Publishing
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Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information – the activity of making information available for public view. In some cases authors may be their own publishers, meaning: originators and developers of content also provide media to deliver and display the content.
Traditionally, the term refers to the distribution of printed works such as books (the "book trade") and newspapers. With the advent of digital information systems and the Internet, the scope of publishing has expanded to include electronic resources, such as the electronic versions of books and periodicals, as well as websites, blogs, video games and the like.
Publishing includes: the stages of the development, acquisition, copyediting, graphic design, production – printing (and its electronic equivalents), and marketing and distribution of newspapers, magazines, books, literary works, musical works, software and other works dealing with information, including the electronic media.
Publication is also important as a legal concept: (1) as the process of giving formal notice to the world of a significant intention, for example, to marry or enter bankruptcy; (2) as the essential precondition of being able to claim defamation; that is, the alleged libel must have been published, and (3) for copyright purposes, where there is a difference in the protection of published and unpublished works.
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[edit] The process of publishing
Book and magazine publishers spend a lot of their time buying or commissioning copy. At a small press, it is possible to survive by relying entirely on commissioned material. But as activity increases, the need for works may outstrip the publisher's established circle of writers.
Writers often first submit a query letter or proposal directly to a publisher according to submission guidelines or to a literary agent. Submissions sent directly to a publisher are referred to as unsolicited submissions. The majority of unsolicited submissions come from previously unpublished authors. When such manuscripts are unsolicited, they must go through the slush pile, which publisher's readers sift through to identify manuscripts of sufficient quality or revenue potential to be referred to acquisitions editors, who in turn refer their choices to the editorial staff. This process is dependent on the size of the publishing company, with larger companies having more degrees of assessment between unsolicited submission and publication. Unsolicited submissions have a very low rate of acceptance. Many book publishing companies around the world maintain a strict "no unsolicited submissions" policy and will only accept submissions via a literary agent. This shifts the burden on assessing and developing writers out of the publishing company and onto the literary agents.
Established authors are often represented by a literary agent to market their work to publishers and negotiate contracts. Literary agents take a percentage of author earnings (varying between 10 - 15 per cent) to pay for their services.
Some writers follow a non-standard route to publication. For example, this may include bloggers who have attracted large readerships producing a book based around their website, books based on internet memes, instant "celebrities" such as Joe the Plumber, retiring sports figures and in general anyone whom a publisher feels could produce a marketable book. Such books often employ the services of a ghost-writer.
For a submission to reach publication it must be championed by an editor or publisher who must work to convince other staff of the need to publish a particular title. An editor who discovers or champions a book which subsequently becomes a best-seller may find their own reputation enhanced as a result of their success.
[edit] Acceptance and negotiation
Once a work is accepted, commissioning editors negotiate the purchase of intellectual property rights and agree on royalty rates.
The authors of traditional printed materials sell exclusive territorial intellectual property rights that match the list of countries in which distribution is proposed (i.e. the rights match the legal systems under which copyright protections can be enforced). In the case of books, the publisher and writer must also agree on the intended formats of publication -— mass-market paperback, "trade" paperback and hardback are the most common options.
The situation is slightly more complex if electronic formatting is to be used. Where distribution is to be by CD-ROM or other physical media, there is no reason to treat this form differently from a paper format, and a national copyright is an acceptable approach. But the possibility of Internet download without the ability to restrict physical distribution within national boundaries presents legal problems that are usually solved by selling language or translation rights rather than national rights. Thus, Internet access across the European Union is relatively open because of the laws forbidding discrimination based on nationality, but the fact of publication in, say, France, limits the target market to those who read French.
Having agreed on the scope of the publication and the formats, the parties in a book agreement must then agree on royalty rates, the percentage of the gross retail price that will be paid to the author, and the advance payment. This is difficult because the publisher must estimate the potential sales in each market and balance projected revenue against production costs. Royalties usually range between 10-12% of recommended retail price. An advance is usually 1/3 of first print run total royalties. For example, if a book has a print run of 5000 copies and will be sold at $14.95 and the author receives 10% royalties, the total sum payable to the author if all copies are sold is $7475 (10% x $14.95 x 5000). The advance in this instance would roughly be $2490. Advances vary greatly between books, with established authors commanding large advances.
[edit] Editorial, Design, Sales and Marketing stages
Although listed as three distinct stages, these usually occur concurrently. As editing of text progresses, front cover design and initial layout takes place and sales and marketing of the book begins.
