Rallying Point: Lewis Michaux’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">National Memorial African Bookstore</Emphasis>

Michaux’s National Memorial African Bookstore, Harlem, NY, was the epicenter of black literary life and bookselling, 1933–c.1975. Michaux migrated from Virginia to escape farm work and his brother’s evangelical church, opting instead—despite the lack of formal education—to become a trafficker in ideas, through bookselling. A self-styled Garveyite, Michaux advised Malcolm X, though he never joined the Nation of Islam or advocated revolution. The bookshop—with a huge inventory of books about black experience and spearheaded by the charismatic bookseller (known as “The Professor”)—attracted a loyal clientele, championed famous writers and artists, and hosted international leaders (especially Africans). A rallying point for political speeches, often delivered in front of the store, in its period, there was no other black bookstore in America with Michaux’s influence.     

The Rise of Global Publishing and the Fall of the Dream of the Global Book: The Editing of Peter Carey

The article documents the editorial relationship between Peter Carey and his New York based editor for Knopf, Gary Fisketjon, who worked with Carey on his True History of the Kelly Gang. This account provides the basis for a discussion of how globalised publishing, while promising unity—a single text across all territories—has instead introduced a tension into the previously cohesive triad of author, editor, and the single authorized text. As Fisketjon’s experience lays bare, major contemporary texts that are published in multiple editions in different global centers may well proceed through competing or at least parallel editing processes with different presses, different editors, and in different publishing territories. The authorized single edition, even of major literary texts, has been replaced by competing editions. The single edit and editor have been replaced by competing “servant[s] of the writer” (to use Fisketjon’s phrase). Cohesion, while not quite giving way to disunity, gives way to multiplicity and plurality. The experience of the Kelly Gang book is cast against a longer narrative of Carey’s interactions with editors including the University of Queensland Press (UQP) from the 1970s and Faber from the 1980s.     

Direct-Response Bookselling: How it Died,Why it is Alive Again,and Why it will Become Even More Important in the Future

Direct mail, once the engine behind such successful bookselling businesses as Book-of-the-Month Club, Reader’s Digest Condensed Books and Time Life Books, was a major channel for marketing books as recently as 20 years ago. A victim of the growth of large bookstore chains and later of the Internet, direct response bookselling is no longer is regarded as viable. But many of the skill sets developed by direct marketers decades ago are highly relevant for modern book marketing—especially when one considers that the Internet itself is the best direct-marketing channel ever invented. And as eBooks continue to change the structure of publishing, publishers will find themselves under increasing pressure to embrace direct-marketing methodologies and connect directly with their readers, rather than reaching them through book retailers and other intermediaries as they have traditionally done.     

Feeding the dinosaurs: Economic concentration in the retail book industry

While bookstores play the vital role in book distribution, little attention has been paid to concentration and conglomerate ownership in the retail book trade. In 1958, one-store book firms accounted for nearly 80 percent of book sales; by 1982 that figure had fallen to 26 percent even though single-store retailers continue to account for a majority of all bookstore outlets. Today the chains control at least 54 percent of bookstore sales. Buoyed by discriminatory discounts and publisher-subsidized advertising campaigns, the chains’ dramatic growth seems likely to continue despite the fact that they are less profitable than independent booksellers. The chains’ marketing orientation fits well with changes in the broader publishing industry, as publishers seek to rationalize operations in order to improve the bottom line. As books become just another commodity, sold through increasingly centralized and monopolized channels, access for alternative and minority voices is being for-closed.     

The Future of Academic Publishing: Application of the Long-Tail Theory

Print academic journals are dead. As we watch large metropolitan newspapers fail (as are many small town newspapers), the same economic forces are driving online scholarly publishing. This phenomenon is more than print journals going online. The options available with new low-cost online publishing software and the rise in the ability to use ratings from user generated content suggest more near-term changes are likely. Many of the outcomes are unsettled: the economics of online publishing; the standards for peer review, rank, and tenure; and the very nature of scholarly publishing itself. What is certain, however, is that the economics of online academic publishing—modeled via Anderson’s Long Tail Theory—will make it possible to provide greater access, more collaboration, and, ultimately, improved research and researchers. Universities acting as publishing centers with their e-reserves will be expected to change their faculty evaluations, providing greater academic rewards for those who act as editors, reviewers, and proofreaders within this new born-online and only-online world.     

