Chapters 3 and 5
The first book to be published in the US
"The Bay Psalm Book" by Elizabeth Glover (1640) -She set up the first printing press in the new Massachusetts collage, Harvard
Independent bookstores that survived the Amazon and e-book waves are gaining strength
-1,710 stores in 2,230 locations in 2015 -1,410 stores in 1,660 locations in 2010 E-reader sales dropped to 12 million from 20 million in 5 years -20% of market to consumers is e-book sales
Concern of publisher monopolies is met by:
-A steady rise of new, small publishing houses that target different audiences, by the number of people who are self-publishing their own through internet and by print-on-demand books -the less expensive and wider distribution of books through e-books, e-book stores, and e-readers (promote spread of different ideas)
Critics worry that Google will have a monopoly on all information and access
-Google could obtain digital versions of all books and make them more available -Google can become a monopoly of information and can choose whether or not to sell its database to university and community libraries
The antecedents of novels about daily life, romances, mysteries, and horror existed well before the advent of printing
-Greek oral poets produced epic works between 700-800 BCE (Odyssey and Iliad by Homer) -Tale of Genji novel of current standards (Japan)
Invention by the Chinese
-Ink made from soot or black soil -Tsai-Lun, the superintendent of weapons-manufacturing factory, created a form of paper by mashing together different plants, rags, and water and drying them on screen of bamboo -Developed printing blocks (carving symbols into wood and inking them, producing books) By 1051: -Put together metal, clay, and wooden press
Sometimes genre will determine book form
-Leisure reading: paperbacks or hardbacks to be able to be carried -Travel guides: can be digitized to be searched easily while on trip
Publishing houses make room for new formats of book content
-Physical books: hardcover, softcover, mass-market paperbacks and packaged audio books -Display devices for nonphysical books that have no packaging around the content: e-books, downloaded audio books, paid mobile apps, and internet products -A combination of printed and digital components
Today's book publishing industry is stretching and growing in new directions
-Publishers have experimented with distributing books directly to the public themselves -Some bookstore chains have tried publishing their own books -Non-traditional publishing companies reprinted books, producing on-demand public domain titles (printed books whose copyright have expired)
Chinese inventions were passed along to the Japanese and Koreas
-The Koreas further refined the printing processes by developing movable metal type in 1234
The Association of American Publishers identifies 4 publishing divisions
-Trade: general-interest fiction and non-fiction (cookbooks, biographies, self-help books, religion, etc.) for adults and children -Professional and scholarly: aimed at research, new ideas, and innovation in all areas -PreK-12 learning: instructional materials for any level of learning, from toddlers to high schoolers -Higher education: post-secondary learning materials, such as textbooks These divisions can be further grouped according to subject areas, form, publishing house, or age group
Almost 75% of American adults read one or more books in any form
-about 30% read an e-book -12% listen to audio books These numbers have been consistent since 2012
Barnes & Noble inventory
1 million printed books and 4 million e-book titles -Nook: first color e-reader Also sells: audio books, magazines, DVDs, music, games, toys, and other gifts -Cafe
Nielsen bookscan researchers identified 4 types of book consumers:
1. Disengaged households (not highly interested in media of any kind) 2. Gamers (care more about games than books as media entertainment) 3. Social omnivores (they like all media) 4. Avid readers
Technology has evolved so that you no longer have to go to the school bookstore. You have several choices:
1. new print text 2. used print text 3. e-text to keep 4. e-text to rent
Throughout the Middle Ages in Europe, few books other than the Bible and religious or philosophical commentaries were available to read
1300s & 1400s, this changed -Universities were established to train more people as clergy and clerks -The most important books printed and circulated in Europe came from the Hebrew Middle East or the Arab Middle East -Many printed books also came from ancient Greece that influenced European ideas of government
To make the best profit, publishers tend to
promote a handful of potential sellers, rather than a broad catalog of fiction and nonfiction
As educational institutions and the public demanded more text books
publishers of serious literature and nonfiction introduced larger-format trade paperbacks to complement "pocket sized" paperbacks
As the more sophisticated cultures were destroyed by barbarians
