Turning the Page

Book excerpt: This is an exciting period for the book, a time of innovation, experimentation, and change. It is also a time of considerable fear within the book industry as it adjusts to 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 to 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. Useful comparisons are also made with other media industries which have undergone rapid change, such as music and newspapers. This book is an ideal companion for anyone wishing to understand the transition of the book, writing and publishing in recent years and will be particularly relevant to students studying publishing, media and communications.