Turning the page: the evolution of the book

156 Pages·2014·0.78 MB·English

by  Angus Phillips

TURNING THE PAGE
This isan exciting periodforthebook,atime ofinnovation, experimentation, and
change.Itisalsoatimeofconsiderablefearwithinthebookindustryasitadjuststo
changes in how books are created and consumed. The movement to digital has
been taking place for some time, but with consumer books experiencing the
transition, the effects of digitization can be clearly seen by everybody.
In Turning the Page Angus Phillips analyses the fundamental drivers of the book
publishing industry – authorship, readership, and copyright – and examines the
effects of digital and other developments on the book itself.
Drawing on theory and research across a range of subjects, from business and
sociology to neuroscience and psychology, and from interviews with industry
professionals, Phillips investigates how the fundamentals of the book industry are
changing in a world of ebooks, self-publishing, and emerging business models.
Usefulcomparisonsarealsomadewithothermediaindustrieswhichhaveundergone
rapidchange,suchasmusicandnewspapers.
Thisbookisanidealcompanionforanyonewishingtounderstandthetransition
ofthebook,writing,andpublishinginrecentyearsandwillbeparticularlyrelevant
tostudentsstudyingpublishing,media,andcommunications.
Angus Phillips is Director of the Oxford International Centre for Publishing
Studies at Oxford Brookes University. He is the author of Inside Book Publishing
(with Giles Clark), editor of The Future of the Book in the Digital Age (with Bill
Cope), and Editor-in-Chief of the premier publishing journal Logos.
‘It is one of the on-going ironies of the book business that while each year it sur-
passes the amount of content produced in previous years, its output reflects so little
on itself. Angus Phillips’ new book redresses the balance, and will be enjoyed by a
wide range of people – from publishers (actual and potential) to keen readers. His
broad frame of reference is particularly welcome; accessing research from a wide
variety of disciplines and mixing this with both reflection on his own experiences
and those of a wide range of industry professionals and other stakeholders. Con-
sistently illuminating, enlightening and fascinating, this important book offers the
tempting prospect of time well spent.’
Alison Baverstock, Course Leader, MA Publishing, Kingston University
‘Turning the Page is essential reading for anyone interested in how books are chan-
ging. Covering all the key topics in a clear and comprehensive fashion, Phillips
raises vital questions about authorship, copyright and the very form of the book
itself. With a wide and judicious set of examples, there is no better place to learn
about the emerging ecosystem of the digital book.’
Michael Bhaskar, Digital Publishing Director, Profile Books and author of
The Content Machine
‘Angus Phillips has produced a concise, lively, engaged study of key themes
affecting the present and future of the book, offering in erudite yet accessible form
insights into reading, publishing and content creation in a digital age. A must
for those thinking through how the publishing industry might respond to the
challenges of the digital world.’
David Finkelstein, Dean, School of Humanities, University of Dundee
‘As a key industry expert, Phillips can be trusted to present us with a level-headed
assessment of the radical transformations the book trade is currently experiencing.’
Adriaan van der Weel, Bohn Professor of Book Studies,
University of Leiden
TURNING THE PAGE
The evolution of the book
Angus Phillips
ROUTLEDG RTayoloru &t flreandcisg Gero up
E
LONDON AND NEW YORK
Firstpublished2014
byRoutledge
2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN
andbyRoutledge
711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017
RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness
©2014AngusPhillips
TherightofAngusPhillipstobeidentifiedasauthorofthisworkhasbeen
assertedinaccordancewithsections77and78oftheCopyright,Designsand
PatentsAct1988.
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedor
utilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,now
knownorhereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orinany
informationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthe
publishers.
Trademarknotice:Productorcorporatenamesmaybetrademarksorregistered
trademarks,andareusedonlyforidentificationandexplanationwithoutintentto
infringe.
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Phillips,Angus,1961-
Turningthepage:theevolutionofthebook/AngusPhillips.
pagescm
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
1.Electronicpublishing.2.Electronicbooks.3.Authorship.4.Booksand
reading.5.Copyright.6.Bookindustriesandtrade--Technologicalinnovations.
I.Title.
Z286.E43P532014
070.5--dc23
2013030112
ISBN:978-0-415-62564-7(hbk)
ISBN:978-0-415-62565-4(pbk)
ISBN:978-0-203-10339-5(ebk)
TypesetinBembo
byTaylor&FrancisBooks
For Ann, Matthew, Charlotte, and Jamie
This page intentionally left blank
CONTENTS
List of illustrations viii
Preface ix
Introduction xi
1 The democratization of authorship 1
2 Slow books 24
3 Condemned to be free? Content in a digital world 51
4 Digital capital 73
5 The global book 99
6 Diversity and convergence 116
Bibliography 129
Index 136
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figures
0.1 Key drivers xii
2.1 Literacy rates in Brazil 33
4.1 Knowledge-based strategy 92
4.2 Linear model 93
4.3 Network model with feedback 93
4.4 Digital capital 94
5.1 Core–periphery model 108
Tables
2.1 Mean time spent per day on reading and watching TV 29
2.2 Demographics for reading books in the UK 31
4.1 Top ten books in social media, November 2012 83
5.1 Top ten languages from which translations have been made since 1979 107
5.2 Target languages for translations since 1979 107
PREFACE
This book takes its inspiration from the many conversations I have had with
industryprofessionalsandfellowacademicsfromaroundtheworld.Itisanexciting
and challengingtime for thepublishingindustryandthis work isan opportunityto
take a step back and look at the fundamentals of the industry before turning to
examine the book itself.
I also take inspiration from my own love of the book. There is a rule in my
household that as one book arrives, another must leave to make room, but I have
broken this on many an occasion, whether through double shelving or the piles of
books which find themselves appearing on free surfaces. I am happy now reading
on an electronic device and it is amazing to be able to download an ebook and
start reading within seconds, but I still read and collect print books.
A further inspiration has been the children’s author Arthur Ransome. My family
andIhavespentanumberoffamilyholidaysintheLakeDistrictinthenorth-west
of England, either out on the lakes or climbing the fells. Staying on the shores of
Coniston, we have canoed out with our packed lunch to Peel Island, whichbears
considerableresemblance toWild CatIsland inhis Swallowsand Amazons and where
Ransome himself would have picnicked. We have also followed my daughter as
she has attempted to find the definitive place to match the hidden valley of
Swallowdale,whichgivesitsnametothesecondbookintheseries.Icanremember
my first reading of Swallows and Amazons as a child, and the world of adventure
opened up by the book, and it has given me great pleasure to see that this world
continues to appeal to my children. When I bought a volume of Ransome’s letters,
IdiscoveredthathewenttoRussiain1914andwroteaguidetoStPetersburginonly
fourweeks,amountingto60,000words.ThisbookisslightlyoverthatlengthandifI
havefalteredontheway,therewasalwaystheknowledgethatanythingispossible.
There are a number of people who gave up their time to be interviewed and to
whom I oweadebt ofgratitude:MichaelBhaskar,Carlo Carrenho,Fu Chenzhou,