Publishing As Medium Research Paper

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Publishing, in its most general sense, refers to the act of making a work of words or images known to the public. Book publishing encompasses a range of activities through which an author’s manuscript is turned into a printed and bound book which can be made available to an audience of readers. These activities are carried out by networks of organizations and individuals who coordinate production, and the promotion and distribution of books to their potential publics.

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1. History And Description

In the ancient world, there were a variety of ways in which the reproduction and circulation of texts occurred. Evidence from China, India, Greece, and Rome suggests that publishing was carried out under the auspices of religious, political, and commercial bodies; in some places, individuals copied and traded books among themselves. During the Middle Ages, publishing in Europe was centered in the monasteries where manuscripts were reproduced primarily for religious purposes. Following the twelfth century, scribes associated with European universities took over this task, serving the clergy as well as selling books to new readers among officials, the nobility, professionals, and merchants. But with the appearance of the printing press in 1450, book publishing and bookselling became organized into an industry, its members striving to sell books for profit to a growing and increasingly far-flung audience.

Before the seventeenth century in Europe, and the nineteenth century in North America, the book trade tended to remain undifferentiated and unstandardized. While conditions varied in different regions, the functions of publisher, printer, and bookseller were often melded into a single individual who printed and sold books at the request (and payment) of authors. Nevertheless, the trade in books would rarely have been enough to support the printer who often published a newspaper as well as books, and who derived a large portion of his income from printing bills, stationery, and other jobs. As the market for books grew, a more complex division of labor gradually emerged, with different segments of the industry responsible for publishing, printing, and selling. Along with this, many publishers and booksellers began to specialize in specific types of books, such as texts or medical works.




Within the modern book industry, the publisher is central to the entire process of getting books from author to reader. Publishing firms select, edit, and prepare manuscripts for production, and also assume the financial risks involved in bringing a book into print. It is the publisher who interacts and contracts with the author (or the author’s representative, the agent), and it is also usually the publisher who determines a sales strategy and how a book will be marketed. Following the pattern of other industries, a separate wholesaling sector has taken over from publishers some of the functions of warehousing and filling orders. A more differentiated retail sector has also developed, as books are sold through both exclusive bookstores and retailers whose primary business is not in books, through educational, employment, and voluntary organizations, and through mail order and electronic venues.

Since the early twentieth century, the publishing industry has been characterized by a degree of specialization that corresponds in large part to the market for particular kinds of books as well as to channel of distribution. The most visible form of publishing is in trade books, those titles directed at a general audience. However, both textbooks and professional titles compose a significant part of the overall book market, and in many developing countries textbooks make up the single largest segment. Other important segments include scholarly and religious books. As these various divisions between book sectors developed during the twentieth century, different organizational and sales practices also appeared within their corresponding publishing houses. These divisions now appear to be breaking down as merger activity has brought together dissimilar publishing houses under a single roof.

2. Publishing As A Field For Analysis

The world of book publishing has been viewed in rather contradictory ways: as a rarefied environment of literary connoisseurs, and as a profane site where expression is reduced to a commodity; as an industrial backwater, and as a central player in the spread of capitalism. Perhaps these contrasting images are related to the way in which publishing, as a field for analysis, belongs to no single group. Those who work in the industry, journalists, and scholars from several disciplines have all been influential in shaping ideas about publishing’s significance.

2.1 Historical Perspectives

Befitting lives spent among writers and books, numerous publishers, both prominent and obscure, have penned reminiscences of their activities. To some degree, this set the tone for accounts of the book business since the nineteenth century. Many such accounts are really more histories of publishers than of publishing, describing the rise and fall of various publishing houses and the personalities who directed them.

A different kind of scholarship emerged with the tradition known as ‘the history of the book,’ which many date to the publication of Febvre and Martin’s (1958) L’Apparition du Livre. Febvre, who was a prominent member of the Annales school, and his coauthor described the early publishing and bookselling scene in Europe, while also attempting to account for the book’s impact on the spread of various ideas and cultural movements. For some, such as Darnton (1982), the field of research that has evolved since Febvre and Martin’s book is equivalent to the social and cultural history of print communication. In this view, the object is to understand the role books have played in society at various times and in various places, and to understand how books have interacted with other social developments and processes. Darnton’s proposal is also methodological in nature, suggesting that the book be studied in terms of a communication circuit that runs from author to publisher to printer to shipper to bookseller and finally, to reader.

Although the program outlined by Darnton has been influential among book historians, other historians have taken a different approach by emphasizing the history of printing and the subject of Bibliography:, that is, the study of books as physical objects. Bibliography: is concerned with describing books and identifying their attributes, such as paper, type, and bindings, so as to be able to distinguish different editions or printings. This kind of examination can also be used to provide information about particular publishers and manufacturers, or about authorial intention (see, for example, McKenzie 1986). Frequently, the underlying purpose of such studies also differs from that emphasized by the history of the book. The intent is to make the book itself the central focus of attention rather than using the book as a means for discovering other social patterns.

