The Book: Form and Function
A book is a means of communicating information and ideas for education, enlightenment, and entertainment. It is a package of words and/or illustrations printed in ink on paper. The book as we know it today is the most widespread method of packaging ideas or intellectual content, and it comes in many formats (for example, cloth, paper, spiral, or board book).
The origins of our present-day book can be traced back to the earliest forms of written communication: drawings of cave-dwellers, hieroglyphics carved in stone, slate writing tablets, the development of papyrus by the Egyptians, and the illuminated manuscripts hand-drawn and copied by monks. We can thank the Chinese for printed rather than hand-copied manuscripts. They used blocks with whole pages of text carved into them to make early printed "books." The first modern book was an edition of the bible produced using movable type, the invention of Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-fifteenth century.
The development of print technology literally took book production out of the Middle Ages and made books available to a much broader audience. During the Renaissance, more people wanted to communicate via the written word. New printing methods made it possible to stimulate and satisfy demand and reach more and more readers. Several centuries later, printing technology has so advanced that we can even publish on demand. Or we can choose other formats for our information: CD-ROMS, books on tape, electronic books, and other multimedia products have expanded our definition of the word "book."
Exercise 1
List the book formats you stock in your bookstore. In addition to traditional books, do you stock any other products that supply information or entertainment?
Exercise 2
Use your inventory system to help you make a list of at least five titles that you stock in more than one format. If no books in your store meet this criteria, use Books In Print or another resource to make your list. After you have listed the titles, make some notes about how each format might suit the requirements of different customers.
Exercise 3
Under what circumstances might a CD-ROM product better suit the needs of a customer? An audiotape?
The Book's Journey
Every book on the shelves of your bookstore began as an idea. In the custody of an author, editor, or book packager, that idea became a published work, which was subsequently distributed to you, the bookseller. The book's journey from writer to reader is a complex one, and may involve authors, literary agents, publishers, distributors, wholesalers, and booksellers. In the sections that follow, we will examine the various players in the book business and review the roles they play in assuring the book's journey to your customer.
The Author
The author initiates the publishing process. In the case of fiction, the author will generally be an individual who writes a work of the imagination. A nonfiction book might be written by a single person or two or more coauthors. Some works of nonfiction are authored by a group of experts, or represent a compilation of contributors' works, often edited by one person. In some cases, the publisher or a book packager might take author credit. Children's book authors, whether writing fiction or nonfiction, sometimes play a dual role, that of author-illustrator.
The author's first contact is usually with a literary agent, who will submit the author's work to appropriate publishers. Most fiction manuscripts are submitted as complete, while nonfiction submissions usually take the form of a proposal, generally an outline or Table of Contents, a sample chapter, and background information on the author(s).
Once the work is accepted by a publisher, a contract is negotiated. The contract spells out terms for the publication and the subsidiary rights of the book. Subsidiary rights include a percentage of income from paperback rights, foreign sales, excerpts, remainder sales, and book club sales. Also, at this point, an "advance" is negotiated. The advance is a sum of money paid to the author, in anticipation of future royalties. The advance is typically paid in two stages--one half on signing, one half when the publisher receives the completed manuscript. Once the book is published, the author's early royalties will go to the publisher, paying back the advance. If the book is successful, the author's royalties will exceed the advance, and he or she will receive a percentage of sales, as negotiated in the contract.
Exercise 4
While the author's most important role is to create the work, what other roles do authors play in the publishing process?
Exercise 5
What role does the author play in your bookstore?
The Agent
An agent is engaged by an author to find a publisher for a book, to negotiate with the publisher on his or her behalf, and to act as a buffer in the ensuing relationship--the middleman between author and publisher. The agent takes a cut, usually between 10 and 15 percent of the author's earnings, depending on what kind of rights are being sold. Some authors publish successfully without an agent, but many authors believe that a third party is useful in financial negotiations. Working out the finances through an agent also allows the editor and author to enter into their editorial relationship without business concerns.
