Chapter Six Books

The process of writing a book is very complex, and every year in the United States, publishers produce about 55,000 individual titles. This number includes revised editions of previously published books, but most of the titles are new. The publishing industry always has been tugged by “the culture and commerce of publishing”—the desire to preserve the country’s intellectual ideas versus the desire to make money. But, a publisher who doesn’t make a profit cannot continue to publish books.

How American Book Publishing Grew When Americans first started publishing books, one person often did all the work. The first books in the United States were imports, brought by the new settlers or ordered from England after the settlers arrived. In 1638, the colonists set up America’s first printing press at Cambridge, Massachusetts, and in 1640 they printed America’s first book: The Bay Psalm Book. As the only book it became an instant bestseller. There were only 3,500 families in the colonies at the time, and the book’s first printing of 1,750 sold out.

A copy of The Bay Psalm Book.

By 1680, there were 17 booksellers, and most of the books came from England. By far, the most popular books of the time were romance novels. In 1731, Ben Franklin decided that Philadelphia needed a library. He asked 50 people (called subscribers) to pay 40 schillings each to a Library Company. The company imported 84 books, which circulated among the subscribers. This became America’s first library. A typical author sought a patron to pay for the book’s printing and then sold the book at the print shop where it was published.

Looking for a Wider Audience To expand readership, early publishers sold political pamphlets, novels, poetry and humor. Political Pamphlets: The big seller of the 1700s was Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, which argued for independence from Great Britain. From January to March 1776, colonial presses published 100,000 copies of the pamphlet—one copy for every 25 people in the colonies. Throughout the Revolutionary War, Thomas Paine was America’s best-read author.

Novels and Poetry: Political pamphlets became less important after the new nation was established, and printers turned their attention to other reading, especially fiction. Historians credit Pamela by Samuel Richardson in 1744, as the first novel published in the United States, although it was a British import that first appeared in England in Because there were no copyright laws, printers freely reprinted British novels like Pamela and sold them. It was cheaper than publishing American authors who could demand royalties.

Like other media industries, book publishing has always faced moral criticism. Novels did not start out with a good reputation. Critics said that the novel “pollutes the imagination.” Women wrote one-third of all of the early American novels, and women also bought most of them.

Especially popular after the Civil War were dime novels, America’s earliest paperbacks. Dime novels featured serial characters whose stories continued from one novel to the next. Poetry generally has been the most difficult to sell, and it is extremely difficult for poets to get published.

Humor: Humor became popular with the works of Mark Twain. Twain became the first one-man publishing enterprise. One reason his books sold so well was that he was the first American author to recognize the importance of advance publicity, promoting a book before it is published. Twain would advertise his upcoming stories to the public, so they knew what to expect from his works and more importantly, when to expect it. Like most books, Twain’s novels were sold door-to- door. More than ¾ of the popular books sold in America before 1900 were sold doo-to-door. Sales agents took advance orders before the books were published so that the publisher could estimate how many books to print. In addition, three events in the 19th century ensured that the book publishing industry would prosper in the 20th century: passage of the International Copyright Law, formation of publishing houses, and establishment of compulsory education.

International Copyright Law of 1891 Before 1891, publishers were legally required to pay royalties to American authors, but not to foreign authors. This hurt American authors, because books by American authors cost more to publish. After the International Copyright Law of 1891, all authors—foreign and American—had to give permission to publish their works. For the first time, American authors cost publishing houses the same amount as foreign authors. This motivated publishers to look for more American writers. After 1894, American writers published more novels in the United States than foreign writers did.

Publishing Houses The idea of a publishing house began in the late 18th century. These companies housed all aspects of publishing under one roof: They sought out authors, reviewed and edited copies, printed and then sold the books. Publishing Houses controlled all aspects of the printing industry.

Compulsory Education By 1900, 31 states had passed compulsory education laws. This was important to book publishing because schools need textbooks and education creates more people who can read. Widespread public education meant that schools broadened their choices, and textbook publishing flourished. Expanded public support for education also meant more money for libraries.

