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Book Wars: The Digital Revolution in Publishing
This book tells the story of the turbulent decades when the book publishing industry collided with the great technological revolution of our time. From the surge of ebooks to the self-publishing explosion and the growing popularity of audiobooks, Book Wars provides a comprehensive and fine-grained account of technological disruption in one of our most important and successful creative industries. Like other sectors, publishing has been thrown into disarray by the digital revolution. The foundation on which this industry had been based for 500 years – the packaging and sale of words and images in the form of printed books – was called into question by a technological revolution that enabled symbolic content to be stored, manipulated and transmitted quickly and cheaply. Publishers and retailers found themselves facing a proliferation of new players who were offering new products and services and challenging some of their most deeply held principles and beliefs. The old industry was suddenly thrust into the limelight as bitter conflicts erupted between publishers and new entrants, including powerful new tech giants who saw the world in very different ways. The book wars had begun. While ebooks were at the heart of many of these conflicts, Thompson argues that the most fundamental consequences lie elsewhere. The print-on-paper book has proven to be a remarkably resilient cultural form, but the digital revolution has transformed the industry in other ways, spawning new players which now wield unprecedented power and giving rise to an array of new publishing forms. Most important of all, it has transformed the broader information and communication environment, creating new challenges and new opportunities for publishers as they seek to redefine their role in the digital age. This unrivalled account of the book publishing industry as it faces its greatest challenge since Gutenberg will be essential reading for anyone interested in books and their future.
528 pages, Paperback
First published April 26, 2021
34 people are currently reading
1483 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
May 4, 2021
This was a fascinating look at the world of books and how the evolution of digital technology has changed the publishing world and its' outlook over the years!
The author has left no stone unturned as he explores the rise of the e-book and how that has impacted the book world, and while digital technology had been feared by the publishers to begin with, it seems to have opened up new ideas to the 'print' world and seems to have rebooted the 'book' brand and publishing world - which is all good for us readers!
This book looks into how e-books evolved so quickly and how people like Amazon took advantage and how it changed the way people read and bought books. It was feared that with the rise of e-books the print world would suffer in the way that the music industry was, after downloads appeared on the scene, but over time it was realised that some books just worked better in print and this explores that subject in great detail and I really found it so interesting. As an old dinosaur myself, I always prefer the print edition, so it was fascinating to see the charts and graphs that displayed the figures involved in all forms of print, and what genres were enjoyed so much more in digital form.
This book explores a variety of subjects within publishing - the legal issues, marketing, the rise of self publishing, the use of crowdfunding such as Unbound (of which I am happy to have been part of!), the backlist, the use of audiobooks/audible and the role that social media plays now in all forms of publishing be it digital or print.
It brings to the fore how the numbers stack up of each book form and how the outcome of new avenues often have unpredictable results. It was a lengthy read - almost 500 pages - but there is so much to look into and the author has done a brilliant job of using the in-depth analysis to peek behind the curtain, so to speak, into a world of books that has had to change over recent times and showing there is room for both forms thanks to the digital form making the old guard of print rethink and become more creative!
A perfect read for all fans of the humble book - in whatever format you prefer!
The author has left no stone unturned as he explores the rise of the e-book and how that has impacted the book world, and while digital technology had been feared by the publishers to begin with, it seems to have opened up new ideas to the 'print' world and seems to have rebooted the 'book' brand and publishing world - which is all good for us readers!
This book looks into how e-books evolved so quickly and how people like Amazon took advantage and how it changed the way people read and bought books. It was feared that with the rise of e-books the print world would suffer in the way that the music industry was, after downloads appeared on the scene, but over time it was realised that some books just worked better in print and this explores that subject in great detail and I really found it so interesting. As an old dinosaur myself, I always prefer the print edition, so it was fascinating to see the charts and graphs that displayed the figures involved in all forms of print, and what genres were enjoyed so much more in digital form.
This book explores a variety of subjects within publishing - the legal issues, marketing, the rise of self publishing, the use of crowdfunding such as Unbound (of which I am happy to have been part of!), the backlist, the use of audiobooks/audible and the role that social media plays now in all forms of publishing be it digital or print.
