Professor Angus Phillips

This is a book about the book. Is this a book? is a question of wide appeal and interest. With the arrival of ebooks, digital narratives and audiobooks, the time is right for a fresh discussion of what is a book. Older definitions that rely solely on print no longer work, and as the boundaries of the book have been broken down, this volume offers a fresh and lively discussion of the form and purpose of the book. How does the audiobook fit into the book family? How is the role of reading changing in the light of digital developments? Does the book still deserve a privileged place in society? The authors present a dynamic model of the book and how it lives on in today's competitive media environment.

Publishing is one of the oldest and most influential businesses in the world. It remains an essential creative and knowledge industry, worth over $140 billion a year, which continues to shape our education and culture. Two trends make this a particularly exciting time. The first is the revolution in communications technology that has transformed what it means to publish; far from resting on their laurels and retreating into tradition, publishers are doing as they always have - staying on the cutting edge. The second is the growing body of academic work that studies publishing in its many forms. Both mean that there has never been a more important time to examine this essential practice and the current state of knowledge. The Oxford Handbook of Publishing marks the coming of age of the scholarship in publishing studies with a comprehensive exploration of current research, featuring contributions from both industry professionals and internationally renowned scholars on subjects such as copyright, corporate social responsibility, globalizing markets, and changing technology. This authoritative volume looks at the relationship of the book publishing industry with other media, and how intellectual property underpins what publishers do. It outlines the complex and risky economics of the industry and examines how marketing, publicity, and sales have become ever more central aspects of business practice, while also exploring different sectors in depth and giving full treatment to the transformational and much discussed impact of digital publishing. This Handbook is essential reading for anyone interested in publishing, literature, and the business of media, entertainment, culture, communication, and information.

As a creative industry, book publishing is notable for both its economic impact and its wider influence. Book publishing covers a range of types of book from the academic monograph to the latest international bestselling work of fiction. Notable trends within the industry are digitization, globalization, and the democratization of authorship. Whilst illustrative examples in this chapter are mainly taken from the UK and USA, as the business is international, analysis of the industry requires attention to trends across borders. The level of risk varies by sector but overall the industry has faced challenges from other media, user-generated content and the rise of digital access.

The literary agent is prominent in trade book publishing in the UK and the US, whilst the role is rarer in other publishing markets, such as in continental Europe. What started as an intermediary between the author and publisher has developed into a much broader function, acting on behalf of the author, with elements of
business, editorial and marketing. The agent is a key gatekeeper into the mainstream publishing world for authors, especially in the area of fiction. Literary agents champion authors, offer them invaluable support and advice, and may be the single point of continuity throughout their writing career. There are significant challenges to the established media gatekeepers: authors may find an audience through social media, podcasting, fan fiction, or self-publication in e-book form. Yet there remains the cachet of publishing with
an established publishing house, plus the publisher has access to high street retail for the print edition. Agents carry out a valuable function for publishers, acting as a filter for new authors and projects, and undertaking considerable editorial work. As diversity has become such a live issue in contemporary publishing, questions arise as to how the agent’s gatekeeping role is exercised. Possible threats to
the role of the agent come not only from self-publishing but also from the continuing consolidation among publishing companies, publishers dealing directly with authors, and the erosion of authors’ incomes.

Advances in technology have produced a range of devices on which a book can be read, from an e‐book reader to a tablet or phone. E‐books have the advantages that a reader can take a sizeable selection when traveling, read backlit text, and enlarge the type size to suit. The book exists in both printed and digital form, as p‐book and e‐book. Digital technology has also revolutionized the production of printed books. Digital printing, as opposed to traditional offset printing, enables genuine print on demand as well as short runs. This facility has less relevance to the world of mass‐market paperbacks, where large print runs mean that the benefits of offset printing still apply, but it is of great interest to most publishers and those who want to self‐publish. In fact, more books are published than ever before, and there has been a boom in self‐publishing.

In Part I: The Business of a University Press. 5C