J200: Journalism and Mass Communications - Week V The Book Publishing Industry

2 J200 - Week © J.T.Johnson 2002 ______________________________Fall th Century  1755: Regular mail ship runs between England and the colonies.  1770: The eraser.  1780: Steel pen points begin to replace quill feathers.  1785: Stagecoaches carry the mail between towns in U.S.

3 J200 - Week © J.T.Johnson 2002 ______________________________Fall th Century  1790: In England, the hydraulic press is invented.  1792: Mechanical semaphore signaler built in France. 1794: Signaling system connects Paris and Lille.  1792: Postal Act gives mail regularity throughout U.S.

4 J200 - Week © J.T.Johnson 2002 ______________________________Fall 2003 The Book Publishing Industry  Some terms to know  Segments of the industry  Trade associations  New approaches to the book biz  Industry economics  Book production process

5 J200 - Week © J.T.Johnson 2002 ______________________________Fall 2003 Some – SOME – important “book”terms  acquisitions editor: recruits and signs new authors and titles for the company’s list of books  advance on royalties: money which the publisher anticipates earning on royalties of the book  best-selling book: a title which has sold >75,000 hardcover copies, or >100,000 paperback copies  blockbuster book: a title which has sold more than 100,000 hardcover copies  book clubs: individuals can join in order to select books from the club’s catalogue, and then purchase them through the mail or via the club’s web site, often for a discounted price

6 J200 - Week © J.T.Johnson 2002 ______________________________Fall 2003 An overview of the book industry Basic distinctions in the book publishing industry  Educational books  K-12  Higher education  University presses - Sometimes crossover titles  Professional books  Consumer Books

7 J200 - Week © J.T.Johnson 2002 ______________________________Fall 2003 The Association of American Publishers (AAP) Divides the consumer book market…  Trade books  Mass market paperbacks and trade paperbacks  Religious books  Book club books  Mail order books  University press books  Subscription reference books

8 J200 - Week © J.T.Johnson 2002 ______________________________Fall 2003 Major trade association  American Booksellers Association  Association of American Publishers  Book industry statsstats

9 J200 - Week © J.T.Johnson 2002 ______________________________Fall 2003 Industry economics Financing book publishing  Is about finding, preparing, marketing, distributing, and exhibiting books in ways that will get particular audiences to notice and buy them  Borrowing capital  Sales “on consignment”  Returns permitted

10 J200 - Week © J.T.Johnson 2002 ______________________________Fall 2003 Production in book publishing industry “The production of books involves finding them and preparing them for the marketplace”  Production at a trade press  Royalties  Bestseller sales status  Blockbuster sales status  Production at a university press  Different pressures mean different approaches  Book production in the electronic age  E-books

11 J200 - Week © J.T.Johnson 2002 ______________________________Fall 2003 Ethical pitfalls in book publishing  Plagiarism  “Borrowing” story and/or plot ideas  THE CELEBRATED 'ROOTS' OF A LIE html html  “Historian Ambrose sorry for copying phrases” 02/2002_01_06_ambrose.html 02/2002_01_06_ambrose.html

12 J200 - Week © J.T.Johnson 2002 ______________________________Fall 2003 Reducing the risks of failure during the production process  Conducting prepublication research  Hiring authors with positive track records  Offering potential authors advances on royalties

13 J200 - Week © J.T.Johnson 2002 ______________________________Fall 2003 Distribution in the book industry Getting the right number of books to the right customers  The role of wholesalers in the distribution process  Assessing a title’s popularity  The size of the book’s print run  The content of reviews about the book in the media  The scope of the book’s marketing plan

14 J200 - Week © J.T.Johnson 2002 ______________________________Fall 2003 Exhibition in the book industry  Exhibition varies widely by the type of book being sold  Exhibition in textbook publishing  El-hi textbook adoptions vs. college textbook adoptions  The strategy of new editions  Exhibition via bookstores  Large chain bookstores vs. small independent bookstores  Exhibition via computers and the web (Vistica)Vistica  Each year, more book-buyers doing web buys for books, CDs to DVDs to e-books. Maybe.Maybe

15 J200 - Week © J.T.Johnson 2002 ______________________________Fall 2003 Digital “books”  Alexandria Digital Library  Project Gutenberg  “Other” publishing strategies

16 J200 - Week © J.T.Johnson 2002 ______________________________Fall 2003