TYPES OF PUBLISHERS

Book publishing is not just about novels. From a college textbook to a paperback in the supermarket, publishing offers a place to express your interests and showcase your talents. What kind of publishing best suits you?

TRADE PUBLISHING

Maybe you’ve never wondered what people in the publishing industry call the books that you find in a bookstore or local library, but there is a term. They are called trade books and they are designed for the general consumer. Trade publishers sell their books through the channels that have been specifically established for books—bookstores, libraries, and wholesalers. Trade books are published for children, teenagers, and adults. They can be works of fiction or nonfiction, hardcover or paperback. Generally, trade publishing is the most high profile type of publishing as it is the most commercially focused.

PROFESSIONAL AND SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING

Does working with professional studies and dissertations sound intriguing? Then professional and scholarly publishing is for you! Professional and scholarly publishers produce books and journals specifically written for and marketed to professionals in a wide variety of industries, such as medicine, law, business, technology, science, and the humanities. Professional and scholarly publishing is often referred to as STM—scientific, technical, and medical publishing. For more information, visit the website of the AAP Professional/Scholarly Publishing Division, www.pspcentral.org.

EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING

Textbooks are published by what the industry calls educational publishers. In addition to textbooks, educational publishers also publish all of the materials that complement the textbook—such as workbooks, tests, software, CD-ROMs, and maps. As you probably know, textbooks are published for all levels of students, from kindergartners through postgraduate students. “School” publishers publish textbooks and materials for kindergarten through 12th grade and “higher education” publishers publish for college and university students.

UNIVERSITY PRESSES

Arguably the most difficult type of publishing house to define, university presses wear several hats. For the most part, they are not-for-profit departments of universities, colleges, and museums that publish books for scholars and specialists. Nevertheless, university presses sometimes engage in trade publishing as well, marketing their books to the general consumer. To learn more about university presses, log on to the Web site of the Association of American University Presses, www.aaupnet.org.

INDEPENDENT PUBLISHERS

An independent publisher is privately held rather than being owned by a parent company or by a conglomerate. Independent publishers exist in all sizes and publish all types of books. One of the great things about independent presses is that they often have considerably more freedom to publish the books about which they are most passionate. No one knows exactly how many independent presses are out there, but estimates are in the range of 50,000 and up.

ALTERNATIVE MEDIA (E-BOOKS AND AUDIOBOOKS)

E-Books

An e-book is a book distributed and read in electronic format. Instead of walking into a bookstore, to buy a book in an e-book format, you visit a Web site and purchase and download the digital file. You can then read the book on a computerized device such as a Palm Pilot, Pocket PC, laptop computer, or other device. There are all sorts of e-books available today (including popular fiction and nonfiction, textbooks, reference books, and most other genres), and they can be stored in a virtual library on your reading device—which can certainly make it easier to carry a lot of books on vacation or to school.

Audiobooks

As the name implies, audiobooks are books presented in recorded audio format. Generally, audiobooks are recorded onto cassette tapes, CDs, or other digital files such as MP3s. The Audio Publishers Association defines audiobooks as “any audio recording that is primarily spoken word rather than music.” Audiobooks are available in a myriad of categories, from novels to self-help books to language instruction. Some publishing houses have internal audiobook departments whereas other companies publish only audiobooks. You can learn more about audiobooks by logging on to the Audio Publishers Association Web site at www.audiopub.org.

OTHER TYPES OF PUBLISHING AND RELATED BUSINESSES

Subsidy Press/Vanity Publisher

A publishing company that offers publication services for a fee paid by the author, and holds the copyright to the book, but does not generally promote or market the book. Bookstores often refuse to carry books published by subsidy/vanity presses, and such books are rarely reviewed.

Contract Publisher

A publisher that helps authors edit, design, market, and distribute their book for a fee paid by the author.

Self-Publishing

A method of publishing in which the author does all the things a publisher does—from editing to printing and distribution.

Regional Publisher

A publisher who specializes in subjects relevant to a particular part of the country, and sells its books mostly or entirely in that area.

Fulfillment House

A company that handles the entire ordering process for books, such as storing, packing, mailing, maintaining records, and other sales-related operations for the author or publisher.

Packagers (Also known as Book Producers or Book Developers)

Companies specializing in creating books up to the printing stage, at which point a publishing company takes over handling the book. Although publishers most often contract directly with freelance authors and use their own staffs to prepare books for publication, publishers sometimes take on books prepared by packagers. The packager's name may appear on the copyright page, but the publisher is always identified on the spine.