Book publishing is the process of printing and distributing books. Book publishing was born in 1455 when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. Although books were around for centuries before that, in order to be copied they had to be transcribed by hand. Gutenberg modified a wine press and added movable letters. The first book he published was the Bible, and the publishing industry was born. The Catholic Church tried to suppress this printing press, since if everyone had access to a bible then everyone would have their own interpretation of it, and the Church would lose some of its power.http://www.cybercollege.com/frtv/book1.htm

By the 1800s in America, there were many publishers, which led to a decrease in the price of books.http://www.cybercollege.com/frtv/book2.htm This combined with widespread public education led to books becoming more widely read by the lower classes. By 1880, about one-third of all books published were paperbacks. Around this time, most of these books were pirated from European authors, to the point where American authors found themselves hard pressed to find a publisher since it was cheaper to publish European authors. In 1891, new copyright laws made this practice fall out of favor and caused a flourishing of American authors. By the 1900s, the publishing industry became commercialized.

In the modern world, books are just one of many different entertainment sources, which means that the world of book publishing is more competitive now then it has ever been.http://www.cybercollege.com/frtv/book4a.htm Most publishers are part of media conglomerates, which means they are owned by companies that also have film studios, broadcast outlets, newspapers and magazines. As such, books are often seen as a source of fresh stories that can be then adapted by other companies in the conglomerate into movies or TV shows, or the publisher can use the other companies to promote the book, or the publisher will be asked to produce a novel based on a movie. Book publishing isn’t solely about books anymore.