers: Amazon.com is the biggest bookseller in the US (then B&N, then Borders/Waldenbooks [as of 2011, not anymore!])

Other retail channels: college bookstores, book clubs

Producing the book

There are four major departments in a typical publishing company: editorial, production, marketing and general administration/business

Editorial primarily deals with authors, selects manuscripts, prepares them for publication.

Production oversees the physical design of the book

Producing the book

Marketing department supervises sales, promotions and publicity

Business manager is responsible for accounting, preparing budgets and making long-range financial forecasts. Also deals with the day-to-day operational needs of the company

The publication process

• Editors get their books in three ways: through submissions by agents, unsolicited books sent by authors, book ideas generated by the editor

• Unsolicited manuscripts are called “slush.”• The author typically submits a proposal consisting

of a cover letter, brief description of the planned books, list of reasons it should be published, analysis of the potential market, outline or table of contents, one or two sample chapters

The economics of book publishing

• At the consumer level, books have become more expensive

• Publishers have two main sources of income: books sales, money from subsidiary rights

• Subsidiary rights: sales to book clubs, foreign rights, paperback rights and reprint permissions

• Costs of publishing include: cost of manufacturing the book, operating expenses, author advances

Feedback in book publishing

• Best-seller lists (New York Times, USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly)

• Neilsen BookScan: measures sales data from about 6,500 major retailers in the US (including big retailers and independent stores)

• Audiences: about 119 million Americans reported having read a book in the past year, biggest increase in audience is in the 18-24 year olds (reversing a recent trend)