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The Publishing Business: A Guide to Starting Out and Getting On
The Publishing Business, is an invaluable guide to understanding what book publishing is and what it might become. Using popular and current examples, this second edition demonstrates that, to succeed, publishers must prove their commitment to producing accurate, attractive and well edited content, their ability to innovate pioneering digital technologies and their dedication to promoting their titles to new audiences.
This book explains the responsibilities at each stage of the publishing process, describes current roles and practices, and provides much food for thought on how publishers can ensure their skills remain relevant in the digital age. Fully updated to take into account recent developments in the publishing world, this new edition also includes additional real-world examples from a variety of publishing sectors, insightful interviews with industry experts and new and updated activities throughout.
Beautifully designed, thoroughly illustrated and packed with examples of publishing practice, The Publishing Business is an essential introduction to a dynamic industry.
This book explains the responsibilities at each stage of the publishing process, describes current roles and practices, and provides much food for thought on how publishers can ensure their skills remain relevant in the digital age. Fully updated to take into account recent developments in the publishing world, this new edition also includes additional real-world examples from a variety of publishing sectors, insightful interviews with industry experts and new and updated activities throughout.
Beautifully designed, thoroughly illustrated and packed with examples of publishing practice, The Publishing Business is an essential introduction to a dynamic industry.
240 pages, Paperback
Published April 5, 2018
29 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 18, 2020
3.5. This is the first book of my summer reading I’ve finished before my Masters program in Publishing starts. I think this was a great introduction into the various aspects of publishing, and I enjoyed all the interviews, case studies, and resources for new professionals.
Some of the pictures were super blurry, which is weird, also I think I found one typo/grammar issue which is kind of ironic in a book about publishing, but hey, things happen.
One thing I noted is the tone when talking about self-publishing. It seemed pretty haughty, which makes sense because this book is from Bloomsbury, a major publisher. Certainly self publishing is a competitor with them, and there’s this largely general consensus that self publishing isn’t as prestigious or good as traditional publishing. Granted it’s different, but it’s not lesser. Some of my favorite authors and books are self published.
One of my favorite interviews is with Ashleigh Gardner, head of writer and publishing partnerships at Wattpad. Everything she said just really rang true with me. Wattpad is free of gatekeepers, so it’s really interesting to see what thrives.
There’s also a quote from the CEO of Penguin Random House, Markus Dohle, and he says “self-publishing gives writers the chance to be read, but readers also need guidance and orientation to find the next great read,” implying that traditional publishers are that guidance, or gatekeepers, however you look at it.
The authors also write “many self-published authors have limited appreciation of the genre they are trying to write for, and often do not have the language and editing skills to produce marketable texts.” First, this definitely sounds like opinion and not hard facts to me. There was no clarification of what this passage meant, which I definitely think is called for. I’m not sure why I’ve turned into such an advocate for self-publishing, it’s definitely interesting considering my career choice in publishing, but language like that definitely bothers me. Accessibility is a huge part of self publishing. An author whose books I read religiously self publishes, and she has editors, beta readers, and seems to me to have knowledge of the genre she’s writing in. Self published books are also usually pretty cheap, which makes sense, but that makes them very accessible for people with limited budgets.
Some of the pictures were super blurry, which is weird, also I think I found one typo/grammar issue which is kind of ironic in a book about publishing, but hey, things happen.
One thing I noted is the tone when talking about self-publishing. It seemed pretty haughty, which makes sense because this book is from Bloomsbury, a major publisher. Certainly self publishing is a competitor with them, and there’s this largely general consensus that self publishing isn’t as prestigious or good as traditional publishing. Granted it’s different, but it’s not lesser. Some of my favorite authors and books are self published.
One of my favorite interviews is with Ashleigh Gardner, head of writer and publishing partnerships at Wattpad. Everything she said just really rang true with me. Wattpad is free of gatekeepers, so it’s really interesting to see what thrives.
There’s also a quote from the CEO of Penguin Random House, Markus Dohle, and he says “self-publishing gives writers the chance to be read, but readers also need guidance and orientation to find the next great read,” implying that traditional publishers are that guidance, or gatekeepers, however you look at it.
The authors also write “many self-published authors have limited appreciation of the genre they are trying to write for, and often do not have the language and editing skills to produce marketable texts.” First, this definitely sounds like opinion and not hard facts to me. There was no clarification of what this passage meant, which I definitely think is called for. I’m not sure why I’ve turned into such an advocate for self-publishing, it’s definitely interesting considering my career choice in publishing, but language like that definitely bothers me. Accessibility is a huge part of self publishing. An author whose books I read religiously self publishes, and she has editors, beta readers, and seems to me to have knowledge of the genre she’s writing in. Self published books are also usually pretty cheap, which makes sense, but that makes them very accessible for people with limited budgets.
April 13, 2022
(3.5/5) A solid introduction to publishing, although repetitive at times. Very brief, generic, and easy to get through. And surprisingly, it was decently designed (and color-coded!). If you have not interacted with the publishing industry and want to learn more, I would recommend starting here.
May 8, 2025
wow - amazing. this takes a village
I’m amazing by the effort it takes to publish a book and then sell it while still paying expenses and making a profit. This book lays out the insanity.
I’m amazing by the effort it takes to publish a book and then sell it while still paying expenses and making a profit. This book lays out the insanity.
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December 6, 2019I had to read this textbook for class so I’m counting it toward my reading goal.
October 10, 2023
Bien expliqué mais très pointu et technique, j'ai sauté beaucoup de pages...
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews