We were recently alerted to this new publication, which is a complete revision of an “old classic” for students of book and publishing studies. The textbook Wie ein Buch entsteht by Hans-Helmut Röhring was first published in 1983 and has introduced thousands of students, book trade apprentices, and entry-level employees in the book business to the inner workings of the (German) book industry.
Based on years of experience in the book industry (working e.g. for the publishers Hanser, Heyne, Scherz, Droemer Knaur Kindler and Verlagsunion Pabel Moewig, cf. a brief bio here) and teaching “Buchwissenschaft” (Book Studies) at the FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Günther Fetzer substantially revised and enlarged the text of the ninth edition. The ninth edition was first published in 2011 (Primus, updated by Klaus-W. Bramann). Fetzer’s new edition was commissioned by Germany’s unique non-for-profit academic publisher book club Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft (wbg).
The text’s focus on the German book industry (cf. chapter 1) remains, but the text has been considerably updated to include issues such as digitization and open access. The text also reflects changes in the book industry including outsourcing and supply chain issues (cf. chapter 2). Chapters 3 and 4 cover the legal background and the economics of publishing (planning, controlling, etc.). The information about the editorial process (cf. chapter 5) has also been diversified according to type of publisher (trade publisher, academic publisher, etc.). Three further chapters on production (6), marketing (7) and licensing (8) complete the text, which is followed by a generous appendix (cf. chapter 9).
More information on this new publication can be found on the WBG website (link).
Book History and Print Culture Network 