reading and writing were carried on by monks, who passed along all sorts of information about farming and irrigation to peasants
A popular movie can
resurge book sales and put new and old books on the best-seller list
The number of books continues to
rise, no matter the form or platform
Reader group that holds the most potential for buying more books
social omnivores -could respond to the right type of marketing by purchasing more than they usually do
Books are very important in national intellectual and political life
some writers and publishers fear that it will be hard for manuscripts other than probable blockbuster best sellers to find a publisher if the number of publishing houses were to decline
Sir Thomas Bodley
started the first modern lending library of printed books in 1602 in Oxford, England -Years later, as printing and binding costs declined, publishers began to distribute books directly to the public by selling them through bookstalls in railway stations (book publishing accelerated to 2 million titles in 1700 and 8 million in 1800)
Print-on-demand
technology prints books only when they are ordered by customers
e-commerce
the ability to buy and sell online
Literacy
the ability to read and understand a variety of information
Women read more books
they average 14 books a year, while men average 9
Many publishing houses have been moved around since the early 1800's
they may have changed hands and been renamed -Harper's Publishing: brothers started business in 1817 and two more brothers joined in 1830, changed name to Harper & Brothers --> 130 years later, merged again with name change; current owner acquired it in 1987 and merged with new company and is one of largest publishing companies "HarperCollins
Computerized publishing technologies make publication of smaller, more specialized projects possible
major mass-marketed books continue to be expensive to produce due to marketing and other costs have increased -many publishers feel that they have to concentrate on selling more copies of fewer books
Popularization of book content was most important
many american novelists eanred loyal fans by addressing the uniquely American national experiences and interest
Challenge to providing digital information
many people do not like reading a lot of text from a computer monitor -Computer text is harder (about 60% slower) -Read more thoroughly in print than on computer
Book publishers
off an array of services from editing to promoting to selling a book
Backlisted books
older books that are not actively promoted but are still in print
Orphaned books
older books, perhaps still under copyright, whose authors are unknown
Benjamin Frankline
one of the more influential publishing figures in the American colonies -innovator in printing, science, politics, and practical inventions -as a printer, would experiment to see what kinds of publications would attract and audience -Published "Poor Richards Almanac" in 1732 containing moral advice, farming times, amusements, and maxims for American Colonists (one of America's first successful nonreligious books) -Published political pamphlets
Google recently won a case to digitize and make searchable the collections of several large research libraries
portions of books are available to the public and if the book is out of copyright and in the public domain, then it is viewable or downloadable to the public
National Endownment for the Arts (NEA) surveyed since 1985
2008: literacy reading is on the upswing in almost all adult groups -when faced with this problem, families, communities, libraries, and educational institutions rose to the challenge to encourage reading
Audiobooks have become especially popular in recent years
2015: 159.2 million 2014: 115.6 million 2013: 93.1 million 2012: 79.9 million 2011: 50.5 million
Self-published books make up about
3% of all books purchased by Americans
Barnes and Noble is the largest bookstore chain in the US
700 physical stores, 635 college bookstores -BAM! next largest with 250 stores
Nelson bookscan tracks
85% of book sales
Novels
Extended fictional works, usually of book length -flourished with printing because mechanical reproduction allowed quantities of books to be produced less expensively -Concepts and forms that characterized the novel originated much earlier
More books read are fiction
Children and young adult fiction books experienced biggest growth due to trend in graphic novels and coloring books
Thomas Paine
Created political pamphlet, "Common Sense," urging readers to support independence from Great Britain (sold 10,000 copies in 10 weeks)
Amount of books readers bought
Disengaged: 5 Gamers: 4 Social omnivores: 7 Avid readers: 9
In many cultures, rulers did not want their subjects gaining new ideas and questioning government politics
Few people in the early civilizations of Greece, Egypt, China, the Middle East, and Rome were literate or had access to libraries
