In the broadest sense, the publishing industry would include newspaper publishing, magazine publishing, music publishing, map publishing, government information publishing, comic book publishing, and book publishing. This entry, however, will be restricted to the modern book publishing industry.

Publishing may be defined as the commercial dissemination of literature or information in multiple copies and with the probability of multiple formats (e.g., paper, electronic, CD-ROM, microfilm, microfiche). Publishing is a business, and as such, it embraces the values of competition, sales, and profit. Publishers are as concerned with accounting, marketing and advertising, shipping and distribution, and inventory control as they are with their products—the intellectual, artistic, and cultural creations of the authors. The publishing business often operates under the tension of highly divergent interests. An author's creative works or specialized knowledge may not meet the market values of profit, popularity, and standardization.

Publishing requires authors...