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Merchants of Culture: The Publishing Business in the Twenty-First Century
These are turbulent times in the world of book publishing. For nearly five centuries the methods and practices of book publishing remained largely unchanged, but at the dawn of the twenty-first century the industry finds itself faced with perhaps the greatest challenges since Gutenberg. A combination of economic pressures and technological change is forcing publishers to a...more
Hardcover, 432 pages
Published
September 14th 2010
by Polity Press
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Pretty comprehensive view of the publishing industry today. I kind of wish I would've read a digital copy only because that would've lent itself to instant updates, which would've meant a synopsis of the DOJ's antitrust suit against the publishers and Apple, but I'm not sure that Thompson has actually examined that, or that he is actively keeping Merchants of Culture up to date aside from the occasional new edition. Overall, it was a really well-written and informative study of an industry I fin...more
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An enormous amount has been written, both online and in print, about the publishing industry in recent years – some of it perceptive; a little (a very little) well-informed; much of it complete rubbish, ranging from the ignorant to the merely opinionated.
The vast majority of this body of commentary has one common factor: its authors have a relationship with the industry, whether as insiders (publishers, agents, authors, booksellers) or as outsiders (mostly self-published authors). That is to say...more
The vast majority of this body of commentary has one common factor: its authors have a relationship with the industry, whether as insiders (publishers, agents, authors, booksellers) or as outsiders (mostly self-published authors). That is to say...more
I read this book with considerable interest given what I do for a living. If you want to understand the history of publishing and why its future is in doubt, buy this book and read it.
Merchants of Culture, which attempts to document the transformative changes at play in trade book publishing in the US and UK, is a dry and bit academic view of what is moving and shaking publishing houses and changing the roles of key players especially agents and booksellers. The challenge in assessing the early 21st century of publishing is like trying to capture a picture of a speeding train...not easy and unfortunately hard to get in focus.
The book business is racked by constant change and...more
The book business is racked by constant change and...more
This an excellent, objective account of the trade publishing industry in the UK and the USA. There are few industries that the media and the general public are as interested in but almost everything you ever read about it is either completely ill informed or written from a very partisan point of view. Thompson researched his subject for 5 years and gained access to industry insiders including publishers, retailers, agents and writers and he has written the definitive book on the subject. As some...more
This book, written by an academic with close affiliations to a publisher (but which one?), is basically an ethnographic study of the trade publishing industry, with a touch of Bourdieu's field theory thrown in for good measure (but only really mentioned in passing, as if to give a figleaf of academic justification to the research). Based on 500 hours of interviews with 280 people in the industry, from editors, agents and booksellers to (per-lease!) authors, it is a well-written and forensic exam...more
I've worked in the book business, on and off, since 2000, but I've never worked for a publisher (unless you count my own brief foray into publishing, which I'd imagine is as similar to working for a major publisher as fly fishing in an Idaho stream is to working on an industrial fishing boat off the coast of Norway). I've learned something of how they operate by working in bookstores and then working here at Goodreads, but it's an outsider's view. So I came to this book wanting to know more abou...more
Fantastic! An excellent overview of the trade publishing industry in the US and UK. Very thorough, and full of interviews (many anonymous) with people involved in all aspects of the publishing industry. Thompson's emphasis is on the way the industry has changed over the past few decades (rise of literary agents, changes in retailers, and growing divide between large and small publishers) and by doing that he makes the current state of the industry easier to understand.
A little out of date as far...more
A little out of date as far...more
This is an epic (280-interview!) study of the publishing field that covers it in both incredible depth and breadth. While Thompson is more interested in presenting his findings as a business history than doing a lot of theorizing or ideological analysis, the absence of such does not detract from the thoroughness and two-sided comprehensiveness of his account. As someone who worked (briefly) in publishing, much of this was familiar to me, but even this familiarity did not detract from the utility...more
A fantastic intro to the publishing world, good probably for writers as well as would-be publishers. Very well-researched, with the insights depending on hundreds of interviews with people in the industry. Clearly outlined and well-sequenced. It's 440 pages, but they went by fast because it was so well-written and structured.
Excellent update on the state of publishing and some good answers on the perennials (why do publishers pay so much for some books?). A must read for anyone in the biz. (If you're reading for practical info on publishing, skip the discussion of Bourdieu in the beginning.)