Many agents are former editors and often take on an editorial role for their authors, advising them on content and style. The agent as first editor is an increasingly common phenomenon, as publishing houses place pressure on their editors to turn around more titles. A good agent also serves the editor by screening manuscripts and sending only the best proposals that fit the publisher's list.
As a bookseller, you are unlikely to have regular contact with literary agents. They are usually found conducting business among publishers, but they also attend writers conferences and sometimes shop stores for small press and regional authors. Occasionally an agent manages author tours and publicity. It is in this capacity that an agent might be in touch with a bookseller.
Exercise 6
Go to the library and locate the Literary Market Place. Look up some agents/agencies. How could this publication be useful to authors? To booksellers?
Exercise 7
List at least two books on your shelves that might help an author locate an appropriate agent. If you do not have any books in the store, use your printed and computerized resources to make a list of five books you might order for an aspiring author in search of an agent.
Exercise 8
Read the "Rights Column" of Publishers Weekly for the next few weeks and note the agents and agencies you see mentioned there. Do you notice any pattern between the agents mentioned and the types of books they represent?
The Publisher
Entire books have been written on the publishing process. On the following pages, we will focus on three key areas: editorial, production, and marketing. Within each area, we will highlight principal in-house personnel and their roles. Bear in mind that these roles shift and change, depending on the publishing house and its policies and procedures.
Editorial
The editorial division of any publisher is usually headed up by a Publisher or Editor-in-Chief. She plans the editorial program, hires and trains senior staff, sets and approves budgets, and schedules and evaluates progress of editorial projects. Depending on the house and its policies, the Publisher may have the final say on new manuscripts, particularly if the anticipated advance exceeds a certain amount, and also is a key liaison with other departments within the publishing house, influencing production and marketing decisions.
The Senior Editor, along with other Editors and editorial staff, decide which books to publish, negotiate with agents, and work directly with authors on manuscript development. Their work also requires them to research market trends and watch what their competition is publishing, making certain that acquisition decisions are well informed.
The Copy Editor ensures that manuscripts comply with house style. She line-edits for readability, stylistic consistency, spelling, and grammar, and sometimes performs fact-checks for accuracy in works of nonfiction.
Production
The Production Director is responsible for the quality, cost, and scheduling of book production. He hires and supervises the work of art directors, cost estimators, and designers. He makes purchasing decisions related to printing, paper, and binding, and maintains relations with print vendors and other suppliers.
The Art Director and his design team take responsibility for the way the book looks, creating a "package" that is functional and attractive. The design team, often with freelance help, determines page layout, typeface and font size, as well as book jacket design, including cover art.
Sales and Marketing
The Sales and Marketing Director works with the Publisher to develop marketing policies and strategies. Together they determine per-book marketing and advertising budgets and set sales goals. The Sales and Marketing Director oversees the hiring and training of sales representatives and is accountable for meeting sales and marketing budgets. In concert with the Publisher, the Sales and Marketing Director decides how many books should be printed or reprinted on a title-by-title basis.
The Sales Manager hires, supervises, and trains the sales force, whether house reps or commission sales reps or a combination of the two. She develops sales forecasts for each title and, together with other sales and marketing staff, influences book jacket design and the creation and design of promotional materials. In some cases, she may also have sales responsibilities herself, generally selling the publisher's list to one or two key bookstore accounts. Though this position is generally in-house, most sales managers spend at least some part of every season traveling with and observing sales calls with reps.
The Advertising Manager works with the Sales and Marketing Director and the Publisher to prepare advertising budgets. He determines books to be advertised, researches and maintains relationships with appropriate media, and sets advertising schedules. He may serve as the house liaison to an outside advertising agency or may oversee an in-house agency, made up of copywriters and graphic artists, often supplemented with freelance resources. The Advertising Manager also oversees co-op advertising with bookstores, both allocating and administering funds.