Books Banned: The Censorship of the Publishing Industry Many societies have banned certain books. Books are banned for a variety of reasons. For example, one reason is to protect the public from their contents. The threats that are cited to justify the bans may be abstract (e.g., "obscenity") or more concrete (e.g., "public safety"). For example, various scriptures have been banned (and sometimes burned) at several points in history. The Bible, the Qur'an, and other religious scriptures have all been subjected to censorship and have been banned by various governments.

Books that present criminal matters have also been subjected to censorship, usually on the grounds that they either incite or assist in committing crimes. Small-press titles that have become infamous by being banned include The Anarchist Cookbook In the United States, many books have been challenged by a variety of groups and agencies in order to prevent a particular work from being read by the general public. In recent years, it has become more common for those challenging the availability of a book to do so on a local level, targeting public libraries and school libraries.

In fact, many communities have a formal process where a citizen can challenge the public availability of a work. Note that challenging the availability of a book does not automatically denote that is has been removed from library shelves in even one community.

Grove Press Tests Censorship One of the first publishers to test the limits of censorship was Grove Press. In 1961, the company published Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller (originally published in Paris). The book had been banned from the United States as obscene. The legal fees to defend Miller’s book against charges of pornography cost Grove more than $250,000, but eventually the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the book in The publisher again challenged in 1965, when it issued the controversial The Autobiography of Malcolm X. The book became a bestseller.

Notice the warning on the bottom: “Not to be imported into Great Britain or U.S.A.”

Book Publishing at Work Not only must books be written, but they must be printed, promoted and sold. This whole process usually takes at least 18 months from the time a project is signed by an editor until the book is published. Publishers acquire books in many ways. Some authors submit an unsolicited manuscript to a publishing house, hoping the publisher will be interested. Others use an agent to submit manuscripts (unpublished works) to publishing houses, since many companies refuse to read unsolicited materials.

Publishers pay authors a royalty for their work. A royalty is an amount the publisher pays an author. A royalty amount is based on an established percentage of the book’s price and may run anywhere from 6 to 15 percent of the cover price. Some authors receive an advance, which is an amount the publisher pays the author before the book is published. Agents who represent authors collect fees (typically 10 to 15 percent) from the author’s royalties.

How Do Books Get Published? The author proposes a book to a publishing house (company), usually with an outline and some sample chapters. Departments at the publishing house called acquisitions, production, design, manufacturing, marketing and fulfillment all participate in the publishing process.

Acquisitions Editor The acquisitions editor looks for potential authors and projects and works out an agreement with the author. The acquisitions editor’s most important role is to be the liaison among the author, publishing company and the book’s audience. Acquisitions editors also represent the company and negotiate sales of subsidiary rights, which are the rights to market a book for other uses— to make a movie, or to print a character from the book on T-shirts.

Production Editor The production editor manages all the steps that turn a manuscript into a book. After the manuscript comes in, the production editor sets up a schedule to make sure all of the work gets done on time.

Designer The designer decides what a book will look like, inside and out. The designer chooses the typeface for the book and determines how the pictures, boxes, heads, etc. will look and where to use color. The designer also creates the front cover.

Manufacturing + Marketing The manufacturing department buys the typesetting, paper and printing for the book. The book is usually sent outside the company to be manufactured. Marketing, often the most expensive part of creating a book, is handled by several different departments. Advertising designs ads for the book. Promotion sends the book to reviewers. Sales representatives visit bookstores and college campuses to potential buyers about the book.

Fulfillment Fulfillment makes sure the books get to the bookstore on time. This department watches inventory so that if the publisher’s stock gets low, more books can be printed. Twenty thousand American companies call themselves book publishers today, with fiction accounting for about half of all books sold.

Changes in Consumption To deal with the sagging market of book publishing in the wake of new media, book publishers are producing and providing some new ways for people to consume books. Audio books, first introduced in the 1980s, have been a growing sales category for book publishers. Book publishers produce classics and popular new titles on CDs for people who are more willing to listen to a book than to read it.

The introduction of e-books, or electronic books, a way for publishers to expand the market for their products. E-books are electronic versions of hardback or paperback books that someone can download and then read on a computer or handheld device. The Kindle (from Amazon) and the Nook (from Barnes and Noble) are two examples of devices made for e-books.