The Book Business: What Everyone Needs to Know®

Shatzkin has been in the book business for decades and this book shares good info about the book business. There are some terms in the book that are used and there is an assumption that you know what they are. In a book with the subtitle "What Everyone Needs to Know" these terms really should have been defined.From reading Shatzkin's blog and other articles about the book business I was familiar with the concept of a backlist. If you are not familiar with a backlist and only read this book I don't think you necessarily get the full concept.If you do an internet search for "backlist" the University of North Georgia Press has a good page giving the core definition of backlist. If you read Shatzkin's book with that knowledge of backlist the use of the word in the book means more.If a future edition is created, I highly encourage that several people with no knowledge of the book business be given this book to read and see what questions they have. The answers to those questions could be additionally incorporated into the book. Another strategy would be to highlight book terms mentioned in the book and ask these same people what the terms mean after reading the book. If they cannot correctly define what the terms mean that would suggest the book should give additional background/introduction on these terms.To maximize the value of the book in the current form I would search terms from the book and read articles that define or use those terms to make sure that you fully understand them. What is difficult is that if you are truly new to the concepts you may not realize that you fully do not understand the terms.

Very informative-All you need to know about the book business.

I received a copy of this book for participating in the Digital Book World 2019 conference (great conference by the way). I wasn't sure what to expect from the book, and was a bit surprised to see that the entire book is written in a simple question and answer style. But once I started reading, I was extremely pleased with the amazing insights that Mike Shatzkin and the late Robert Paris Riger provide in this rather slim volume. It is packed with an easy-to-read history of how the publishing industry has evolved over the past 30 or 40 years. There is info on all the major players and projections on how publishing and book consumption and sales may evolve over the coming years. Very useful book and I highly recommend for anyone who wants a quick, painless, and actionable intro into the world of publishing.

As someone who simply loves to read, I found The Book Business to be informative, succinct, and full of interesting tidbits about the book world. It covers topics such as the publishing process, historic and current industry trends, e-books, audiobooks, and so on. I would recommend The Book Business to anyone who loves books. - Kumari S.

Knowledgeable and easy to read snapshot of the evolving book industry. While the focus is on the traditional industry players, good coverage is given to the rapidly growing self-publishing and audio book segments. Highly recommended.