It brings to the fore how the numbers stack up of each book form and how the outcome of new avenues often have unpredictable results. It was a lengthy read - almost 500 pages - but there is so much to look into and the author has done a brilliant job of using the in-depth analysis to peek behind the curtain, so to speak, into a world of books that has had to change over recent times and showing there is room for both forms thanks to the digital form making the old guard of print rethink and become more creative!
A perfect read for all fans of the humble book - in whatever format you prefer!
December 27, 2022
For anyone interested in changes in publishing in the 21st century I can’t recommend it enough. From the Big Five, to self publishing, to crowdfunding, and social media. Deeply informative.
July 25, 2022
I read a lot of books, so why not read about books? You have to know what you're getting into, though -- this has the structure, density, and dryness of a 450-page academic paper, so skim it aggressively unless you're really, really into the details.
The granular data on the publishing industry is this book's strength. Sometimes that's pretty dull (who cares exactly what rate mp3s overtook cassettes in audiobook sales?), but sometimes it's really interesting: according to sales of one publisher in 2016, e-books account for more than half of total book sales for romance novels, 30-45% for other fiction, 10-30% for fiction but only 5% for kids' books (possibly because the less linear and/or text-only a book is, the less pleasant its e-book experience is).
I was a little bit disappointed there's nothing on institutional buyers like libraries -- there's a long chapter on digital book subscription app companies and their mixed reception, with zero mention of the fact that a physical book subscription service has been available for a long time for free, which might have been an interesting point of comparison.
The granular data on the publishing industry is this book's strength. Sometimes that's pretty dull (who cares exactly what rate mp3s overtook cassettes in audiobook sales?), but sometimes it's really interesting: according to sales of one publisher in 2016, e-books account for more than half of total book sales for romance novels, 30-45% for other fiction, 10-30% for fiction but only 5% for kids' books (possibly because the less linear and/or text-only a book is, the less pleasant its e-book experience is).
I was a little bit disappointed there's nothing on institutional buyers like libraries -- there's a long chapter on digital book subscription app companies and their mixed reception, with zero mention of the fact that a physical book subscription service has been available for a long time for free, which might have been an interesting point of comparison.
October 27, 2021
John B. Thompson’s Book Wars is a contemporary history of the book, of publishing, and of the digital revolution of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The effects of digital technology have been profound. While some content creators such as musicians have suffered greatly (think Napster), the effects on book publishing have been less destructive but just as dramatic. Thompson’s documentation starts with the first digital files that would later became e-books. He describes the meteoric rise and dominance of Amazon (800 pound gorilla? make that 800,000 pound gorilla). In recent years, we’ve seen explosive growth in self-publishing. He takes a look at these developments while at the same time, he asks important questions about how digital reality is affecting and will affect communication in general, not just books. Some key insights include an understanding that authors and publishers focus on content (what’s actually in a book), whereas the tech giants (Amazon and Google especially) focus instead on gathering and selling user data, aka “information capital” which is gleaned from all those reader clicks.
Thompson refers to traditional (“trad”) and self-publishing (“indie”) as two parallel universes in which the indies bypass the trad “gatekeepers.” Indie publishing is exploding, and Thompson argues that not only are more indie books being published than we have accurately documented (it’s hard to keep track), but that self-publishing continues to grow. Thompson covers a lot of territory, including audio books, crowdfunded publishing, the growth and leveling off of e-books, the dogged survival of print books, and about companies and services such as BookBub, Lit Hub, and Bookshop. For me, the most interesting chapter is on “struggles for visibility.” When there are literally millions of books available to buy now on various platforms (Apple, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, etc., as well as Amazon), how do trad and indie writer/publishers get their books discovered? How does a book become visible to a reader? Developing an author/publisher relationship with readers is a key factor, something not addressed by the “informational capital” data gatherers.