2.2 Social Science Perspectives

While historians have long recognized the book as an important area of study, social science research on book publishing has been intermittent and surprisingly sparse considering social scientists’ interest in other forms of mass media. Instead, some of the most detailed descriptions and critiques of publishing have been written by people directly associated with the publishing industry. Of course, books and book publishing tend to be central to the academic’s work, and so, despite the relative lack of empirical research, have not escaped academic scrutiny altogether. The state of the publishing world is taken to be a matter of public concern, and scholars and other public intellectuals frequently address a general audience when discussing the significance of developments in publishing for print culture. Throughout the twentieth century, such discussions have often reflected the assumptions of mass culture theory. Commentators question whether publishing practices that cater to a mass market leave room for the quality books that sell in moderate numbers, and whether increasing commercialism and centralization will bring about a standardization of the available literary fare (see, for example, Dutscher 1954).

As this suggests, the curiosity of publishing tends to lie in its dual nature as a commercial enterprise on the one hand, and as a producer of literary objects associated with artistic, educational, and religious values on the other. Indeed, the perceived difficulty of reconciling these two dimensions of publishing—often described as the conflict between culture and commerce—is probably the central problem analysts of the book industry have confronted.

Beginning with work by Escarpit (1958), a relatively small group of sociologists has tried to dissect the workings of the publishing industry. These studies draw on organizational theory (sometimes called the production of culture perspective) which, especially during the 1970s and 1980s, was being applied to various media firms and industries. This perspective begins with the assumption that publishers are similar to other kinds of bureaucratic organizations, facing the same problems of how to reduce uncertainty and risk (Hirsch 1972). Scholars in this tradition have provided specific accounts of how books are acquired and distributed, and how publishing strategies vary according to size and type of firm. Common to much of this work is a stress on the gatekeeping role that publishers play, meaning the ability to determine what ideas and literary forms will make it into print and thus be able to enter the marketplace of ideas.

Congruent with trends in mass media and popular culture studies, more recent researchers have reacted against theories of mass culture and hegemony which posit audiences as easily manipulated and degraded by mass marketed literature. In this view, scholarship needs to grant the reader a more privileged place in analyses of publishing, in terms of both acknowledging the reader’s active role in choosing and finding meaning in reading material, and in understanding how conceptions of the audience shape the work of book professionals. Moreover, this theoretical stance questions the very distinction between popular and quality books. Instead, some suggest that the fear of commercialism has been primarily a cover for the discomfort of cultural elites who see their authority over cultural matters challenged (Long 1985–86, Radway 1997). Similarly, it has been argued that publishers play an important role in the production of literary value (Verdaasdonk and van Rees 1991).

3. Themes In Publishing Research

Changes occurring within the publishing industry during the last few decades of the twentieth century shaped many of the questions posed in publishing research. Renewed interest in publishing has been concurrent with its integration into large, multinational, entertainment conglomerates. Researchers have been especially attentive to the consequences of concentration, the significance of publishing as a global phenomenon, and the convergence between books and other entertainment and information media.

3.1 The Dynamics Of Concentration

The American situation perhaps best illustrates certain trends in the industry. During the post-World War II era, most major New York publishing houses were transformed from private or family-owned companies into public corporations. Various social changes contributed to this development. With the post-War education boom, many publishers desired to meet a new demand for printed matter by expanding their existing educational divisions or founding new ones. This coincided with the aging of heads of publishing houses who wished to protect their heirs from inheritance taxes. Issuing public stock appeared to be an attractive proposition, a way to both raise capital and guarantee the long-term future of the firm.

Along with the move towards corporatization, publishing houses became favored acquisition targets by electronics firms in the 1960s. Although these buyers later divested their publishing properties, merger and acquisition activity was renewed in the mid-1970s. These years saw the formation of conglomerates with holdings in film, broadcasting, music, newspapers, and magazine publishing as well as books. Book publishers would not add much in terms of revenues, but entertainment conglomerates hoped that book content could be reproduced across a variety of media, and cross-promotional strategies could be employed. Similar waves of merger and acquisition activity were seen in the next two decades. By this time, foreign-owned companies were often doing the acquiring, including media giants such as Bertelsmann, News Corporation, and Pearson. The result has been the consolidation of the nation’s largest publishers into a handful of companies which also include American-owned Viacom, AOL Time Warner, and Disney. Concentration at the level of distribution happened somewhat later. While chain booksellers began to grow in the 1960s with the establishment of standardized outlets in shopping malls, their decisive dominance of the bookstore market did not occur until the 1990s with the appearance of the superstore.

