John B. Thompson - Merchants of Culture

1 Cover

2 Endorsement

3 Title Page

4 Copyright

5 Preface to the Second Edition

6 Preface to the First Edition

7 Introduction Publishing fields The publishing chain What follows

8 1 The Growth of the Retail Chains From mall stores to superstores The hardcover revolution The rise of Amazon The growing role of mass merchandisers The peculiarities of the British

9 2 The Rise of Literary AgentsThe origins of the literary agent The rise of the super-agent The proliferation of agents Building a client list The agent’s role

10 3 The Emergence of Publishing Corporations The ‘synergy’ phase The growth phase The dominant publishing groups in the US The dominant publishing groups in the UK Concentration and creativity Five myths about publishing corporations

11 4 The Polarization of the Field The benefits of scale The virtues and vulnerabilities of being small A train wreck in slow motion Why it is so difficult to be medium-sized Clubbing together On the margins of the field

12 5 Big Books The growth conundrum Valuing the valueless The comforts of the brand The virtues of backlist

13 6 Extreme Publishing Minding the gap In search of the unknown Desperate enthusiasm Public vs private corporations On not minding the gap

14 7 Shrinking Windows The struggle for visibility From mass media to micro media The growth of online marketing The battle for eyeballs Backing success (and letting dead fish float downstream) The six-week rule The Oprah effect Rising returns

15 8 The Wild West The logic of the field The discount wars Dancing with the devil The margin squeeze

16 9 The Digital Revolution The downs and ups of ebooks The hidden revolution Technologies and added value Technologies and fields of publishing Building the digital archive The threat of piracy The spectre of price deflation

17 10 Trouble in the Trade Short-termism Damaged careers Diversity in question

18 Conclusion: Facing an Uncertain Future

19 Appendix 1 Selected Imprints of the Main Publishing Corporations

20 Appendix 2 Note on Research Methods

21 Bibliography

22 Index

23 End User License Agreement

1 Cover

2 Table of Contents

3 Endorsement

4 Title Page

5 Copyright

6 Preface to the Second Edition

7 Preface to the First Edition

8 Introduction

9 Begin Reading

10 Conclusion: Facing an Uncertain Future

11 Appendix 1 Selected Imprints of the Main Publishing Corporations

12 Appendix 2 Note on Research Methods

13 Bibliography

14 Index

15 End User License Agreement

1 Introduction Figure 1Key resources of publishing firms Figure 2Book supply chain Figure 3Publishing value chain Figure 4Key functions of the publisher

2 Chapter 3 Figure 5Major publishing corporations on the centralized–federal spectrum

3 Chapter 7 Figure 6Breakdown of one US imprint’s marketing budget, 2006 and 2008 Figure 7The Oprah effect: US weekly paperback sales for Elie Wiesel’s Night, October 200… Figure 8The movie effect I: US weekly paperback sales for Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons,… Figure 9The movie effect II: US weekly paperback sales for Ian McEwan’s Atonement, Septe…

4 Chapter 8 Figure 10The logic of the field Figure 11The squeeze on publishers’ margins

5 Chapter 9 Figure 12US trade wholesale ebook sales, 2002–2011 Figure 13Ebook sales as a percentage of total revenues of major US trade publishers Figure 14The digital archive

6 Chapter 10 Figure 15UK paperback fiction sales bands, 2002–2006

1 Chapter 1 Table 1The expansion of Borders and Barnes & Noble, 1993–1994 Table 2Market share of major accounts for two commercial bestsellers Table 3Estimated shares of US book retail market, 2006 Table 4Sales by channel for a major UK trade publisher, 2000 and 2006

2 Chapter 2 Table 5Numbers of agents and agencies in recorded deals, 2004–2008

3 Chapter 3 Table 6The 12 largest trade publishers in the US, 2007–2008 Table 7The ten largest trade publishers in UK, 2007

4 Chapter 4 Table 8Estimated number of active publishers in the US by size, 2004

5 Chapter 7 Table 9US book title output, 1998–2010 Table 10UK book title output, 1994–2010 Table 11Impulse purchase by outlet, 2007 Table 12The Oprah effect: US weekly paperback sales for Elie Wiesel’s Night, October 200… Table 13The movie effect I: US weekly paperback sales for Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons,… Table 14The movie effect II: US weekly paperback sales for Ian McEwan’s Atonement, Septe… Table 15US trade wholesale ebook sales, 2002–2011 Table 16UK paperback fiction sales bands, 2002–2006

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