[edit] Editorial stage
Once the immediate commercial decisions are taken and the technical legal issues resolved, the author may be asked to improve the quality of the work through rewriting or smaller changes, and the staff will edit the work. Publishers may maintain a house style, and staff will copy edit to ensure that the work matches the style and grammatical requirements of each market. Editing may also involve structural changes and requests for more information. Some publishers employ fact checkers, particularly regarding non-fiction works.
[edit] Design stage
The type of book being produced determines the amount of design required. For standard fiction titles, design is usually restricted to typography and cover design. For books containing illustrations or images, design takes on a much larger role in laying out how the page looks, how chapters begin and end, colours, typography, cover design and ancillary materials such as posters, catalogue images and other sales materials. Non-fiction illustrated titles are the most design intensive books, requiring extensive use of images and illustrations, captions, typography and a deep involvement and consideration of the reader experience.
[edit] Sales and Marketing stage
The Sales and Marketing stage is closely intertwined with the editorial process. As front cover images are produced or chapters are edited, sales people may start talking about the book with their customers to build early interest. Publishing companies often produce advanced information sheets which may be sent to customers or overseas publishers to gauge possible sales. As early interest is measured, this information feeds back through the editorial process and may affect the formatting of the book and the strategy employed to sell it. For example, if interest from foreign publishers is high, co-publishing deals may be established whereby publishers share printing costs in producing large print runs thereby lowering the per-unit cost of the books.
Conversely, if initial feedback is not strong, the print-run of the book may be reduced, the marketing budget cut or, in some cases, the book is dropped from publication altogether.
[edit] Prepress
When a final text is agreed upon, the next phase is design. This may include artwork being commissioned or confirmation of layout. In publishing, the word "art" also indicates photographs. This process prepares the work for printing through processes such as typesetting, dust jacket composition, specification of paper quality, binding method and casing, and proofreading.
The activities of typesetting, page layout, the production of negatives, plates from the negatives and, for hardbacks, the preparation of brasses for the spine legend and imprint are now all computerized. Prepress computerization evolved mainly in about the last twenty years of the 20th century. If the work is to be distributed electronically, the final files are saved as formats appropriate to the target operating systems of the hardware used for reading. These may include PDF files.
[edit] Printing
Before printing begins, a pre-press proof is created which is sent for final checking and sign-off by the publishing company. This proof shows the book precisely as it will appear once printed and is the final opportunity a publisher has to ensure there are no errors in the material. Some printing companies use electronic proofs rather than printed proofs. Once the proofs have been signed off, printing of the book begins. Some copies of the finished book are flown to publishers as sample copies to aid sales or to be sent for pre-publication reviews. Remaining books often travel via sea freight. As such, the delay between proof and arrival of books in warehouse can be some months. For books which are tied into movie release dates (particularly children's films), publishers will arrange books to arrive in store up to two months prior to the movie release to build interest in the movie. A new printing process is 'Printing on Demand'. The book will be printed upon receipt of the order. This procedure ensures low costs for storage.
[edit] Privishing
Privishing refers to the process of technically publishing a book however publishing such a small amount or with such lack of support in terms of marketing, advertising or sales from the Publisher that the book could be thought of as unpublished altogether. The book, whilst published, is almost impossible to obtain through normal channels such as bookshops, often cannot be special-ordered and will have a notable lack of support from its Publisher, including refusals to reprint the title. A book which is privished may be referred to as "killed".
There are many ways Publishers can technically adhere to the terms of the publishing contract yet withdraw support for a particular title. Controversial books can have their print-runs drastically cut, marketing budgets reduced or sales support reduced if a Publisher feels that promoting the book may have an adverse affect on their business. Privishing can be thought of as a form of censorship, particularly when it occurs in response to pressure from an outside company or person who may be the subject of the book. Threats of legal action or complications involving parent companies of Publishers have been cited as reasons privishing has occurred. In other cases, privishing can occur from a real lack of interest in the title, a change of direction for the publisher or other unknown reasons (such as the key editor on the title resigning from the company).
Privishing is also a result of market forces which dictate that only a few books per year can be successful and so Publishers must apply their efforts where they will get the best return on investment. If a book does not generate early interest from key sales outputs such as large department stores then it may have little to no promotion.