Thompson’s book is presented in a very dense, academic style with copious notes and documentation. It’s not an easy read. The book is nearly 500 pages long, has very long paragraphs (1 ½ pages for one paragraph) and very long sentences. I counted one sentence that was 10 lines long, 1/3 of the page. There is some repetition in the text as well. And the topography leaves a lot to be desired. Despite the author claiming that physical books are easier to read, this book, I believe, would be easier to read as an e-book where the font size could be increased. In short, the book badly needed editing, and a better design. Plus the analytical subject index was lacking as well.
That said, Book Wars is the definitive work on this topic as it documents the past 30-40 years of book publishing. I learned a lot from this book, and I’m glad I read it.
Thompson refers to traditional (“trad”) and self-publishing (“indie”) as two parallel universes in which the indies bypass the trad “gatekeepers.” Indie publishing is exploding, and Thompson argues that not only are more indie books being published than we have accurately documented (it’s hard to keep track), but that self-publishing continues to grow. Thompson covers a lot of territory, including audio books, crowdfunded publishing, the growth and leveling off of e-books, the dogged survival of print books, and about companies and services such as BookBub, Lit Hub, and Bookshop. For me, the most interesting chapter is on “struggles for visibility.” When there are literally millions of books available to buy now on various platforms (Apple, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, etc., as well as Amazon), how do trad and indie writer/publishers get their books discovered? How does a book become visible to a reader? Developing an author/publisher relationship with readers is a key factor, something not addressed by the “informational capital” data gatherers.
Thompson’s book is presented in a very dense, academic style with copious notes and documentation. It’s not an easy read. The book is nearly 500 pages long, has very long paragraphs (1 ½ pages for one paragraph) and very long sentences. I counted one sentence that was 10 lines long, 1/3 of the page. There is some repetition in the text as well. And the topography leaves a lot to be desired. Despite the author claiming that physical books are easier to read, this book, I believe, would be easier to read as an e-book where the font size could be increased. In short, the book badly needed editing, and a better design. Plus the analytical subject index was lacking as well.
That said, Book Wars is the definitive work on this topic as it documents the past 30-40 years of book publishing. I learned a lot from this book, and I’m glad I read it.
January 2, 2022
This was incredibly informative and I highly recommend to anyone with an interest in the industry, even if you just read the very helpful chapter summaries and conclusion. SO MUCH WORK went into this book, almost 200 interviews (several of which have to be presented under a pseudonym), and there's a lot of interest to here to even just readers baffled by publishing decisions.
October 14, 2024
Bueno, este libro es espectacular.
La industria editorial es una de las más antiguas y más celosas respecto a su información. Poco sabemos de ella, las editoriales actúan como gatekeepers de todo. Cómo funciona el mercado, qué tanto impacta, etc, poco conocemos. La informacion que tenemos es: por deducción, lo poco que nos comparten y por las cámaras estatales de cada país. Por lo tanto, tener un libro de investigación que agarre a la industria, la ponga en una mesa de quirófano y la abra al medio me parece espectacular.
En pos de contarnos el impacto de la digitalización de los libros, el autor nos explica todo. Disecciona a la industria y relata de qué manera llegó a ser lo que es, cuáles son sus principales jugadores, qué editoriales controlan el mercado y cómo cambia todo eso con la revolución digital. Otra cosa que fue refrescante es que el autor no es fatalista. Los libros en papel no desaparecieron y el pronóstico dice que no van a desaparecer por el ingreso de nuevas tecnologías. Y no lo dice porque a él le parece, sino que expone una lista de argumentos enormes que respaldan su postura. Aunque ya la historia y que todos nosotros abramos un libro todos los días es argumento suficiente.
Como toda investigación tiene sus cositas obvias y razonables, pero que a mí me molestan. Hubiera sido buenísimo saber exactamente a cuál de las 5 grandes editoriales correspondía cada dato (PRH, Hachette, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster o Macmillan), pero como dije antes lograr que estás editoriales cuenten sus cosas está difícil. Así que se usan nombres de fantasía todo el tiempo, menos para Simon & Schuster.
