The Evolution of American Publishing: A Brief Summary

The ownership of the publishing companies themselves has greatly changed and is now increasingly controlled by large conglomerates, many of which have holdings in other media as well. In the United States, only a handful of firms remain independent of such ownership, and similar trends are visible in Europe. This process has resulted in an increasing concentration on sales and profitability, and on expecta tions that publishing will equal the profitability of other endeavors. This is something that was not expected in the past. In order to maximize profit, each segment of publishing has been expected to produce its own profits, and the traditional reliance on textbooks and children's books to pay for literary and other endeavors has gradually disappeared. In addition, the process of rationalization is such that individual titles increasingly are expected to make profits within a short period of time. This has had the clear and unfortunate effect of limiting the range of books available. A parallel development has taken place in the bookstores, increas ingly controlled by the large national chains in the United States. The department store mentality of gauging profitability by turn-over per square foot has led to increasing concentration on the best-sellers, and