The impact of technology on publishing

Technology today more than ever has a disruptive impact on publishing. The Internet, printing-on-demand and the e-book are the main drivers of change, impacting all aspects of the publishing value chain—from the way books are published (authors can go direct to the reader), distributed (electronic marketplaces), sold (e-tailers) and read (electronic books). The author examines the context of the publishing industry in which these changes are occurring, describes the main drivers and impacts of these changes and illustrates them with an example from the information publishing industry. This paper is based on a presentation made during the conference ‘Blinded by the E-Light’ sponsored by Vista Computer Services (www.vistacomp.com) on June 15, 2000 in New York, NY.     

Harnessing ‘e’ in Storyworlds: Engage,Enhance, Experience,Entertain

Conversation is key and as the communication landscape shifts rapidly, harnessing ‘e’ is pivotal in extending ‘story’ as digital evolves, catapulting publishing from analogue to digital. Harnessing ‘e’ is an exciting and effective way to add value, but for ‘e’ to be implemented successfully and seamlessly requires more than a standard ‘roll out’ of strategy. Staying Single [1] was my MA dissertation project in the form of a fictional blog that bridged a fictitious digital world with a real physical one as I supplemented Sophie’s story with souvenirs, additional digital content, UGC, and social media elements, all channelled through Sophie’s fictional storyworld. This study was an investigation into the effects that interactivity and community might bring to contemporary fiction, traditionally published in print form, by women, for women. The presentation of Staying Single as a cross-media, digital story challenged conventional boundaries for story enjoyment and involvement and attempted to vastly expand the story universe, recording how the option for interactivity impacted the story. Readers were offered choices to receive Staying Single through blog feeds, by email or downloaded podcasts, with additional options for involvement through multiple platforms—‘Pulling Power’ ‘relationship’ documentaries, SMS alerts and ‘meeting’ Sophie in Second Life. My current transmedia romantic comedy fiction, Loving NY will push these resources and opportunities further, enhancing and driving the story whilst engaging and interacting with readers. Transmedia storyworld development is extremely fast-moving and with magazines offering web-cam enabled augmented realities and iPhone apps allowing readers to GPS tag co-readers, these are extremely exciting times! To harness ‘e’ is to offer options—levels of immersion and engagement, multi-platform choices, perhaps even linear or non-linear narratives with the intention of organically reaching a wider readership far beyond the restrictions of print based novels.     

Children and Young Adult Readers in Morocco

The development of the publishing industry for children and young adults is very recent in Morocco. Indeed it was in the 1980s that people became aware of its importance for future generations. The first national publications were mainly in Arabic language, stories were very short, books were of paperback format and the subjects were very much dominated by moral, social and religious didacticism. In the late 1990s, publishers started being more and more concerned with the appearance of the book (size, cover, illustrations, topic, etc.) and there are nowadays two publishers specialized only in children’s books—Yanbow al Kitab and Yomad—who produce books that respond to international norms. They are both very active in promoting reading and especially allowing children from disadvantaged social backgrounds to have access to books, price being a main constraint for those children. But there is still a lack of publishers specialized in children’s books in Morocco (two publishers for the whole country), not enough pleasant reading spaces and no real government policy to allow mass access by making books cheaper.     

“Doing things differently” and “striking while the iron was hot”: The entrepreneurial successes of the media magnate George Newnes, 1881–1910

