How books became less 'different': An exploration of the rise of marketing within the publishing industry 1980-2010, and consideration of how this not only changed the business model, but impacted on the role of the author; with consideration of the likely associated implications of these developments in future
This research focuses on the history of publishing and authorship and is represented by the following books and articles:  How to Market Books (1990; 1993; 1997; 2000; 2008)  Are Books Different? (1993)  Marketing your Book: An Author’s Guide (2001; 2007)  Is there a Book in you? (2006)  How to get a Job in Publishing (2008); and  two papers from the Journal of Scholarly Publishing (2010) The work, individually and severally, explores how, from 1980–2010, most publishing houses developed the role and efficiency of their marketing processes, whose significance within organisations grew substantially; drew on an increasingly trained pool of labour that had benefitted from courses of professional preparation to support their operation; and became increasingly dependent on the participation of their authors in the marketing of their books. There is consideration of how and why the rise of new technical solutions, and the increased experience of authors in the publishing process, offered them the potential for self-development, without an automatic need for publishers to disseminate their work. The likely consequences for publishers, writers, retailers and all other associated stakeholders are explored. There is investigation of how author empowerment will affect publisher-author relations and new business opportunities in future. Finally, opportunities for additional research are identified. A detailed approach has been taken in these publications, and the research pursued with a rigorous methodology. Collectively, the work offers a detailed exploration of the structures, processes and individual roles involved, within their local and wider contexts, as well as on an international basis. The work has been informed by, and influences, others working in these fields. The resulting coherent body of work makes a significant and original contribution to the present state of knowledge in the history of publishing and authorship in particular, and to wider cultural and economic contexts in general.
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