The case for reader research

The author argues for a new attitude and praxis in consumer publishing that entails ongoing reader research. This change would reduce failure rates, increase profits, and better serve publishers’ cultural and economic objectives. Such studies would encompass both basic research and research on specific titles. John P. Dessauer founding editor ofBook Research Quarterly, has been a bookseller, publisher, and book club editor, official statistician for AAP, AAUP, ABA, and NACS; co-founder of BISG and editor ofBook Industry Trends from 1977 to 1988; contributing editor ofPublishers Weekly from 1971 to 1988; author ofBook Publishing: A Basic Introduction (Continuum, 1989)     

Exploiting the rights in the agreement

The exploitation of a full range of rights is necessary to make many piblishing projects economically viable. The publishing contract sets out the rights the publisher may exploit and the division of the proceeds between publisher and author. The categories of exploitable rights are reviewed, along with the methods of exploiting them. The impact of consolidation in the publishing industry on rights exploitation is discussed, along with rights issues in the provision of textbooks to developing countries. She is the author ofSelling Rights: A Publisher’s Guide to Success (Chapman & Hall, 1991). Parts of this article were adapted from a presentation at the seminar “East Meets West: Copyright and the Publisher in a Market Economy”, Hamburg, March 1991.     

U.S. book returns, 1984–1989

Between 1984 and 1989, the U.S. book industry drowned in a recorded $7.88 billion of returns: 23.87 percent of all books published during those years were returned to publishers by wholesalers and booksellers for full credit. This massive return of books undermined the stability of the book industry, causing many publishers to question the efficacy of a system that failed to operate successfully during a period of exceptionally stable business conditions, free from high rates of interest and inflation, recession, or a war. In this study the author addresses the book return phenomenon by: (1) analyzing statistics about the U.S. book industry and its twelve key market segments; (2) evaluating possible causes of the increase in returns; and (3) proposing some suggestions to reduce returns. Albert N. Greco also serves on the board of directors of the Book Industry Study Group, publisher ofBook Industry Trends, 1991.     

The next ten years in publishing: National,international, and educational perspectives

In describing the Renaissance-style publisher of the 1990s, this article emphasizes the craft and skills needed to maintain quality. Ian Montagnes suggests that these skills must now be taught formally, rather than by apprenticeship. He also describes one such training program that he has conducted for editors in developing countries. Ian Montagnes is assistant director and editor-in-chief of the University of Toronto Press. He has served continuously as either associated editor or editor ofScholarly Publishing: A Journal for Authors and Editors since its inception in 1969. He has also been active in the Canadian and American associations of university presses and the Society for Scholarly Publishing     

The evolution of libel laws: Complexity and inconsistency

Libel suits filed against media organizations have become an increasingly serious problem in recent years. The potential for inhibiting news coverage or even putting a news organization out of business has never been greater. This article explores the evolution of libel laws, emphasizing the consequences of their development for the First Amendment. It defines libel, examines the First Amendment theories that shaped contemporary libel standards, and explains why state-by-state development of libel laws prompted the Supreme Court to begin a twenty-year effort to develop national standards. Richard Labunski is an assistant professor in the School of Communications at the University of Washington. He is the author ofLibel and the First Amendment, from which this article has been reprinted. Copyright 1987 by Transaction Publishers. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.     

The author-publisher relationships of Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott was one of the most popular authors of the nineteenth century. However, Alcott’s literary career would not have been so successful without the help and advice of various publishers and editors, such as W.W. Clapp, Frank Leslie, James Redpath, James Elliott, A.K. Loring, and most notably Thomas Niles of Roberts Brothers. All of these publishers or editors helped Alcott to develop from a writer of lurid, sensational tales to the accomplished professional author of American classics. In the nineteenth century, it was more than often the publisher who exerted great influence over the nature of a literary work, from its subject matter to its marketing. This article focuses on Alcott’s relationships with her many publishers and shows how they helped Alcott develop her own style and subjects into a rewarding career as a writer. Daniel Shealy, visiting assistant professor at Clemson University, is co-editor ofThe Selected Letters of Louisa May Alcott, scheduled for publication by Little, Brown in August 1987.     

Publishing,property, and the national information infrastructure

Upon reviewing thePreliminary Draft of the Report of the Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights, given the titleIntellectual Property and the National Information Infrastructure, one immediately confronts the grand ambiguity that resides in the two words: “intellectual property.” That the task force on the information infrastructure, enshrined with the acronym NII, had to locate precedent for its missioning Supreme Court Justice Story's 1841 observations on copyright issues as an area involving the “metaphysics of the law” indicates what a long reach the very notion of intellectual property entails in a democratic society. He is the author ofCommunicating Ideas: The Politics of Publishing and has published widely in the journal literature, includingScholarly Publishing; Logos; Publishing Research Quarterly; Journal of the American Society of Information Science, among others.     

Among the eminent,the aspiring,and the young: A short history of new world writing

New World Writing, a magazine founded by New American Library in 1952, quickly became an important vehicle for liberal intellectual and literary thought. In addition to providing an outlet for new writing, the magazine became an important acquisitions tool for NAL. Throughout its lifetime, New World Writing remained a showcase for many of the finest writers of the 1950s, including Christopher Isherwood, Louis Auchincloss, Tennessee Williams, Flannery O’Connor, Jack Kerouac, and Gore Vidal. He is the author of Under Cover: An Illustrated History of American Mass Market Paperbacksand Heavy Traffic and High Culture: The New American Library as Literary Gatekeeper. He is working on a study of American literary agents     

Brave new web

New communications technology is providing new opportunities for publishers to reach readers. The head of CMP, a major publisher of controlled-circulation trade and computer-oriented paid periodicals, shares lessons drawn from recent experience. This article is based on a presentation made to the annual meeting ofCirculation Management in September 1995.     

