The Book Business, Robert Paris Riger
The Book Business, Robert Paris Riger
List: $15.99 | Sale: $11.20
Club: $7.99

The Book Business
What Everyone Needs to Know

Author: Robert Paris Riger, Mike Shatzkin

Narrator: Kyle Tait

Unabridged: 5 hr 1 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/31/2019

Synopsis

Many of us read books every day, either electronically or in print. We remember the books that shaped our ideas about the world as children, go back to favorite books year after year, give or lend books to loved ones and friends to share the stories we've loved especially, and discuss important books with fellow readers in book clubs and online communities. But for all the ways books influence us, teach us, challenge us, and connect us, many of us remain in the dark as to where they come from and how the mysterious world of publishing truly works. How are books created and how do they get to readers?

The Book Business: What Everyone Needs to Know® introduces those outside the industry to the world of book publishing. Covering everything from the beginnings of modern book publishing early in the twentieth century to the current concerns over the alleged death of print, digital reading, and the rise of Amazon, Mike Shatzkin and Robert Paris Riger provide a succinct and insightful survey of the industry in an accessible question-and-answer format. The authors, veterans of "trade publishing," or the branch of the business that puts books in our hands through libraries or bookstores, answer questions from the basic to the cutting-edge, providing a guide for curious beginners and outsiders.

About Robert Paris Riger

Robert Paris Riger (1961-2018) was a longtime publisher and author. He ran both major book club organizations before he was thirty, cofounded the publishing consulting firm Market Partners International, and spent several years at Barnes & Noble building and leading the marketing for their Spark Notes program. He was most recently VP and Director of Pimsleur Language Programs at Simon & Schuster. Robert was fluent in several languages, including German and French, and experienced publishing's digital transition on the frontlines with Spark Notes and Pimsleur. He died unexpectedly a month after this book's manuscript was completed.

Reviews

Goodreads review by GrahamReads

Just finished: New York: Oxford University Press, 2019. I really enjoy this series because it's a question and answer format. This book is for beginners getting into the publishing or just interested in how it works. It's was funny when the authors said that you only have to know a small sliver to do......more

Goodreads review by Suzanne

Mike Shatzkin and Robert Paris Riger set out to create a book that "can help you if you are thinking of writing a book, looking for a career in publishing, thinking of investing in the publishing business, or if you’re just an avid reader who wants to know how books travel from a writer’s mind to a......more

Goodreads review by Frank

Unlike many other books in this series, this one is not big on data. It is not until the last chapter that you learn that traditional "trade books" generates around $6 billion a year in revenue, while speciality and self-published books generated another $1.25 billion. (Searching online, it seems th......more

Goodreads review by Mario

This book is like a plate of unseasoned chicken, white rice, and black beans: what you're consuming is good for you, sure, but it doesn't go down easy. Stomach it and the last taste in your mouth will be that of beige accomplishment, as if you've flawlessly executed a visit to the DMV. The weak early......more

Goodreads review by Alex

For what it is, it's good. The authors structure this introduction to the book business in a series of questions and answers such as "How do academic and university presses operate within a trade environment?", "How did Amazon change the used book market?," and "Where has social media been effective......more

Add to Cart
Add to Wish List