The Publicity Manager serves as the publisher's liaison with the press. Using her extensive network of media contacts, she works to secure book reviews and press coverage by distributing review copies and press packages. She coordinates author tours and appearances and maintains clippings files of reviews and press coverage.
For booksellers, the Sales Representative is probably the most important person affiliated with any publishing house. The "rep" works directly with bookstores, either in person or via telephone. He presents the new titles to bookstore accounts on a seasonal basis, and also works with the bookseller to find ways to market the books he sells. He is often the bookstore buyer's first contact for co-op requests, author appearances, and other promotional events. In addition to selling new titles (frontlist), he also recommends backlist titles for his bookstore accounts, sometimes takes inventory, and often makes recommendations for returns. When there is a problem between your bookstore and the publisher he represents--anything from a delayed shipment to a misunderstanding with the credit department--the sales rep is usually the first person to call. Reps that personally call on bookstores are also a wonderful source for news and information because they see so many bookstores in the course of a single season.
Exercise 9
Make a list of the publishing professionals who might be in contact with your bookstore. Check with your buyer, owner, or manager to determine who they might contact in given situations. Are there any publishing personnel we haven't mentioned who might be in touch with your store?
Suggestions
- Our buyer is in touch with the publicity departments of publishers to plan author appearances.
- We receive weekly faxes from the sales and marketing divisions of some larger publishers.
Exercise 10
Do sales reps call on your store? If so, list at least three ways they are helpful to you, your buyer, or your bookstore. If your buyer works mostly with telephone reps, list three areas where they are most helpful. Discuss with your buyer the differences between working in-person and working by telephone to purchase a new list.
Exercise 11
Editors have become more visible in the publishing industry. List at least two ways you can learn more about prominent editors? How do you think this information could prove helpful to you as a bookseller?
Suggestions
- Check books for editorial imprints (divisions of publishing houses) that carry an editor's name.
- Read Publishers Weekly and notice which editors are mentioned.
- Ask the buyer about notable editors.
The Publication Schedule
The steps that turn a manuscript into the finished book make up the publication schedule. In this section, we will follow that process.
Step 1: Delivery of the Manuscript
The author contracts to produce the book in manuscript form within a certain time frame. The author's deadline is generally about twelve months before the book will be in the stores. The manuscript is read by the author's editor and some changes may be made before the manuscript is scheduled for production.
Step 2: Manuscript Copy Editing
The publisher's copy editor reads the author's manuscript, correcting any errors of fact, style, spelling, punctuation, or form. He will apply for permission to quote material, if appropriate, and arrange to pay related copyright fees. Copy editing and the preparation of manuscripts for the printer are very detailed and time-consuming tasks, and an editor may be working on a number of manuscripts at the same time.
Step 3: Production and Book Design Begins
The production director produces cost specifications, estimates, and quotations. The manuscript is then passed on to the design department, which deals with the typeface, type size, and page layout.
Step 4: To Typesetting
Typesetting should begin at an early stage. It may not be possible to send the entire manuscript at one time; illustrations and diagrams may have to follow, especially if there are permissions to be sought for the use of copyrighted material contained in the book. It is at this stage that early copies of the book jacket (jacket proofs) will be needed by the marketing department to begin writing promotional material (catalog copy, ad copy, and sales presentations).
Step 5: Proofing
A galley or reader's proof is now produced, which may or may not be bound, for careful reading and correcting (proofing). Proofing may be a very simple process involving just one set of proofs, or very complicated with three or more stages, depending on the type of book. The author will normally get a last chance to make changes at this stage. The copy editors will also make corrections and alterations; and the publicity and sales departments will see and comment on the proofs. After the corrections by the editors and author have been incorporated, the revised page proofs will be checked carefully against the original for errors and marked accordingly. If there is to be an index, this will generally be compiled at page proof stage.
Step 6: Proofs Pass for Press
Highly illustrated books may take longer to prepare as they require plates to be made and color separations.