Otro tema que no fue mí favorito, pero que es entendible es el recorte de investigación. El libro trata de la industria editorial en EE.UU, hubiera sido genial que abarcara más países, pero claramente es imposible y no sería un trabajo de investigación sino multiples. Sin embargo, podemos decir que el mayor porcentaje de libros que leemos a nivel mundial viene de ese país y la mayoría de las 5 grandes tienen sus headquarters ahí. Es imposible leer la industria editorial de cada país sin pensar cómo afectan los movimientos editoriales y monopolicos de la industria en EE.UU en la propia.
Por último, y de la mano de las cosas que no me encantaron. Da la sensación que el autor deja del lado de las víctimas a las editoriales frente a Amazon y eso tranquilamente es real. Pero no hay que extrapolarlo a otras relaciones porque si escuchamos a los autores vamos a ver qué las editoriales son las grandes villanas de la historia y quiénes construyen contenido a costa del trabajo mal pago de los autores.
Un único tema en estructura, el último capítulo y las conclusiones son iguales. Fue la única parte del libro que me pareció muy repetitiva.
Si les interesa la industria editorial, tanto si están en el tema como si no, es un libro que vale mucho la pena. Es MUY actual, recorre los inicios de la industria, su digitalización y las consecuencias de esta hasta la actualidad. Escrito de una forma liviana y entendible, sin aspiraciones de grandeza y con un lenguaje que invita a que todos lo lean abre la puerta de una industria que pocas veces se deja ver.
La industria editorial es una de las más antiguas y más celosas respecto a su información. Poco sabemos de ella, las editoriales actúan como gatekeepers de todo. Cómo funciona el mercado, qué tanto impacta, etc, poco conocemos. La informacion que tenemos es: por deducción, lo poco que nos comparten y por las cámaras estatales de cada país. Por lo tanto, tener un libro de investigación que agarre a la industria, la ponga en una mesa de quirófano y la abra al medio me parece espectacular.
En pos de contarnos el impacto de la digitalización de los libros, el autor nos explica todo. Disecciona a la industria y relata de qué manera llegó a ser lo que es, cuáles son sus principales jugadores, qué editoriales controlan el mercado y cómo cambia todo eso con la revolución digital. Otra cosa que fue refrescante es que el autor no es fatalista. Los libros en papel no desaparecieron y el pronóstico dice que no van a desaparecer por el ingreso de nuevas tecnologías. Y no lo dice porque a él le parece, sino que expone una lista de argumentos enormes que respaldan su postura. Aunque ya la historia y que todos nosotros abramos un libro todos los días es argumento suficiente.
Como toda investigación tiene sus cositas obvias y razonables, pero que a mí me molestan. Hubiera sido buenísimo saber exactamente a cuál de las 5 grandes editoriales correspondía cada dato (PRH, Hachette, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster o Macmillan), pero como dije antes lograr que estás editoriales cuenten sus cosas está difícil. Así que se usan nombres de fantasía todo el tiempo, menos para Simon & Schuster.
Otro tema que no fue mí favorito, pero que es entendible es el recorte de investigación. El libro trata de la industria editorial en EE.UU, hubiera sido genial que abarcara más países, pero claramente es imposible y no sería un trabajo de investigación sino multiples. Sin embargo, podemos decir que el mayor porcentaje de libros que leemos a nivel mundial viene de ese país y la mayoría de las 5 grandes tienen sus headquarters ahí. Es imposible leer la industria editorial de cada país sin pensar cómo afectan los movimientos editoriales y monopolicos de la industria en EE.UU en la propia.
Por último, y de la mano de las cosas que no me encantaron. Da la sensación que el autor deja del lado de las víctimas a las editoriales frente a Amazon y eso tranquilamente es real. Pero no hay que extrapolarlo a otras relaciones porque si escuchamos a los autores vamos a ver qué las editoriales son las grandes villanas de la historia y quiénes construyen contenido a costa del trabajo mal pago de los autores.
Un único tema en estructura, el último capítulo y las conclusiones son iguales. Fue la única parte del libro que me pareció muy repetitiva.