George Newnes became one of the most influential popular publishers of the age of New Journalism, and was probably Britian’s first media magnate. He published a vast number and variety of journals in the period from 1881 until his death in 1910, editing some of these, but leaving an impression upon all of them. Newnes’s periodicals included Tit-Bits (1881), Strand Magazine (1891), The Million (1892), Westminster Gazette (1893), Country Life (1897), The Ladies Field (1898), Wide World Magazine (1898), The Captain (1899), and C.B. Fry’s Magazine (1904). Newnes was an innovator, and a publishing entrepreneur. This paper will focus on the entrepreneurial aspects of Newnes’s publishing ventures and the novel technological and promotional techniques pioneered by him. The analysis will focus upon such techniques as promotional schenesm advertising, production and illustration, the employment and promotion of popular authors, editors and illustrators, publicity, market segmentation, and financing. The concluding section consists of an investigation into some of the rhetoric that has been applied to Newnes’s publishing career, and the way in which, as publishing entrepreneur and media magnate, Newnes’s successes have been cast within a continuing debate over popular literature, New Journalism and the commercialization of the popular press in the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Kate Jackson is currently completing a Ph.D. in History on “George Newnes, New Journalism and the Reading Publics, 1881–1910.”     

Inventing book news, 1925–1935: “Publicity hypnosis” and the colophon

The Colophon, published from 1925 through 1935 for an audience of book collectors and connoisseurs, illuminates the debate over the basis of a book's value: genuine quality or artificial scarcity. It also illustrates the distinction between genuine news about the book industry and “publicity hypnosis”—today’s “hype.” The magazine’s authors, designers, typographers, printers, and illustrators were among the finest of their day. Claire Badaracco is an assistant professor at Marquette University, and is currently writing a series of articles about Anglo-American book publishing, journalism, and publicity trades between 1920 and 1940 with the support of The British Academy, the National Endowment, and the Bibliographical Society of America. Her work has been published inAmerican Literary Realism, Journalism Quarterly, Essays in Business and Economic History, and other journals. The Library of Congress, The Center for The Book, is publishing her monograph “The Lakeside Press Four American Books Campaign 1926–1930.”     

Context First: A Unified Field Theory of Publishing

The way we think about publishing is unduly governed by the nature of the container—the physical book. Although demand for digital content has grown substantially, publishers continue to treat digital formats as a derived or secondary use. As a result, context is truncated or excluded, reducing the degree to which content can be discovered and consumed. At the same time, content abundance places pressure on publishers to find new and more effective ways to market content products. To address these several challenges, publishers should revise their content workflows to develop and maintain context throughout the publishing process.     

In from the Edge: The Progressive Evolution of Publishing in the Age of Digital Abundance

The forces for change in the 600 hundred-year history of book publishing have never been more powerful and fundamental than in 2011. Barely 12 months ago, what publishers viewed as “innovation” was the creation of digitized versions of physical books to be ‘consumed’ on e-reading devices. As 2011 begins, that change is largely regarded as accepted business practice, and the edge of “innovation” is moving in more complex directions. Publishing finds itself in the midst of a ‘phase shift’ from the scarcity model of print to a complex, new world of digital abundance. The dimensions of change, moreover, its speed, and its extent are still unknown. While book publishing begins with the creative work of authors, digital technologies are turning the business models inside out. Among the forces for change acting on book publishing, this article examines several phenomena that are working their way in from the edge to the center of the industry, including complex interwoven considerations around container, context, and customer.     

Book history and biography

Biographers and book historians both study life histories, and practitioners of the two disciplines have much to learn from one another. The author illustrates this point with a document from a publisher’s archive which reveals a great deal about an author’s career as well as about publishing practices, and with a bibliographical puzzle which tells much about censorship in the British publishing industry while at the same time illuminating an important feature of a writer’s career and life. He is the author of several books and is at work on a biography of William Styron.     

XML: Why Bother?

An XML-first workflow provides a framework that will empower publishers to move from a print-centric to a content-centric creation process, freeing them to find new and creative ways to present content to the world, to connect with readers in new ways. XML is far more than a production workflow—it is the medium that will allow publishers to deliver their message most effectively, and will enable a rapid and necessary evolution in the way publishers manage and disseminate an author’s content.     

The Power of Truth

Democracy thrives on journalism, and journalism thrives on truth. The subject is Truth—what it is, how we find it and why it’s important. In finding Truth, the internet is a rich and dangerous source. Nothing is better than a well-prepared, face to face interview. But Truth is not free. Journalism must find a way to elicit payment for all forms of disseminated Truth—print and online. One Truth seems clear: books and magazines will never disappear, be displaced or diminished to irrelevance.     