Step 7: Printing Process
The printer may receive original pages (repro copy) and art to shoot, but it is much more common these days to supply the book completely on disk or via electronic means. After the printed sheets come off the machines, they need to be folded, sewn, collated, trimmed, and bound. Folded and printed, but unbound, sheets in book order are referred to as "F&G's" (folded and gathered) and are sometimes used to sell highly illustrated children's titles.
Step 8: Binding Completion
Binding is the final part of the production process, and it may not be done at the same location as the printing. Binding completion (when finished copies are ready to ship to the publisher's warehouse) is referred to as the ship date. The publisher may need six weeks or more to deliver finished stock to bookstores. The publicity and promotion department must ensure that copies are sent out before publication to reviewers. Most reviewers require several weeks, or even months, to read the book and write their review for publication.
Step 9: Publication Date
The publication date is the date a book is announced as being officially published. Publicity usually begins on this date as well. Copies of the book should now be on display in bookstores, and selling can now begin.
Exercise 12
How could delays at any stage of the publication schedule affect you, your bookstore, or your customers?
Exercise 13
Does your store receive galleys or F&G's? How do they help in the buying process? In what other ways might galleys or advance reading copies be helpful to your ability to sell more books?
Basics of Book Production
In any discussion of book publishing, it is useful to have some familiarity with the terms used by publishers when describing a book, and to know a little about the technical aspects of book production.
Many choices are made in the course of the production process. Everything from the type size and style to the design of the binding and endpapers must be considered. Let's review some terms and concepts that are involved in the production of a book.
Format
The subject matter of a book usually dictates its shape. A novel is unlikely to take the same format as a book on wildlife photography because of the extent of the text and the demands of the illustrations.
Whatever format is chosen, the exact dimensions are likely to conform to certain standards, which are based on the standard sizes of paper sheets stocked by paper suppliers. Books are not printed a page at a time but in sheets of several pages, imposed so that they run consecutively when the sheet is folded. If a sheet is folded once, the size of the resultant leaves is called folio; fold it again and it is quarto; again, and it becomes octavo. The terms themselves represent not the actual sizes, but the proportion of the page to the full sheet.
Size of Type
Type size is measured by points. A point is 1/72 of an inch, and the measurement does not apply to the individual letter, but to the whole depth of the body of letters, i.e., from the top of a "b" to the bottom of a "q." For example:
| bq | bq | bq | bq | bq |
| 10 pt. | 12 pt. | 14 pt. | 18 pt. | 24 pt. |
Different size type may be chosen for the text, footnotes, chapter headings, and index. When selecting type, a publisher's designer wants to make sure it suits the format, subject, and reader. A book for young readers with very small type, for example, would not be inviting or comfortable for them to read.
Typeface
The typeface chosen for a particular book depends on factors such as the intended size of type, the arrangement of the text, spacing, and the paper and ink used. There are hundreds of different fonts or typefaces to choose from, and a whole vocabulary exists with which to describe them. You may be familiar with many of these terms through your own experience with word processing or desktop publishing. One major distinction between typefaces is whether the letters are "serif" (a serif is the small crossbar or finishing stroke that ends the main stroke of letters) or "sans serif" (without serif). Examples are shown below:
| Bq bq | Bq bq |
| serif | sans serif |
Illustrations
The term "illustration" can encompass graphic materials ranging from photographic reproductions of paintings to cartoons, charts, and diagrams. The subject matter of the book largely dictates what sort of illustration will be appropriate. Illustration choices are also influenced by the method of printing used, the choice of paper, and the budgeted production costs. In general, highly illustrated books cost more to produce, and thus have a higher retail price. Art books, for example, are usually high priced due to the costs associated with high-quality color reproduction.
Spacing
Spacing is the term used to describe the placing of the illustrations on a page and the proportion of type to a page; for example, the length of the printed line and the width of the margins. The computerized technology used now makes it simpler for the designer to experiment with page layout before committing to a style. With illustrations, the designer has the choice of not only where to place them on the page, but where to place captions and any other text. In certain cases, the illustration may run off the edge of the page, and then the picture is said to "bleed." Justification is the name given to the process of aligning the left and/or right margins of type on a page.