Si les interesa la industria editorial, tanto si están en el tema como si no, es un libro que vale mucho la pena. Es MUY actual, recorre los inicios de la industria, su digitalización y las consecuencias de esta hasta la actualidad. Escrito de una forma liviana y entendible, sin aspiraciones de grandeza y con un lenguaje que invita a que todos lo lean abre la puerta de una industria que pocas veces se deja ver.
November 30, 2021
Crisp, systematic review of the entire data of ebooks, publishing, audiobooks, crowdfunding, and all the rest. Bit repetitive by the end, but I learned a lot.
March 30, 2022
I loved this book. It was formidable, but learned a lot and took good notes- will be useful going forward
December 9, 2021
This aspires to be the exhaustive authority on books and book publishing but it is too long and repetitious that it leaves any avid reader exhausted instead. Just read the Conclusion—it summarizes his whole book in 11 pages.
This is best for humans who have never seen a book nor know what a book is. It's a great textbook on the history of books. But it's hard to read. The text is too heavy, with only two blocks of paragraphs per page, and is as thick as a dictionary.
This could be cut into a third and still deliver its message. Much of the history cited are well-known and unnecessary, like how books were published, oral tradition of stories, founding of tech giants, ebooks, audiobooks, iTunes. A simple line description would suffice. Data is dated, some dead.
Every chapter is an independent historical review of events, whether it’s the start of Amazon, Apple, Audible, Spotify, Wattpad, etc. Online readers already know that.
As it is, books compete for readers’ attention. Why would readers willingly wade through 511 pages about books when they already know and live the story of how books have evolved with digital disruption?
If this were printed in a shorter, digestible form (less than 300 pages) I would recommend it. Publishers and authors can learn from his insight on the future of books, self-publishing, and Amazon’s dominance.
Bulky books like this turn off reluctant readers and affirm the prejudice that reading is difficult, boring, and reserved for the elite. Who is this book written for? If it’s for publishers, they already felt the pain of Amazon’s and its Kindle. If it’s for readers, we prefer to be briefly informed and fully entertained. If it’s for students, they’re not going to read it.
@IvyDigest
This is best for humans who have never seen a book nor know what a book is. It's a great textbook on the history of books. But it's hard to read. The text is too heavy, with only two blocks of paragraphs per page, and is as thick as a dictionary.
This could be cut into a third and still deliver its message. Much of the history cited are well-known and unnecessary, like how books were published, oral tradition of stories, founding of tech giants, ebooks, audiobooks, iTunes. A simple line description would suffice. Data is dated, some dead.
Every chapter is an independent historical review of events, whether it’s the start of Amazon, Apple, Audible, Spotify, Wattpad, etc. Online readers already know that.
As it is, books compete for readers’ attention. Why would readers willingly wade through 511 pages about books when they already know and live the story of how books have evolved with digital disruption?
If this were printed in a shorter, digestible form (less than 300 pages) I would recommend it. Publishers and authors can learn from his insight on the future of books, self-publishing, and Amazon’s dominance.
Bulky books like this turn off reluctant readers and affirm the prejudice that reading is difficult, boring, and reserved for the elite. Who is this book written for? If it’s for publishers, they already felt the pain of Amazon’s and its Kindle. If it’s for readers, we prefer to be briefly informed and fully entertained. If it’s for students, they’re not going to read it.
@IvyDigest
January 17, 2022
What happens when our oldest media industry (book publishing developed by Gutenberg) slams into our newest media technology (ebooks and digital publishing and audiobooks)? The author asks that and seeks to answer his thesis in hundreds of pages and dozens of charts and infographics. The author draws on nearly 300 interviews from a previous book about trade publishing, Merchants of Culture. Publishers are secretive about authors, sales and profitability. Thompson has established sources to help ground his conclusions. Why should the reader care? You are reading this on Goodreads, once a publishing startup subsumed by Amazon, which is on the way to controlling 70% of the ebook market. This is critical reading for authors, editors, publishers, readers who care.