Program Evaluation and Archives: An Essay on a Research Agenda

The author begins with comments on the importance and position of program evaluation (PE), mostly in the context of European archives. These observations, based on personal experience and on a preliminary literature review, show a definitive need for PE, despite its weak position in the managerial activities of archives. Next, the author highlights some special aspects of the evaluation of archival programs. Finally, the author draws conclusions from his general remarks and from his reading of the articles included in this thematic issue ofArchival Science. He outlines some tendencies and shifts in the definition and purposes of evaluation and a short research agenda, containing the most important issues for further development of PE in archives.     

The Franco-American book trade in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries

The Franco-American book trade played a vital role in the struggle for mutual understanding during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. That trade is exemplified by the work of three colorful individuals: Joseph Nancrede (1761–1841), who left his native France and became a publisher in Boston; John Hurford Stone (1763–1818), English supporter of the French Revolution who set up his English Press in Paris, issuing works of American interest; and Nicholas Gouin Dufief (1776–1834), who fled the French Revolution and set up as bookseller in Philadelphia. Thanks to the efforts of Nancrede and Dufief, the writings of French thinkers were made available to American readers, and thanks to the presswork of John Hurford Stone, the writings of Barlow, Paine, Jefferson and others were circulated in France. As publisher, printer, and bookseller, these three bookpeople reflected the ups and downs of Franco-American relations and became instruments of international understanding. Madeleine B. Stern, partner in the rare book firm of Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern, has written numerous books on publishing and bookselling history, includingImprints on History: Book Publishers and American Frontiers. She is the editor ofPublishers for Mass Entertainment in 19th-Century America and is currently completingStudies in the Franco-American Book Trade in the Late 18th and Early 19th Centuries     

Keeping modern amid changing times: The bobbsey twins—1904, 1950, 1961

Three early Bobbsey twins books were revised in 1950 and again in the early 1960s. Some of the changes made over the years merely substitute more up-to-date objects for those that contemporary children would not recognize. Others, however, reflect attitudinal changes toward racial differences, religion, government, community, and lifestyles. Deidre Johnson is a graduate student in American Studies at the University of Minnesota, where she is completing a dissertation on Edward Stratemeyer's boys' fiction. She has published several articles on dime novels and series books and is the author ofStratemeyer Pseudonyms and Series Books: An Annotated Checklist of Stratemeyer & Stratemeyer Syndicate Publications (Greenwood, 1983).     

TheParis review at forty

TheParis Review celebrated its fortieth anniversary in 1993 in Paris, Mississippi. A founding editor, the managing editor, and the editor-at-large discuss the manazine's birth and growth, editorial policies, authors, and interview subjects. James Linville is managing editor of theParis Review. His nonfiction and interviews have been published inEsquire and theParis Review and reprinted inHarper's and thePushcart Prize Anthology. Jeanne McCulloch is editor-at-large for theParis Review. She was managing editor from 1984 to 1989. George Plimpton is a founding editor of theParis Review and the author ofPaper Lion, Shadow Box, X-Factor, and other books. He has edited many works, including theNorton, Anthology of Sports Literature, The Writer's Chapbook, and the ninth volume ofWriters at Work.     

And You Thought That You Couldn't Publish a Book?

Abstract

The author describes her experiences in compiling and editing a book of contributed chapters, titled The Successful Academic Librarian. The process includes writing the book proposal, finding contributors, editing their work, and working with the publisher. A timeline of the process is presented, and the challenges and rewards of the project are discussed.     

Launching an online‐only journal

In May 2006, the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) launched its first exclusively online journal, Education for Chemical Engineers ( http://www.icheme.org/ece ). The author describes the editorial and marketing strategy behind the successful launch of the new title and the challenges facing a publisher when launching an ‘online‐only’ title. The article discusses how IChemE's established presence in the chemical engineering community benefited the new journal's launch and concludes with a list of key points to remember when launching a new product – with particular relevance to online titles.     

The Journal Bibliografiia: Its Past,Present, and Future

ABSTRACT

Bibliografiia, founded in 1929, is the oldest professional journal in Russia. The author, its editor-in-chief, discusses some important points in its past, current directions, and plans for the future. Among other future directions, the editors hope to increase the number of articles by foreign authors.     

Reader response theory and the problem of meaning

If we accept the idea that the literary experience lies in the mind of the reader, in the transaction between the reader and the book, then teachers must adjust their instructional goals and teaching practices. The curriculum must also be reconceived to deal with this approach to literature, particularly in the selection of texts. A former English teacher, he is the author ofResponse and Analysis: Teaching Literature in Junior and Senior High School and part of the team that prepared Ginn'sNew Voices series.     

A report on the keynote address of Jacob L. Chernofsky

Jake Chernofsky is listed in the 1984 Who's Who in America as a “trade magazine editor, publisher,” but he is more than that. He has been editor and publisher of AB Bookman's Weekly since 1975. Before joining the magazine, Jake was a journalist working for weekly and daily newspapers and wire services in various parts of the country. Jake has served on the National Advisory Board of the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress, as well as having held membership in several bibliographic and printing history organizations. Jake has lectured on various aspects of the antiquarian book trade in the United States, England, and Russia. He has been co-director of the nationally know Out-of-Print & Antiquarian Book Market Seminar held annually at the University of Denver since its inception in 1979. He has also represented AB Bookman's Weekly at national conventions such as last year's Dallas convention and the ACRL convention in Cincinnati.     

Serving science while paying the bills: the history of the Journal of Biological Chemistry Online

Recent developments in the publication of the Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC) are discussed, particularly the development of the electronic version of the Journal, JBC Online, and the opportunities and challenges that this mode of publication has presented to its publisher, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) and its mission of service.