Paper
Paper is generally manufactured from vegetable fibers, such as wood and straw, with handmade paper only occasionally used for fine limited editions. Paper is produced all over the world, and the printer will usually shop around to obtain the best price. Paper is either laid or wove. Laid paper has a ribbed finish and will show a watermark, whereas wove paper has a smooth uniform surface. Both are available in an endless variety of quality, tint, and thickness. The paper used for reproducing very fine quality art illustrations is coated with china clay to give it a highly glazed surface.
Binding
Book binding methods vary depending on the purpose of the text and the materials used in production. The elements involved in the binding of a conventional jacketed hardback book may include endpapers, headbands, dust jacket, spine, case, metallic foil stamping, and tailbands. The binding will also show the title and the publisher's colophon or logo.
In hardcover binding, the sheets are generally folded into 16- or 32-page signatures, which are collated and sewn by machine. The edges are trimmed and the sewn back edge is then coated with glue. After a strip of gauze is glued to the backbone, a stiff cloth cover is pasted on with the endpapers. Paperback books are perfect bound with a pre-printed cover glued to the spine. In perfect binding, the folded and collated pages have the spine edge roughened, so that the binding glue adheres strongly. A lining is placed over the backbone and the cover then glued in place.
Exercise 14
Choose three titles that you enjoy selling. For each title you have selected, note the paper, binding, type style, and other technical aspects that we have discussed. Have any of these elements influenced your selling relationship with the book?
Exercise 15
Choose five books from five different sections in your store. Note the differences in the ways the books were produced. Also note whether you think the books are well produced and whether they suit the intended purchasing audience.
Exercise 16
Locate at least four books in your store that you would handsell on the basis of production and design features. List them along with the selling features you might mention to customers.
Suggestions
- An art book with beautiful reproductions and lovely paper quality.
- A dictionary with many illustrations and easy-to-read typeface.
Parts of the Finished Book
Now that you have a sense of the key components in book production, let's review the various terms employed to describe the components of a bound book.
Leaf: This is the correct name for what are usually referred to as pages. A leaf is made up of two pages.
Endpapers: These are the papers which are glued to the insides of a hardback book, forming a single blank page facing the covers at the front and back. They can be highly decorated or illustrative, such as the marbled endpapers found in older books.
Binding: This is the term used to refer to the covering of the book, or to the spine (e.g., leather bound, paperback, or spiral bound).
Prelims: These are the pages before the actual text of the book begins. They are likely to include:
Half Title Page-- a blank page containing only the words of the main title;
Verso of Half Title Page-- reverse side of the half-title page, sometimes showing other titles by the author published by the same publisher, or it may be blank;
Title Page-- usually shows the title and author and gives the publisher's name (and colophon) at the foot of the page. It may also show the year of publication.
Verso of Title Page-- reverse side of the title page. It usually gives full bibliographic details, including ISBN; Library of Congress number; CIP data; full publisher details; year of publication; details of reprints, editions, or revisions; copyright information; and sometimes conditions of sale. It is also fairly common to find details of the printer and the typesetter. Some books will even indicate what typeface and size have been used;
Other Items-- also included in the prelims may be a Foreword, Preface, Acknowledgments, Contents, List of Illustrations, and Introduction. At the end of the book you may find notes, appendices, a bibliography or suggested reading list, and an index.
Exercise 17
Compare the bindings, endpapers, pages, and preliminary material of the following types of hardcover books:
- Artbook
- Fiction by an established author
- First novel
- Nonfiction from a small press
- Nonfiction from a large publisher
- Preschooler title
- Grade-school title
- Bible
Make notes as to the differences in the finished books and the way those differences might relate to the types of books or the types of customers who may purchase those books.