September 21, 2024
This is interesting, and had some good information about the way that digital publishing is changing the way that books are published and sold, but I think most readers will find the detail to be almost too much to want to wade through all of it. However, I appreciate that Thompson doesn't draw simple conclusions, and in particular, doesn't settle for the easy answers that most internet writers assume, that digital will simply replace physical books. Thompson shows that there is pretty good evidence that digital publishing hasn't made inroads in some aspects of publishing, particularly with children and with most nonfiction readers.
He look at many aspects of digital publishing, at attempts to enhance the traditional book, at the challenges of finding a price point which will attract readers but pay writers a living wage, at Amazon's attempts at domination of the market, and at many of the attempts by Google and others to skirt copyright and scan books into some kind of super library (but leaves authors and publishers without an income stream). It's a lot, and the detail here can be exhausting, but at the end, developments are coming so fast, that parts of the book seem incomplete, for instance, there's nothing about the use of books to create A.I. that relies on wide scale plagiarism to succeed.
Also, for me as a librarian, it is frustrating that Thompson ignores the fact that libraries get different pricing and may be subsidizing the digital book market to some extent as they are held hostage by publishers and ebook providers who know they need the books and charge them exorbitant rates. It's creating fiscal danger for an institution that is key to readers discovering new writers, an important part of the book ecosystem for many, many readers. In my opinion, this needs to be included in his discussion in the future.
So detailed to the point of boredom in some aspects, but missing some of the story. This is an important story, but one that needs more research that perhaps cannot be performed, as the publishing companies and others involved in digital publishing don't make most of there sales data available to the public.
He look at many aspects of digital publishing, at attempts to enhance the traditional book, at the challenges of finding a price point which will attract readers but pay writers a living wage, at Amazon's attempts at domination of the market, and at many of the attempts by Google and others to skirt copyright and scan books into some kind of super library (but leaves authors and publishers without an income stream). It's a lot, and the detail here can be exhausting, but at the end, developments are coming so fast, that parts of the book seem incomplete, for instance, there's nothing about the use of books to create A.I. that relies on wide scale plagiarism to succeed.
Also, for me as a librarian, it is frustrating that Thompson ignores the fact that libraries get different pricing and may be subsidizing the digital book market to some extent as they are held hostage by publishers and ebook providers who know they need the books and charge them exorbitant rates. It's creating fiscal danger for an institution that is key to readers discovering new writers, an important part of the book ecosystem for many, many readers. In my opinion, this needs to be included in his discussion in the future.
So detailed to the point of boredom in some aspects, but missing some of the story. This is an important story, but one that needs more research that perhaps cannot be performed, as the publishing companies and others involved in digital publishing don't make most of there sales data available to the public.
September 3, 2022
The major take-away I gathered from the book: (1) digital platforms are not going to completely replace traditional publication industry, digital books are not going to replace physical books completely, but they introduce new models and competition so that the industry will have to evolve along the way. (2) What is most powerful about the digital platforms are not simply the form of e-books, but their ability to gather a huge amount of user data, with which they can do a ton of things from tailored recommendation to the million-dollar-worthy knowledge about what to adapt into tv or movies.
Overall, the book reads more descriptive than most cutting-edge sociological studies of culture and I personally was hoping to see more analysis on how this change in industry can help us understand media or platform. But that is not what the author is concerned about. For general readers who are interested in the publishing industry, the rich description of every segment of the contemporary book industry may satisfy much curiosity. My only complaint as a general reader is that you keep seeing similar information and logic getting repeated in one same chapter, which makes me believe the book could have been condensed into ~300 pp than the chunky 550+pp it is now.
Overall, the book reads more descriptive than most cutting-edge sociological studies of culture and I personally was hoping to see more analysis on how this change in industry can help us understand media or platform. But that is not what the author is concerned about. For general readers who are interested in the publishing industry, the rich description of every segment of the contemporary book industry may satisfy much curiosity. My only complaint as a general reader is that you keep seeing similar information and logic getting repeated in one same chapter, which makes me believe the book could have been condensed into ~300 pp than the chunky 550+pp it is now.
