2. Books

Christopher BurnettCalifornia State, Long Beach

Nurturing Ideas vs. Making Money

• “Culture and Commerce of Publishing”– Fickle and uncertain market for books– Industry decentralized in sectors with diverse operations– Operations mix mass production and artistic craft– Poised between requirements of commerce and obligations of

preserving symbolic culture

• Publishers’ Association

Early American Publishing

• 1638 - 1st American printing press, Cambridge, Mass.• 1640 - 1st book published in America: Bay Psalm Book• 1731 - Ben Franklin established 1st American library• Franklin wrote and published his own works, such as

Poor Richard’s Almanac

Expanding the Readership

• Political Pamphlets– Thomas Paine’s Common

Sense, 1776– Runaway best seller

(100,000 copies)– Widest read author of the

American Revolution

• Novels, Poetry, Humor– American publishers and

foreign author’s royalties– 19th Century “Dime Novels”– Poetry in the 1800s– Mark Twain and American

humor

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Three Influential Events for Publishing

• International Copyright Law of 1891– Requirement to pay author royalties,

both foreign and domestic– Shift toward publishing American

authors

• Publishing Houses– Large book-related firms

• Compulsory Education– Public education by 1900– Textbook publishing

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Mass Market Books

• Book Clubs– Replaced door-to-door sales– Book of the Month Club,

1926– 50 book clubs by 1946,

sales in millions of copies

• Paperbacks– 1939, Pocket Books, 25¢ a

copy– Democratized reading

• Censorship challenge– Grove Press and U.S.

Supreme Court, 1964

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Consolidation and Publishing

• Before the 1960s– Independent publishing houses

dominate industry

• Post World War II college boom – publishing becomes attractive

investment

• 1960 to present– Widespread publishing mergers,

acquisitions by non-publishing corporations

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Authors and Agents

• Manuscript Handling – Unsolicited manuscripts– Submitted through a literary agent

• Agent pitches manuscript to publisher and negotiates advances,royalties & contract

• Royalty from 6%-15% of sales• Agent’s fee, 10%-15 % of author’s royalty

• Jobs in Publishing Link

The Publishing Process

• Author • Acquisitions editor

– Makes agreements with authors– Liaison with authors– Negotiates sale of subsidiary rights

• Production editor– Turns manuscript into book

• Designer– Decides what the book will look like

• Manufacturing supervisor• Marketing

– Advertising and Promotion

• Fulfillment

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The Publishing Business

• 20,000 Publishers– Only 2000 publish more than

4 titles/year

• Employees– 80% employ fewer than 20

• Adult and juvenile trade books– Half of all books sold

• Book prices rising– Cost nearly 3 times 1979

prices

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Book Markets

• Trade Books– General public fiction and non-

fiction titles

• Religious Books– Hymnals, Bibles, etc.

• Professional Books– Technical, science, medical

• Mass Market Paperbacks– Sold on “racks,” cheaper

paper

• Textbooks– Elementary through college

• University Press Books– Limited titles by universities

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The Books People BuyIllustration 2.1

Pursuit of Higher Profits

• Subsidiary Rights– Negotiated rates for movies, book clubs, CDs, paperback

reprints, foreign sales, merchandising, etc.

• Blockbusters– Pursuit of best-selling authors– Creating “brand loyalty” in readers– Advances in the millions of dollars

• Chain bookstores– Barnes & Noble– Books and atmosphere

• Internet Retailers• Publishing news link

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Recent Advances on Blockbusters

• Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve chairman– $8.5 million for Age of Turbulence

• Margaret Mitchell estate– $4.5 million for second sequel to Gone With the Wind

• Hillary Rodham Clinton, senator and former first lady– $8 million for Living History memoirs

• Tom Clancy, military/political thriller author– $2.5 million for film rights to Without Remorse

• Mary Higgins Clark, mystery writer$35 million from Simon & Shuster for six books

Small Publishers’ Challenge

• Large publishers print 80% of books sold• Small presses

– Few employees– Specialized titles– Poetry– Alternative subjects– Regional presses– Targeted marketing

• The Lemon Book– Ralph Nader’s guide to buying a car– Rare small publisher success

Publishing Digital Books

• E-books– Electronic versions to download on a computer– Can be stored on small drives– Market acceptance slow– Limited investment support

New Technologies Affect Production

1. Computers

2. Electronic submission, editing and production

3. Electronic Graphics

4. Web sites for advertising

5. Shifts in publishing industry

6. More freelance contracts

7. Audio books

Google Book Project

• Up to 10 million books at libraries in the Midwest will be digitized.

• Supported by Committee on Institutional Cooperation, a 12-university consortium formed 50 years ago

• Digitizing books will ensure their preservation, sponsors say.

Critical Discussion

1. Should copies of textbooks be available online? What are the pros and cons as you see them?

2. Are books printed on paper a thing of the past? Why or why not?