Merchants of Culture. John B. Thompson

      

CONTENTS

      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 Agents The 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