The size of the initial advance paid for a book can have a significant effect on whether a book is privished[citation needed]. If a publisher has already invested a large amount into the book then they will generally invest a large amount of promotion and effort into selling the book so they can, at a minimum, recover their investment. Books with low advances can be dropped or killed with little effect because only a small sum of money has been invested.
The process of privishing is a self-fulfilling one: as initial sales effort is subtly reduced then feedback on interest comes back as low. This in turn affects marketing efforts which ties into further sales efforts and results in the book dropping further down the priority list. The author has no way to independently verify individual sales effort and so cannot know their title has been effectively killed by lack of support. Once the print-run is cut due to lack of interest, then sales and marketing may again reduce effort to sell the title which again lowers the probability of success for the title.
As books have a very short time in which to make an impact with the buying public, it is almost impossible to determine the source of failure for a particular title. Only a few cases of privishing have been prosecuted in court: DuPont.
[edit] Publishing as a business
The publisher usually controls the advertising and other marketing tasks, but may subcontract various aspects of the process to specialist publisher marketing agencies. In many companies, editing, proofreading, layout, design and other aspects of the production process are done by freelancers.[1][2]
Dedicated in-house salespeople are sometimes replaced by companies who specialize in sales to bookshops, wholesalers and chain stores for a fee. This trend is accelerating as retail book chains and supermarkets have centralized their buying.
If the entire process up to the stage of printing is handled by an outside company or individuals, and then sold to the publishing company, it is known as book packaging. This is a common strategy between smaller publishers in different territorial markets where the company that first buys the intellectual property rights then sells a package to other publishers and gains an immediate return on capital invested. Indeed, the first publisher will often print sufficient copies for all markets and thereby get the maximum quantity efficiency on the print run for all.
Some businesses maximize their profit margins through vertical integration; book publishing is not one of them. Although newspaper and magazine companies still often own printing presses and binderies, book publishers rarely do. Similarly, the trade usually sells the finished products through a distributor who stores and distributes the publisher's wares for a percentage fee or sells on a sale or return basis.
The advent of the Internet has therefore posed an interesting question that challenges publishers, distributors and retailers. In 2005, Amazon.com announced its purchase of Booksurge and selfsanepublishing, a major print on demand operation. This is probably intended as a preliminary move towards establishing an Amazon imprint. One of the largest bookseller chains, Barnes & Noble, already runs its own successful imprint with both new titles and classics — hardback editions of out-of-print former best sellers. Similarly, Ingram Industries, parent company of Ingram Book Group (a leading US book wholesaler), now includes its own print-on-demand division called Lightning Source. Among publishers, Simon & Schuster recently announced that it will start selling its backlist titles directly to consumers through its website[citation needed].
Book clubs are almost entirely direct-to-retail, and niche publishers pursue a mixed strategy to sell through all available outlets — their output is insignificant to the major booksellers, so lost revenue poses no threat to the traditional symbiotic relationships between the four activities of printing, publishing, distribution and retail.
[edit] Academic publishing
The development of the printing press represented a revolution for communicating the latest hypotheses and research results to the academic community and supplemented what a scholar could do personally. But this improvement in the efficiency of communication created a challenge for libraries which have had to accommodate the weight and volume of literature.
To understand the scale of the problem, consider that approximately two centuries ago the number of scientific papers published annually was doubling every fifteen years. Today, the number of published papers doubles about every ten years. Modern academics now try to run electronic journals and distribute academic materials without the need for publishers.
One of the key functions that academic publishers provide is to manage the process of peer review. Their role is to facilitate the impartial assessment of research and this vital role is not one that has yet been usurped, even with the advent of social networking and online document sharing.
Today, publishing academic journals and textbooks is a large part of an international industry. Critics claim that standardised accounting and profit-oriented policies have displaced the publishing ideal of providing access to all. In contrast to the commercial model, there is non-profit publishing, where the publishing organization is either organised specifically for the purpose of publishing, such as a university press, or is one of the functions of an organisation such as a medical charity, founded to achieve specific practical goals. An alternative approach to the corporate model is open access, the online distribution of individual articles and academic journals without charge to readers and libraries. The pioneers of Open Access journals are BioMed Central and the Public Library of Science(PLoS).
[edit] Tie-in publishing
Technically, radio, television, cinemas, VCDs and DVDs, music systems, games, computer hardware and mobile telephony publish information to their audiences. Indeed, the marketing of a major film often includes a novelization, a graphic novel or comic version, the soundtrack album, a game, model, toys and endless promotional publications.