This is an excellent book for anyone interested in today's publishing industry. Thompson traces the current state of publishing back to the rise of literary agents about four decades ago, then examines the ways in which giant book retailers like Borders and Barnes & Noble changed the face of book selling. Towards the end of the book, he examines the e-book phenomenon and offers some speculation regarding the ways in which new technology will continue to affect the book world.
For a full revie...more
For a full revie...more
As a fledgling indie publisher I needed a crash course on the dynmaics of the publishing industry. I found this book to be a comprehensive analysis of the publishing industry. John B Thompson gives an erudite account of how trade publishing got to where it is today and a lucid explanation of what he calls 'the logic of the field'- the dynamics that exist between small and large publishers, agents, writers, readers, suppliers, sellers and changes in technology. A very readable account. I now feel...more
Fascinating look into the structures and agents in the field of publishing in the last century. Love the way the author highlighted details that reveal the nuances in the agents' interactions.
Birthday gift but an uneven read. Where is Amazon in all of hid? Enjoyed the UK and US perspective. Some good quotes. Don't buy. Borrow from the Library.
Nov 10, 2011
Dave Burgh
is currently reading it
I'm only just over 100 pages in, but this book is incredible - a must-read for anyone in the book trade, whether you're on the selling or writing side of things.
Wonderful book, a comprehensive and fascinating look at publishing. I'd love it if Mr. Thompson would write one on writers -- issues re writing and publishing.
A must-read for anyone who is writing a book and trying to get it published. Find out what you are up against and what the odds are that you will be successful.
Probably the best overview of trade publishing I have ever seen. Didn't agree with all of it, but enough that I bought six copies for my management team.
I think this would be a good book for anyone thinking of joining the publishing industry to read, as it has good explanations of how some important relationships in the industry work. I can see it being used for summer publishing courses or courses for MLIS students wanting to know more about the industry.
I think my disappointment stems from having cleared my plate to read this. I was expecting much deeper analysis. I was expecting to struggle to keep up with all of the insider information. I wa...more
I think my disappointment stems from having cleared my plate to read this. I was expecting much deeper analysis. I was expecting to struggle to keep up with all of the insider information. I wa...more
Overall is a good book on the trade publishing industry.
While extremely dense, Thompson's study of the publishing industry in the 20th and 21st centuries is an excellent and definitive look at how books are made, as well as the economy behind it. This is not a book to pick up as a summer read on the beach or to and from work on the train; this is an almost academic look at the publishing industry. You will learn everything you could ever want to know about publishing from Thompson through his unnamed executive sources who talk openly and freely of th...more
A great in-depth look at the publishing industry and how it got where it is today.
Great book on the publishing industry, how it (kind-of) works and how it got to be in the state it's in today. I was surprised to find that some of the negative ideas I had about the industry aren't necessarily true and that it's not just a hard business for writers but for editors and publishers as well. Still, it seems the future of good books is not assured and it's going to be a struggle to make sure quality writing is accessible to the people that want to read it.
Generally interesting story of publishing (in US and UK) and how it got to its current state. Learnt quite a lot about commercial side. Ends with discussion of e-books which summarises the situation thus: we have no idea what is going to happen!
I've never read a book that so doggedly followed an outline. There are three points I'd like to make about the Big 6 publishers, and they are A, B, and C. There are five points about the agent model that emerged in the 1980s that I think are important, and they are one, two, three, four, and five.
There's a lot of detail here, and funny (er, colorful?) quotes from industry insiders. Very useful overview. Needs a second edition now -- with a new ending chapter called "Amazon."
There's a lot of detail here, and funny (er, colorful?) quotes from industry insiders. Very useful overview. Needs a second edition now -- with a new ending chapter called "Amazon."
Read this in one afternoon, was so riveted by it. One of the most intelligent and accurate discussions of the publishing world I've read. As an author, I think it's so necessary to try to understand the world I work in. This book not only debunks a number of myths about publishing, but provides a real insider's view.
[didn't give this a fair shake, I'm oversubscribed w/ books at the moment... always a sign that big changes are happening. i flip through books sometimes like i'm surfing through tv channels.]
The first question I received when I said I was writing a novel was "What's the market?" My response: "What's that?" This book answers that question and a slew of others it never would have popped into my head to ask. Read it to discover Google Maps for the world of publishing.
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