Until Gutenberg's press, books were a limited medium throughout the world because they had to be hand-copied
Hand written and printed materials were available only to the few best educated people
Novels had political effects
Harriet Beecher Stowe, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" (1852) -Sold 300,000 copies in first eyar and did much to inspire popular opposition to slavery
In the US and internationally, book publishers are redefining themselves
High tech companies (Google, Amazon) challenge conventional print institutions --> publishing, selling books, public libraries
Many monks devoted their lives to copying and creating beautiful illustrations by hand
Irish "Book of Bells" (800 CE) -considered major works of art today
Printing did not evolve further until 1455
Johannes Gutenberg of Germany rediscovered movable type and printed the first German Bible. -innovations continued from there
Four evolution to the computer age have had an impact on the traditional publishing industry
Kindle's impact toward society's acceptance of e-books, e-commerce on the internet, books on demand and self publishing, and Google's digitization of printed books
World's largest general interest trade book publishers that set up shop int he early 20th century
McGraw-Hill, Prentice Hall, Random House
Many classics continue to be popular for decades and centuries
Most are fiction history or biography -Great stories inspire movies that make people want to read them again
The bible, prayer books, and hymnals were among the earliest publications
New products were often more entertainment oriented and aimed at broader groups of people with less education -Broadside ballads (single sheets of words for popular songs) -Chapbooks (cheaply bound books or pamphlets of poetry, ballads or prose, aimed at broader audiences)
Number of US trade books sold by publishers in 2014
Paperbacks: 942 million Hardbacks: 568 million E-Books: 510 million Audio books: 26.8 million
Amanda Hocking, author of vampire romances
Self-published her early works- publicized through social media -sold their work directly to public, cutting out publishers
The earliest experiments with an alphabet are thought to be from the Middle East in 1900-1800 BCE and continues to be developed by the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans
The oldest script still in existence today is from China (also developed brushes, ink, and paper in 105 CE)
Older great American novelist: Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, James Joyce and T. S. Eliot
Today's great American novelists: J. K. Rowling, Veronica Roth, John Green, Stephen King, John Grisham, James Patterson, Nora Roberts and Danielle Steele
People like to buy books no matter the form (print, digital, or audio)
US sales rose to $28 billion in 2014 (5% increase) with 2.7 billion books sold
Most publishing houses established during
World War 2 -Young people away at war read more -As they returned home, they read textbooks in college and mass-marketed paperbacks
Where we are today with technological advances is a result of
continual cycle of technological innovations and social acceptances, competition between forms and uses of media, consumer demands, growing literacy, and changes in society wrought by media
Amazon has become the nation's largest online retailer
continues to increase sales -Kindle (new one for $50)
Book
defined traditionally and narrowly as a set of papers bound together between covers
Most people find out about a book from
a friend or relative or looking at best sellers lists -Often buy books they see while out shopping or from searching websites of a familiar author
"Horatio Alger hero"
a popular term for anyone who gained social mobility and success through hard work and honest living -Created through Horatio Alger's 100 books who's hero was usually a poor boy who managed to rise out of poverty
The first half of the 20th century was a boom era for
detective stories, science fiction, and westerns
In the mid-1800's improving social conditions fostered a mass audience for books and magazines
an expanding public education system taught more people to read -Wages increases, young people moved to the city to work in industrial economy and urban middle class grew -Prices fell, improving printing technology, and more demand for print media
Book readers
are younger, have higher incomes, and are more educated than those who don't read
As the new technology gained momentum, printing and reading became a cyclical process that reinforced itself
as more people had sufficient money and interest to buy books, book production increased and benefitted from economies of scale, which made individual books cheaper -Permitted more people to buy books
Franklin started the first subscription library in the US
began a tradition that greatly helped popularize book reading
Conventional literacy
