BOOKS

The Publishing Industry

Amazon
KINDLE

OTHER

(not so recent)

Harry Potter

Trends

Trends
The Oprah Effect

History of Books
Papyrus Egypt, 2400 B.C. -made
from reeds

Plato

 China: bamboo strips

(1600 BC)

History of Books
Parchment- treated animal skin,
300 BC

History of Books
Vellum- the term for high quality
parchment
Smooth
durable

History of Books
Codex - protomodern book form,
2nd-3rd century A.D.

History of Books
Paper: 13th century

(cheaper than
vellum)

Manuscript Culture
Middle Ages, 4001500 A.D.
Illuminated
manuscripts

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History of Books

History of Books

PRINTING

PRINTING
China: movable type, 1000 AD
Koreans: 1400 AD

The Gutenberg Revolution

1453-56
Printing press
with movable
type

The Gutenberg Revolution

Social transformations - information
spreads beyond localities
People see themselves as individuals -not solely dependent upon leaders and
families
Can challenge traditional wisdom

Books in the U.S.

1830s - machine-made paper
Cloth rather than leather covers
mid-1800s: paperback books
1860s - paperback dime novels
Also known as pulp fiction

Advances in Printing
Linotype: mid
1880s. Allows
type to be set
mechanically
with typewriterlike keyboard.

Advances in Printing

Offset lithography: Books printed

from photographic plates rather
than metal casts.

Types of Books

Types of Books
Trade Books - for general
readers, sold at bookstores
(fiction and nonfiction,
biographies, literary classics,
art books, cook books, etc.)
Can be hard or quality
softbound.
Is the largest segment in sales
($).
COLLEEN?

Types of Books
Professional Books Target occupational
groups, not general
public. Law,
business, medicine,
technical-scientific.

Types of Books
Textbooks El-hi
influence of Texas and California

College
Average cost $72.83.
Average student spends $832 a
year on textbooks and supplies.

Think-Pair-Share
1. how much money did you spend
this semester on textbooks?
2. which books cost the most money?
3. if you returned any books last
semester, how much $$ did you
get back?
4. what choices are available at your
university or college for purchasing
textbooks?

Media & Culture

$78.95
Authors:
Richard Campbell: 9.00
Bettina Fabos: 75 cents
Chris Martin: 75 cents
TOTAL: $10.50

 Publisher (Bedford/St. Martins)

Paper, printing, editorial: $20.50
General Administrative costs: $7
Marketing costs: $10.50
Pre-tax income: $4.90
TOTAL: $42.90

Freight Expense:
TOTAL: $1

 College Bookstore
Personnel: $8.90
Operations: $8.1
Pre-tax income: $7.55
TOTAL: $24.55

Types of Books
Mass-market paperbacks - most
sold, but not most profitable
segment (low margins of profit)
Religious books - most popular
book of all-time?

Types of Books
Reference Books
University Press Books

Types of Books
Reference Books
University Press Books
Wrong Turn

Organization of Industry
Acquisitions editors
Subsidiary rights
Advance money
Developmental editor
Promote books with dumps

Organization of Industry
Superstores
Borders-Waldenbooks
Barnes & Noble, B.Dalton, Doubleday

Online stores
Amazon.com
Barnes&noble.com

Ownership in Book Industry

Bertelsmann - owns Random
House, Bantam-Doubleday-Dell
Viacom - owns Simon & Schuster
Time Warner - Little, Brown;
Time/Life Books

 More books published now than

ever before: 160,000 annually in
U.S. alone.

THINK PAIR SHARE

What kinds of trade books (novels,
nonfiction, etc.) do you like to read?
How do you find out about a book
you might like?
Where do you buy books?
Do you check books out of a library?