Book Publishing: A Basic Introduction

By John P. Dressauer and John P. Dessauer

Book Overview

"One of the few essential books about publishing". -- Samuel S. Vaughan"An outstanding job of describing the publishing process". -- Jeremiah Kaplan This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0826404464
• ISBN13: 9780826404466
• Release Date: January 1989
• Publisher: Continuum Intl Pub Group
• Length: 260 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Invaluable insight into the industry

To coincide with my career change, I decided it was time to understand a little bit more about the mechanics of my favorite industry. Dessauer is a former Director of the Center of Book Publishing at the University of Scranton, as well as a past contributing editor to Publishers Weekly, and this volume is likely the beginning textbook for anyone who wants to make publishing a career. After a summary history of the evolution of publishing, Dessauer delves right into the meat of the subject (to mangle a metaphor), covering how books are created, how they are manufactured, and how they are sold. Creation, although most wannabes and some authors think begins and ends with their personal word processor, was an intriguing chapter, as it covers the acquisition process for both a major house and an independent publisher, as well as bringing in the artwork, how the book is "set," and designed. The marketing of books, presented here in a coldly clinical light, when we all know that the truth is darkened santums filled with black-hooded figures mumbling over bubbling cauldrons, provides some humorous moments where Dessaur discusses how publishing lines have tiers of publications and marketeers with rarely a clue about their product. Although long a whipping post for authors and editors alike, one can feel somewhat sorry for the poor marketing folk, who graduated college where their education how to do with the positioning of a new cereal by Post or a sneaker by Reebox. They try so hard to treat a book as a similar commodity, and are constantly dumbfounded by the illogical market. (That's not to say that all marketers are this clueless, as I know some sales agents who actually do read--I also know how they have to separate their personal tastes from their sales lists as well. As you go from large publisher to smaller publisher, and the roles of editor and sales agent converge, this lessens.)But the most interesting part for me, and I think a section worthy of the attention of any serious reader, is the section on the manufacturing of books. From picking the type of paper, to the details of binding and printing, there is a lot more that goes on in the making of a book that was previously dreamed of in my philosophy. I finally understood the distiction between a hardcover and a trade paperback (both of them are printed from the same plates; the only difference is that one is put between hard boards and the other gets a paper cover), as opposed to the mass market paperback (which requires a separate set of printing plates from the hardcover edition). After reading this section, I look at a book quite differently--admiring the amount of labor and ingenuity that went into the object itself, quite beyond the words it contains.Book Publishing is a little dry at times. Dessauer was once principal author of Book Industry Trends, and sometimes floats by a bunch of tables filled with numbers and doesn't go into much discussion about them. For research purposes, these f

Truth in advertising

_Book Publishing: The Basic Introduction_ is exactly what it claims to be. Dessauer breaks his book into 7 major chapters: Publishing History, Creation of Books, Manufacture of Books, Marketing of Books, Storage and Delivery of Books, and Management Issues of Publishers. He does a very good job of balancing the content, so that you feel as a reader that you get a reasonably comprehensive look at all the aspects of publishing, without going into too much depth. The book also provides an excellent glossary and well-constructed index. The only trouble with the book is that some of the areas that (for me) were the most interesting (figures about the current book-buying population and habits, etc.) were also the ones that were most vulnerable to being out-of-date. While the book is in a new edition, the facts and figures still seem to date back to the late 1980s. It was a little bit frustrating when I didn't know how useful a particular interesting fact might be.Recommended strongly for people who want to get a feel for the industry.

No Nonsense....

If you want to pubish your book, this is a MUST! I got my travel-book published after reading this, and now feel like a respected member of the publishing team; the knowledge gleaned from this book allows you to keep in the loop--even when and where the publisher doesn't want you to be.