Books: The Durable Medium

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Chapter OutlineHistoryIndustryControversies

Early Forms Earliest paper evolved around 3000 BC.

▪ Made from papyrus, from ancient Egypt alongside the Nile. Papyrus to parchment, made from dried animal skins.

▪ Very durable, some ancient books survived to modern times. Greeks & Asian cultures made books

▪ Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese, ▪ Printed on rice paper with carved, reusable wooden blocks.

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The Printing Revolution This Person came up with moveable metal type.

▪ A prototypes of mass production that sparked a revolution. Printing changed the world

▪ From oral culture to literature culture. ▪ Led to

▪ Scientific advances, higher literacy, social reform, widespread knowledge

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The Book In America 1530s - Spanish established the first press in Americas.

▪ Produced texts for teaching Spanish to Indians ▪ In Mexico City.

Early colonial publishers escaped repression in England, ▪ The king carefully controlled any type of publication.

Parchment gives way to paper ▪ Made from cotton and linen fibers.

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Most colonial printers ran bookstores. ▪ Early example of vertical integration from Chapter One.▪ What is vertical integration?

These combination printer’s shops and bookstores▪ Became meeting places and educational centers.

The Library Company of Philadelphia ▪ Founded by Benjamin Franklin ▪ The first library open to the public.

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Universal Education Massachusetts - 1st colony to pass law

requiring every child be taught to read Universal education

▪ Became law in the U.S. in 1820s. McGuffey’s Readers,

▪ 1st published in 1836, ▪ Used pictures to reinforce vocabulary. ▪ More than 120 million copies in print by late1800s.

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The Industrial Revolution Machine-made paper produced from cheap wood pulp

instead of cotton and linen fiber. In 1914 Congress established a special postal “book rate”

▪ Realized that the distribution of books was good for the country.

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Books and Slavery Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,

▪ 1845 autobiography, told the horrors of slavery.

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, ▪ Published in 1851, was the 1st national best seller.

The Book-of-the-Month Club was formed in 1926, ▪ Followed by the Literary Guild in 1927.

Paperback Books Early paperbacks include Dime and Pulp novels Mass-market paperbacks introduced by Pocket Books in 1939 Male-oriented mysteries, Westerns, and thrillers

▪ Saw a boom in the 1950s Harlequin, marketed romance novels grew in the 1960s, the trade paperback with a heavier cover and better quality paper.

▪ Introduced In the 1970s by American publishers

Study Items Top Publishers of U.S. Books Types of Books Book industry workers Types of book sellers Most Frequently Banned Books

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New Forms of the Book Audiobooks – Started for people with vision problems,

▪ Have caught on with commuters, runners and others. E-books – Digital files, usually downloaded from Internet.

▪ Read with e-book reading hardware. E-books have the potential to change the medium.

▪ Hypertext fiction ▪ interactive, allows reader to change plot as the book is read.

▪ Anyone remember the type of books with this feature?

Types of Books Trade books – account for largest share of books sold.

▪ Fiction and nonfiction that are sold to the general public.

Educational books – textbooks for schools ▪ Elementary, secondary, college, and vocational.

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Reference books – used to look up facts and information.▪ Encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, or almanacs

Professional books information for specialized occupations ▪ Law, business, medicine, engineering, etc

The specialty classification ▪ Religious books, high school and college yearbooks, ▪ anthologies of cartoons and comics

▪ (although comic books are categorized as magazines).

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A contract usually involves an advance against royalties.▪ What is an advance?

Royalties – share of net amount the publisher receives. Authors like Stephen King and J.K. Rowling

▪ Became celebrities because of their writing.

▪ What are some things they wrote?

Publishers often sign film, television, and sports celebrities to multimillion-dollar contracts ▪ Then hire ghostwriters or collaborators to actually write the

book.

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The Players Less than 200 full-time professional authors of books.

▪ Most authors teach, work for newspapers or magazines, or are celebrities.

Authors write under contract or on spec; ▪ Means finishing a book without publisher’s commitment to publish it.

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An acquisition editor ▪ Acquires books to be published.

A developmental editor ▪ Works with the author, going over each chapter to suggest

changes, new directions, things to add, and things to cut.

Complete manuscript goes to the copy editor ▪ For last minute polishing.

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Publishers usually specialize in book types they produce, ▪ Trade, educational, reference, professional or specialty publications.

Numerous small independent book companies ▪ Target particular niche audiences.

University presses ▪ Publish academic books,

▪ Especially original research by college professors.

Publishers promote books▪ Advertising, jacket blurbs, magazine and newspaper reviews, book

excerpts, and book tours.

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The Bookseller Barnes & Noble and Borders

▪ Account for more than 25 percent of book sales.

Megastores feature around 100,000 book titles, ▪ Live readings by authors, Activities for children, coffee bars

▪ Numerous racks of magazines and out-of-town newspapers.

Independent bookstores ▪ Not owned by a chain and are not part of a larger company.

▪ Indy Bookstore

▪ Any advantages to independent bookstores? What?

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Amazon.com is the leading bookstore in cyberspace.▪ Any Amazon shoppers in here? What have you bought?

Amazon developed “Bookmatcher” database program ▪ Recommends books based on customer’s other preferences.

Other online booksellers include Barnes & Noble, Alibris, and more than 250 independent and specialty sites.▪ What other sites have you gone to for books?

Book Clubs▪ What are some book clubs you are familiar with

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The Reader – Determine what’s published.

Bibliophiles ▪ Consume 50 or more books a year.

Casual readers ▪ Enjoy reading, but only a few books a year.

Required readers ▪ Only read for work or studies.

Illiterates ▪ Never learned how to read.

Aliterates ▪ Those who can read but don’t.

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Book Censorship – Banned Book link The First Amendment

▪ Restricts government interference with free speech, ▪ Any act of government censorship tends to be a serious issue.

Censorship by public schools and libraries has been extremely controversial.▪ Any books that were banned by your school? Why?

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Challenging a book, provides publicity that stimulates sales.▪ What books were publicized and sold well?

Book censorship around the world ▪ Usually far stricter than in the U.S.

Censorship can protect children from ▪ Pornography, obscenity, and writers who advocate violence.▪ Do you agree with this? Why, Why Not

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The Blockbuster Syndrome Today’s obsession with publishing blockbusters

▪ Controls the economics of the industry.▪ Why are blockbusters so important to publishers

Critics contend that huge advances for potential blockbusters ▪ Leave little money for more challenging or literary works.

Midlist authors ▪ Write books with literary merit but are not obvious blockbusters.

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The Blockbuster Syndrome The quest for blockbusters has led to “books by crooks.”

▪ Such as “A Millions Little Pieces” Another problem of the phenomenon is

▪ Decline in quality, particularly in accuracy in works of nonfiction.

Also, a number of books turn out to be hoaxes or plagiarized works.

Chap 1,3,4,5Do the self quizzesLook for test review at

www.professorleach.com

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