November 23, 2021
This is one of the most comprehensive and detailed explorations of the publishing industry with respect to the last 10 to 15 years of the digital revolution that I have ever read.
Thompson does a brilliant job of exploring the advent of technology and the reaction and interaction of publishers when facing the inevitability of eBooks.
Because of the detail and analytics about traditional publishing, this is a book I have already recommended to many eBook-centric and digital-only indie authors looking to understand from across the divide that still exists between traditional publishing and the self-publishing communities.
While Thompson does get into more detail than I have ever seen covered in an academic or traditional-publishing-centric book, it could have also benefited from a deeper exploration of the vastness and richness that exists within the self-publishing community, and just how dominant indie authors are in the eBook space.
That criticism aside, it was a hearty and worthwhile book that I highly recommend for anyone wanting to understand the complex publishing business landscape.
Thompson does a brilliant job of exploring the advent of technology and the reaction and interaction of publishers when facing the inevitability of eBooks.
Because of the detail and analytics about traditional publishing, this is a book I have already recommended to many eBook-centric and digital-only indie authors looking to understand from across the divide that still exists between traditional publishing and the self-publishing communities.
While Thompson does get into more detail than I have ever seen covered in an academic or traditional-publishing-centric book, it could have also benefited from a deeper exploration of the vastness and richness that exists within the self-publishing community, and just how dominant indie authors are in the eBook space.
That criticism aside, it was a hearty and worthwhile book that I highly recommend for anyone wanting to understand the complex publishing business landscape.
February 24, 2022
Very well researched (over 20 years of compiled interviews and data)
I appreciated the graphs and numbers worked in and I was actually able to digest the statistics within Thomason’s writing and explanation which I personally am not usually very capable of
A bit repetitive; this is sort of necessary within research and I realize that but there was over-summarization that I think could have been filtered out of the book version and perhaps left for an academic paper or unabridged version for those who want the full deep dive
A good mix of the specific timeline of digital publishing histories as well as interesting tidbits about the history of printing, orality and overall written communication
Also an interesting delve into social structures and how the ways that we communicate change so drastically over time
I appreciated the graphs and numbers worked in and I was actually able to digest the statistics within Thomason’s writing and explanation which I personally am not usually very capable of
A bit repetitive; this is sort of necessary within research and I realize that but there was over-summarization that I think could have been filtered out of the book version and perhaps left for an academic paper or unabridged version for those who want the full deep dive
A good mix of the specific timeline of digital publishing histories as well as interesting tidbits about the history of printing, orality and overall written communication
Also an interesting delve into social structures and how the ways that we communicate change so drastically over time
April 5, 2023
Se trata de una obra panorámica de lo acaecido a la industria editorial producto de la revolución tecnológica, del paradigma digital. Libro publicado por Trama editorial.
En parte, se trata de un amplio estudio de éxitos y fracasos de actores -tradicionales y nuevos producto de la revolución digital- de la industria editorial anglosajona. También es un profundo estudio -de al menos dos décadas, del 2000 al 2019- sobre los cambios y tendencias producto del paradigma digital en el ecosistema editorial:
“Campos, tecnologías, organizaciones, individuos: he tratado de entrelazarlos todos, dando a cada uno lo que le corresponde y sin privilegiar a ninguno por capricho, para brindar aquí un relato de lo que ocurre cuando una vieja y consolidada industria mediática se da de bruces contra la gran revolución tecnológica de nuestro tiempo”.
En parte, se trata de un amplio estudio de éxitos y fracasos de actores -tradicionales y nuevos producto de la revolución digital- de la industria editorial anglosajona. También es un profundo estudio -de al menos dos décadas, del 2000 al 2019- sobre los cambios y tendencias producto del paradigma digital en el ecosistema editorial:
“Campos, tecnologías, organizaciones, individuos: he tratado de entrelazarlos todos, dando a cada uno lo que le corresponde y sin privilegiar a ninguno por capricho, para brindar aquí un relato de lo que ocurre cuando una vieja y consolidada industria mediática se da de bruces contra la gran revolución tecnológica de nuestro tiempo”.