being able to read and understand printed work -A concern- 15% of adults int he US had less than basic literacy skills (could sign but not know what they are signing) -6% of college students were unable to understand documents as "complex" as TV program guides -56% were unable to synthesize information, such as comparing viewpoints between newspaper editorials
E-Books
book content that appear in digital text format. Can be read on mobile devices, computer, tablets, and e-readers
Alamanacs
book-length collections of useful facts, calendars, and advice -Among the most popular books in the colonies -Oldest regularly published periodical in North America, "The Old Farmer's Almanac" started by Robert B. Thomas in 1792 (new issue each September)
There was a low "book rate" for mailing books which made
both mail order book clubs worry published but ultimately benefited them by popularizing book reading and buying
Audiobooks
can be heard on a CD, the radio, or downloaded onto a mobile device
In the US, print media began with copies of religious books because
colonists came to the Us to pursue religious freedom
Publishing houses might be
commercial, independents, universities, religious groups, trade associations, and vanity presses that will publish anything as long as the author provides money
E-readers
devices that are used to display digital content found in books, magazines, and newspapers
Books tended to build on
earlier oral traditions
E-Readers and large mobile device screens are
easier to read than computer monitors -people find they are enjoying the act of reading and read more
Trade books
fiction, non-fiction, and religion for all ages
Mobile devices
handheld computers or cellphones with display screens. They access and send information using cell phone or WiFi connections to the internet
Dime novels
inexpensive paperback novels of the 19th century -popularized reading even more in the 19th century -colorful humor that involved a broader audience, including working class people
Technology influences what formats are possible for media, but
it does not define their content
Media literacy
learning how to create, access, analyze, and evaluate news and infromation from different media -builds an understanding of the role of media in society as well as essential skills of inquiry and self-expression necessary for citizens of a democracy
Subscription library
lent books to the public for a fee
The growth of literacy in Europe and writing of books in the everyday language spoken by most people in a particular region were key for
the development of print media -Before 1100, written communication was nearly always in latin so people had to learn a different language -by 1200s, written versions of daily languages were more frequent -1300s, literacy became more commonplace -1400s, among the political elite, the commercial and trading class and such professionals as the sea captain Christopher Columbus (outside this group, people remained illiterate)
Access to books increased as
the number of public libraries tripled in the first half of the 19th century
Publishing houses
the organizations that acquire manuscripts and supervise overall production of books in print, e-books, and audio versions -Housed in a building or online -acquiring and investing in new ideas, developing, producing, curating, editing, marketing, protecting copyright, and delivering books in every form and platform
Printed books sell more than any other book form
the popularity of e-books continues to increase -especially around Christmas when everyone is trying out their new e-readers and buying e-books with bookstore gift cards -during this time, more e-books than printed books sell the 10 most popular book titles -Amazon's annual sales for e-books now surpass printed books
Books had survived only in hand-copied form for centuries
the printing of these classic works gave a greater number of people access to ideas about life and work -Columbus learned geography from Arab book and was able to get to India and Southeast Asia from it
The Gutenberg Bible was published in 1455
the result of Johannes Gutenberg's development of movable type and mechanical printing 5 years earlier -This German press was a technology breakthrough that made new forms of mass production possible (many prints at low costs)
Exporting books abroad
up 7.3% to $833.4 million
The cheapest book is a
used paper book
World War 2 helped popularize reading by
ushering in the paperback era
Softcover books
usually printed and distributed in a manner similar to that of hardcover books. They are larger, exhibit more intricate artworks on the cover, and are more expensive than mass-market paperbacks
E-book purchases tend to find out about a book
while online -reading an excerpt, seeing an ad, browsing online bookstores
Jame Fenimore Cooper
wrote compelling stoties about the struggles of both white settlers and indigenous people on the frontier -"The Last of Mohicans" (1862), dramatized the attraction of the west --> immigrants sometimes cited his works as to why they migrated west