The effects of concentration have been a constant source of debate. Along with longstanding concerns about declining quality and the homogenization of reading material, these developments raise questions about changes in the organizational culture of the book business. Attempts to rationalize the publishing process, invest heavily in promotion, and exploit new markets have altered the balance of power within the industry, diminishing the autonomy of editors while giving increased clout to accounting, marketing, and subsidiary rights divisions. At the same time, publishers have grown dependent on a few large bookseller customers who subsequently play a more authoritative role in the industry.

Complicating the issue of concentration is that while a declining number of publishers account for a large share of book sales, the absolute number of publishers, along with titles published, has steadily risen. Some argue that these various trends result in much diversity at the margins of the industry, and a less elitist conception of books and publishing at the center. For others, the concentration of control of the book business means that a small number of for-profit companies have undue power over what individuals can and will read.

3.2 Globalization And National Identities

The role that the circulation of books plays in maintaining or undermining specific identities has long been an important theme in publishing research. The relatively new concept of globalization is readily applied to the publishing industry. On the one hand, trends in ownership mean that multinational companies with far-flung holdings are now common among the major players. But the integration of international markets is the primary way in which publishing can be conceived as a global phenomenon. The selling of rights to publish or distribute books in foreign territories has become one of the most important sources of revenue for major publishers. The trade in books goes in many directions, but disproportionately travels from Europe and especially the USA to the rest of the world.

This raises both theoretical and policy questions about national sovereignty and the maintenance of national identities. In Canada, for instance, the overwhelming presence of first British and then American books has hampered the growth of a national publishing industry. While government policy has helped to preserve Canadian-controlled firms, foreign-controlled publishers in Canada remain more profitable. Also, many Canadian publishers can survive only because they have the exclusive right to sell American books, the popularity of which is attested to by their dominance of best-seller lists in the English-language market. Even in Quebec, where French publishers play a strong role, American translations are plentiful. Many argue that this situation has helped to further Americanize Canadian culture, diffusing American tastes, styles, and values through the medium of popular books.

Economic agreements between nations to eliminate free trade barriers have in the past often excluded cultural products, with books in particular singled out for exception. There are significant obstacles to maintaining a viable publishing industry in less developed countries, and as the Canadian situation demonstrates, even highly developed nations find it difficult to make the economics of publishing work without protective measures. With the USA and the European Commission trying to eliminate the cultural exception in trade negotiations, these issues will probably move more to the forefront of publishing research.

3.3 Unyoking Content From Print

The international trade in books has been greatly dependent on the state of copyright law, and a significant body of research has examined how copyright and its breach have affected the publishing industry. However, the development of new technologies along with publishing’s integration into entertainment conglomerates have raised new issues concerning the control of literary property. Content is now easily transportable across media, and entertainment firms attempt to create synergies, as it has been termed, between book, film, television, music, magazine, and electronic divisions. This introduces a new level of instability into the publishing process. On the one hand, traditional arrangements for the control of intellectual property are challenged when content is so mobile, with publishers and authors in conflict over who will own the new forms that emerge. On the other hand, new technologies, including electronic books and on-demand publishing, where single copies are printed as needed, are utilized by distributors, authors, and software companies as well as publishers. Such developments suggest that what it means to engage in publishing may be more difficult to define in the future.

Bibliography:

  1. Altbach P G, Hoshino E S (eds.) 1995 International Book Publishing: an Encyclopedia. Garland Publishing, New York
  2. Coser L A, Kadushin C, Powell W W 1982 Books: the Culture and Commerce of Publishing. Basic Books, New York
  3. Darnton R 1982 What is the history of books? Daedalus 111: 65–83
  4. Dutscher A 1954 The book business in America. Contemporary Issues 5: 38–58
  5. Escarpit R 1958 Sociologie de la Litterature. Presses Universitaires de France, Paris [1971 Sociology of Literature. Frank Cass, London]
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  8. Horowitz I L 1991 Communicating Ideas: The Politics of Scholarly Publishing, 2nd edn. Transaction, New Brunswick, NJ
  9. Lane M, Booth J 1980 Books and Publishers: Commerce Against Culture in Postwar Britain. Lexington Books, Lexington, MA
  10. Long E 1985–86 The cultural meaning of concentration in publishing. Book Research Quarterly 1: 3–27
  11. McKenzie D F 1986 Bibliography: and the Sociology of Texts. British Library, London
  12. Powell W W 1985 Getting Into Print: The Decision-making Process in Scholarly Publishing. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
  13. Radway J A 1997 A Feeling for Books: The Book-of-the-month Club, Literary Taste, and Middle-class Desire. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC
  14. Verdaasdonk H, van Rees C J 1991 The dynamics of choice behavior towards books: the role of cultural products in cultural behavior. Poetics 20: 421–37
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