Chapter 9 Flashcards
Why is the Gutenberg moveable type printing press considered the catalyst of the Second Information Revolution?
The Mass Production of Books Accelerated the exchange of information and ideas Stimulated increases in literacy. A primary catalyst in the kick-off of the industrial revolution
Books
Heart of Intellectual life for 500 years.
Within 100 years communication in Europe could boast:
Elaborate postal systems Standardized maps Continent wide exchange of scientific discoveries
1638 Puritans established Cambridge Press in Mass.
Libraries symbol of Intelligentsia
T. Jefferson’s was basis for Library of Congress
John Harvard’s 300 books donation to Newton Col.
Developed new literary genre
the American Novel
Democratization of literacy…
not just the richDevelopment of public education
McGuffey’s Readers
Used pictures to assist beginners
Sold 122 million between 1836 & 1922
Offset Lithography
Developed in the early 1900s
Anything you can take a picture of, you can print.
Led to computerized typesetting
Books disseminated further, preserving culture and knowledge and supporting a vibrant publishing industry.
U.S. Book Publishing is a
$31 Billion Industry
TRADE BOOKS
General interest titles both fiction and nonfiction
Trade Books
Publishers seek blockbusters but most books have short lives and low sales making publishing a very risky cutthroat industry.
60% lose money, 36% break even and 4 % return a good profit, and only a few in the latter category become best sellers…”
and hopefully the best sellers off-set the losses of all the others
Textbooks
Historically textbooks are said to have long lives and make lots of $$$…
but not any more without continuous revision.
Biggest part of the business.
Professional books
Law
Business
Medicine
Technical-scientific
Elementary-High School Books
development process driven by a few populous states.
School districts buy with state funds
requiring statewide adoption board’s content approval.
Book Types
Mass market paperbacks Instant books Topical books published quickly after an event occurs Religious titles Reference books Encyclopedias Dictionaries Atlases University press titles Scholarly works
Can you name the largest publisher in the world?
US Government printing office produces more titles than any commercial publisher in the world (27,000 titles in print)
Major Publishers – Brand name
Simon and Schuster Doubleday HarperCollins Penguin Random House
Historically to the 1950’s:
each was distinctive and bore the stamp of the people in charge.
Today almost no distinctive cultures
rather corporate bottom line mentality.
Industry Consolidation:
Across all mass media industries, mergers & acquisitions are the rule of today.
Although the brand names are often kept, they no longer stand-alone but
Rather are subsidiaries and divisions of International Media Conglomerates.
Trends in publishing
1990’s interdependent with TV & Movies
Blockbusters and cross media licensing
Talking books
The industry acting more & more Hollywood
Agents go right to movies &TV to pressure $$$
Small Publishers
Aprox. 12,000 in US number always in flux
Most with few titles
Typically low volume per book
Where most poetry is published
Many are University Presses
1478 Oxford U. Press oldest English language Pub
Service tradition & mission to advance knowledge
About 100 and dropping in numbers $$$ woes
Vanity Presses… “so you want to publish your book…
Have I got a deal for you!
All you have to do is pay all the expenses up front!
No promotion or distribution
Very unlikely that a best seller will be produced.
Publishing Business
Acquisitions editor Identifies talent Handles subsidiary rights Developmental editor Handles feedback to author Coordinates outside judges of the work Copy editors Problems in writing or length Design managers Layout and cover design
Book Retailing
The business of retailing books is in rapid change.Traditionally “independent” bookstores were the heart of the business
Book Retailing Cont.
First assault came from book clubs
Book of the Month Club 500 mil since 1926…
Free books to join, promise of X future purchases
Negative option system (aside BMG music example)
Now again with Oprah and influence of TV
Mall stores and mass merchandising
Chains immerged like B. Dalton & Walden Books
2,300 outlets at peak Ordered in massive lots for discount Promotional blitzes Big discounts Almost identical inventories Market driven flashy displays Tremendous pressure on independent booksellers
Super Stores
Barnes and Noble, Crown, Borders
People could more easily find what they needed
Many with coffee shops, classes, lectures cultural destination
Web Shopping
1995 Amazon.com started with 1,000,000 titles
1997 Barnes and Noble claiming 2.5 million titles
Deep discounts up to 40%
Amazon is King
Electronic Books
New & fast emerging market
First must over come issue of standardization of format and display unit
Still struggling with finding digital business models
Different Book Formats
Audio books
Feature actors or authors reading abridged versions of popular fiction and nonfiction trade books
Readily available for download onto iPods since early 2000s
Four hundred–plus new audio books available annually help generate more than $923 million in sales.
E-books
Industry has been challenged by how to translate paper books into digital medium.
The Kindle: Amazon.com’s digital reader
ipad and …
Market for e-books still developing with technology
Digital technology is also being used to archive and preserve books for future generations.
Google Library Project, The Open Content Alliance
Books and Media Melding
Has been going on for a long time
(from 1800’s serialization in magazines)
Subsidiary rights paperback, book club audio and Braille editions
Cross Over Products TV & movies
Star System often with ghostwriters
(OJ, Hillary Clinton, sports figures, politicians,)
Audio Books
By 2006, audio books were being heavily downloaded on iPods.
The four hundred-plus new audio books available annually generate more than $800 million in sales.
Measures of Quality
Sales and $$$$$$ Book Awards like Pulitzer, National Book Awards, Noble Prize, Pen/Faulkner
Future of Book Publishing
Literature from Uncle Tom’s Cabin to Silent Spring has had a positive influence on social change in America
Yet today, less than one-third of thirteen-year-olds read daily, a 14% decline from 20 years earlier.
Other studies suggest reasons for hope—60% of all avid or regular book readers are under the age of forty.
Increasingly, the book industry is trying to promote new ideas and authors while trying to maintain commercial viability.
Future of Publishing
“Traditional publishers are cautiously preparing for an uncharted future, digitizing thousands of old backlist titles in preparation for an e-new world where books can live forever because they will never go out of print.”
Doreen Carvajal