September 3, 2025
John Brookshire Thompson previously wrote The Merchants of Culture, a look at the US and UK trade publishing industry from its origins up until 2010. This follows up on that book, being published in 2021, and focusing on the changes in the US/UK trade publishing industry from 2010 to 2021, i.e., Amazon's dominance, ebooks, audiobooks, self-publishing via Amazon Kindle Unlimited, etc.
The book serves as a quality follow-up, bringing the reader into the changes at play for the publishing industry, and how it has been able to navigate the internet and digitization unlike other industries, e.g., music (which took a significant hit in revenues). I found the chapters about Amazon, ebooks (their quick rise but plateau in 2014 to about 1/3 of the US book market), and audiobooks (their ongoing rise surpassing ebook sales) to be the best. Some of the other chapters help round out the story, but as Thompson admits in his preface, writing a book like this automatically means it'll be out of date by the publication date. And naturally, this book therefore ignores major changes in the last five years including the ascent of Barnes & Noble, BookTok, AI self-published slop, and book influencer culture.
While I thought the prior book was high quality, very informative while still being an easy read, this book fails in one obvious way. It is way too damn repetitive. It is a 400 plus page book, and the last 100 pages is repetitive of the prior 300 pages. Some serious cutting was need to pare this down.
For that reason, I dock it to 3.5 stars. It is still a worthwhile read, but the reader should exercise discretion in skipping the repetitive portions.
The book serves as a quality follow-up, bringing the reader into the changes at play for the publishing industry, and how it has been able to navigate the internet and digitization unlike other industries, e.g., music (which took a significant hit in revenues). I found the chapters about Amazon, ebooks (their quick rise but plateau in 2014 to about 1/3 of the US book market), and audiobooks (their ongoing rise surpassing ebook sales) to be the best. Some of the other chapters help round out the story, but as Thompson admits in his preface, writing a book like this automatically means it'll be out of date by the publication date. And naturally, this book therefore ignores major changes in the last five years including the ascent of Barnes & Noble, BookTok, AI self-published slop, and book influencer culture.
While I thought the prior book was high quality, very informative while still being an easy read, this book fails in one obvious way. It is way too damn repetitive. It is a 400 plus page book, and the last 100 pages is repetitive of the prior 300 pages. Some serious cutting was need to pare this down.
For that reason, I dock it to 3.5 stars. It is still a worthwhile read, but the reader should exercise discretion in skipping the repetitive portions.
October 11, 2021
Insightful and interesting and definitely researched well. Makes me think, I should ditch my kindles but I love ARC of books from Netgalley. But I also love reading an actual book and using a book mark, plus I don't have to worry about my battery dying. Ebooks have definitely changed the world of print and the publishing world in general.
Recommended to all readers.
Recommended to all readers.
November 16, 2025
Diskussionen kring relevansen av bokens materialitet är närvarande i hela boken men det hade varit najs med en mer uttömmande diskussion kring varför den fysiska boken står sig så pass bra trots de digitala alternativ som finns idag. Diskussionen som fanns i slutet av boken var lite väl översiktlig
Want to read
November 16, 2021DMPL. EXAMINED 11/2021. READ0. Comrehensive look at ebook vs print publishing
September 15, 2022
Very interesting explanation of the digital book industry. Used this a background source for my master's dissertation on digital reading platforms.
November 5, 2022
Lots of useful and interesting information but could have been much shorter. Also a tedious read due to the design. Small type, loooooonnnnggg paragraphs.
August 11, 2023
Excellent read on publishing and the future of the industry — but my word was this a dense read.
March 19, 2024
Long but VERY informative
October 20, 2024
A fascinating, detailed account of how digital publishing has changed the publishing industry. Deeply researched, well argued and thought provoking.
December 10, 2025
i think it was interesting and really insightful.
January 18, 2022
An excellent read. In depth and rich with what every reader, and writer, should know.
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