Some of the major publishers have entire divisions devoted to a single franchise, e.g. Ballantine Del Rey Lucasbooks has the exclusive rights to Star Wars in the United States; Random House UK (Bertelsmann)/Century LucasBooks holds the same rights in the United Kingdom. The game industry self-publishes through BL Publishing/Black Library (Warhammer) and Wizards of the Coast (Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, etc). The BBC has its own publishing division which does very well with long-running series such as Doctor Who. These multimedia works are cross-marketed aggressively and sales frequently outperform the average stand-alone published work, making them a focus of corporate interest.[3]
[edit] Independent publishing alternatives
See also Alternative media
Writers in a specialized field or with a narrower appeal have found smaller alternatives to the mass market in the form of small presses and self-publishing. More recently, these options include print on demand and ebook format. These publishing alternatives provide an avenue for authors who believe that mainstream publishing will not meet their needs or who are in a position to make more money from direct sales than they could from bookstore sales, such as popular speakers who sell books after speeches. Authors are more readily published by this means due to the much lower costs involved.
[edit] Recent developments
The 21st century has brought a number of new technological changes to the publishing industry. These changes include e-books, print on demand and accessible publishing. E-books have been quickly growing in availability since 2005. Google, Amazon.com and Sony have been leaders in working with publishers and libraries to digitize books. Currently Amazon's Kindle reading device is a very significant force in the market, although the Sony Reader and Palm are also strong in the market, and the Apple iPhone is considered by many to be a competitor in the E-Book reader space.[citation needed]
The ability to quickly and cost effectively Print on Demand has meant that publishers no longer have to store books at warehouses if the book is in low or unknown demand. This is a huge advantage to small publishers who can now operate without large overheads and large publishers who can now cost effectively sell their backlisted items.
Accessible publishing uses the digitization of books to mark up books into XML and then produces multiple formats from this to sell to consumers, often targeting those with difficulty reading. Formats include a variety larger print sizes, specialized print formats for dyslexia[4], eye tracking problems and macular degeneration, as well as Braille, DAISY, Audiobooks and e-books[5].
Green publishing means adapting the publishing process to minimise environmental impact. One example of this is the concept of on demand printing, using digital or print-on-demand technology. This cuts down the need to ship books since they are manufactured close to the customer on a just-in-time basis[6].
[edit] Standardization
Refer to the ISO divisions of ICS 01.140.40 and 35.240.30 for further information.[7][8]
[edit] See also
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Publishing on specific contexts:
Publishing tools: |
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ "Jobs and Careers - Help". Random House, Inc.. http://www.randomhouse.com/about/faq/index.php?ToDo=view&questId=144&catId=11. Retrieved on 2008-08-13.
- ^ "Jobs with Penguin". Penguin Books Ltd. http://gs12.globalsuccessor.com/fe/tpl_penguin01.asp?newms=info03#para2. Retrieved on 2008-08-13.
- ^ Shelagh Vainker in Anne Farrer (ed), "Caves of the Thousand Buddhas", 1990, British Museum publications, ISBN 0 7141 1447 2
- ^ Making Reading Easier - Paper Cuts Blog - NYTimes.com - May 20, 2008, 4:26 pm By Dwight Garner
- ^ Overview of the Technology- Awards, Cost Savings
- ^ [http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/02/reading-green-on-demand/?scp=1&sq=green%20publishing%20toby&st=cse Reading Green on Demand, New York Times/IHT
- ^ International Organization for Standardization. "01.140.40: Publishing". http://www.iso.org/iso/products/standards/catalogue_ics_browse.htm?ICS1=01&ICS2=140&ICS3=40&. Retrieved on 14 July 2008.
- ^ International Organization for Standardization. "35.240.30: IT applications in information, documentation and publishing". http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_ics_browse?ICS1=35&ICS2=240&ICS3=30&. Retrieved on 14 July 2008.
[edit] References
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This article includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (September 2008) |
- Epstein, Jason. Book Business: Publishing Past, Present, and Future.
- Schiffrin, André (2000). The Business of Books: How the International Conglomerates Took Over Publishing and Changed the Way We Read.
- Ugrešić, Dubravka (2003). Thank You for Not Reading.
- Abelson et al (2005). Open Networks and Open Society: The Relationship between Freedom, Law, and Technology
[edit] External links
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