The market for consumer books in the U.S.: 1985–1995

Greco, Albert N.

doi:10.1007/s12109-997-0022-z

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Bridges' outstanding study of book editors illuminates the gendered inequalities of flexible labor, but does not address authors (Bridges, 2018). And while media economists (Elberse, 2013;Greco, 1997;Waldfogel & Reimers, 2015;Whiteside, 1981) and organizational theorists (Coser, Kadushin, & Powell, 1982;Powell, 1985;Thompson, 2012;Thornton, 2004) have dissected the inner workings of the book industry, these writers, too, typically gloss over authors' labor.…”

Section: Book Publishing As a Cultural Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Open networks, open books: gender, precarity and solidarity in digital publishing

Larson

2019

Information, Communication & Society

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The nature of work is changing, from secure, full-time jobs to a 'risk regime' characterized by alternative work arrangements and a pervasive sense of insecurity [Beck, U. (2000). The brave new world of work. Polity: Malden, MA]. While these conditions resemble those long endured by cultural workers, scholarly exploration of these similarities has stalled: Digital optimists extoll the value of self-enterprise, while critical cultural scholars decry such claims as a smokescreen for deteriorating labor conditions, which inevitably promote insecurity (or 'precarity'). This paper attempts to end the stalemate by proposing three measures of insecurity and applying them to a group of cultural workers-romance authors. Through a survey of 4270 romance authors, I show their median income nearly doubled after the rise of digital self-publishing, while other authors' incomes dropped. Interviews with 78 authors and editors suggest this resilience relates to professional tactics developed in the 1980s amidst pervasive gender bias. Specifically, romance authors developed an 'open-elite' network, an arrangement historically associated with innovation, which was later amplified by interactive communication technologies [Powell, W. W., & Owen-Smith, J. ( 2012). An open elite: Arbiters, catalysts, or gatekeepers in the dynamics of industry evolution. In The emergence of organizations and markets (pp. 466-495). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press]. This research contributes to debates around self-employment, cultural work and precarity. It shows increased insecurity is not inevitable in the risk regime, but rather that specific professional practices, enhanced by ICTs, can increase workers' resilience.].

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Section: Book Publishing As a Cultural Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Open networks, open books: gender, precarity and solidarity in digital publishing

Larson

2019

Information, Communication & Society

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“…They are responsible for everything from commissioning the book, to its design and production, marketing, sales and customer service. The extent of this contribution can be seen in Greco's [16] summary of the ten main functions of a publishing company which is reproduced in Table 1.…”

Section: Book Publishingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Business Models in Digital Book Publishing: Some Insights from Australia

Tian

Martin

2009

Pub Res Q

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This interpretive study of change in Australian book publishing, included a survey of book publishers and the conduct of 14 case studies in five categories of publisher: general trade, academic, professional, specialist and university. This paper reports in detail on the experience on one general trade publisher as it sought to face the challenges of globalization and of organizational and technological change. The major finding was that digitization is indeed, impacting on business models for book publishing, with current models comprising something of a hybrid between the traditional and the innovative. Reflecting the presence in Australia of similar trends and issues that are affecting book publishing around the world, the findings are of relevance both to book publishers and to researchers. The work is original in that relatively little recent academic research has been conducted into book publishing in Australia, particularly as regards the implications of digitization for business models.

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“…This technological metamorphosis significantly changed the composition and structure of America's mass media industries and directly affected the nature and scope of media economics research (Daly, Henry, & Ryder 1997;Greco 1997a;Hull 1998;Litman 1998;Parsons & Frieden 1998;Pavlik 1998;Picard & Brody 1997;Walker & Ferguson 1998). In addition, there was a material shift in the intellec o tual, political, and economic landscape of this nation, directly influenced by the mass media's burgeoning importance in the fabric of American society (Bayers 1991;Biswars, Olsen & Carlet 1992;Burnett 1991;Greco 1997b;Hirschman & Thompson 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%