Education and training for publishing in Britain prepares for the “information society”

This article considers the British experience of developing education for publishers at the end of the 1990s. To introduce the subject, it briefly outlines recent trends in the UK in publishing and bookselling: the size and nature of the workforce as revealed in recent surveys; and what employers recently indicated that they are looking for in their employees. Then, it summarises some of the developments that are taking place in education and training, before outlining the courses currently available in the Universities, their growing emphasis on business management and Information Technology, and the benefits to employers of recruiting students from these courses. Finally, it raises issues that will become more significant in the future: new legal and ethical challenges, and the responsibility for preservation and conservation arising from technological changes; keeping existing staff up to date; the international dimensions of the industry; retaining links between the academic community and the industry; regulating standards of professional practice; and the development of research. An earlier and shorter version of this paper, entitled “Education for publishing— the British experience,” was presented by Ian Johnson at a colloquium “Books, Publishers and Libraries,” organised by Zagreb Chamber of Commerce’s Association of Publishers and Booksellers and the University of Zagreb’ s Department of Information Science in December 1996. IAN JOHNSON has been Head of the School of Information and Media at The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland since 1989, and initiated the School’s development as a centre for publishing education and research in 1992. He is currently joint editor of Libri; a member of the Editorial Board of Education for Information; and Chairman of the Heads of Schools and Departments Committee of BAILER: the British Association for Information and Library Education and Research, and of the Executive Board of EUCLID: the European Association for Library and Information Education and Research. JO ROYLE is Subject Leader for Publishing Studies and Course Leader for the BA/BA (Honours) in Publishing Studies in the School of Information and Media, where she has taught since 1993. She is currently researching aspects of branding in publishing, and the impact of the Internet on relationship management within the book trade.     

A. P. Watt,literary agent

Today it would be hard to imagine the publishing world without literary agents. But agents are relative newcomers. The first arrived on the British literary scene some time in the late 1870s; A. P. Watt is generally regarded as the first true agent. It was Watt who defined the role and function of the agent and established a standard of conduct by which his contemporaries and successors were measured. Watt’s activities had great impact on the business of publishing and on the types of literature writers produced. In fact, the agent was one of the main factors in the radical transformation of the publishing world that occurred at the end of the nineteenth century. This article looks at Watt’s legacy: it focuses on both the publishing world and the institution of the literary agency. It suggests that Watt was a dominant force in both and that, without him, literary agency might not have prospered so well or so quickly. She studied at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and received her D.Phil. in 1988. She is working on a book about the British literary agent.     

How “A stress analysis of a strapless evening gown” became a bestseller

Crane, Russak & Company was a small, independent publishing establishment created in 1973 at 52 Vanderbilt Avenue in New York City. It was a creation of Ted Crane, a former head of VNR Publishing Co., and Ben Russak, then recently retired president/founder of the American Elsevier Publishing Company. Its opening-day list consisted of 400 British-import titles for which the founders had acquired U.S. rights. It was, through its short life, a tiny operation with only a few employees. Nat Bodian helped organize the start-up operation for Crane, Russak and during its early years wore most of the ‘hats’ in the company including marketing, publicity, promotion, and production. He served under Ben Russak, who was its active president. Ted Crane, at that time, was active with Boutwell, Crane, Mosely & Associates—publishing consultants—at the same address. Excerpted fromThe Joy of Publishing: Fascinating Facts, Anecdotes, Curiosities, and Historic Origins … about Books and Authors, Editors and Publishers … Bookmaking and Bookselling. By Nat Bodian. Published June 1996 by Open Horizons Publishing Co., P.O. Box 205, Fairfield, Iowa 52556. Approx. 250 pp., cloth. ISBN 0-912411-47-3, $29.95.     

Listen to the Music: Lessons for Publishers from Record Labels’ Digital Debut Decade

Multimedia EBooks present a tremendous growth opportunity for publishers. Yet, industry executives might be cautious after witnessing the astounding collapse of the record business during its digital transition over the last 10 years. This article looks at what went wrong for Big Music, what lessons book publishers can learn from the recording industry’s mistakes and also some visions of the future. And why digitally, for books—at least—it can’t get here fast enough.