Only One of the Five Largest US Book Publishing Companies is American Owned

In The Good Men Project, mystery writer J. E. Fishman uncovers the mystery of how while everyone has been worrying about the power of Amazon -  the five largest publishers in the United States have ended up in the hands of foreigners.  Two are owned by German companies, one by the French and a fourth is owned by an Australian firm; a tally which does not cover smaller publishers owned by the Brits, among others.  And, according to Fishman, even the last remaining US owned major publisher may soon slip out of American hands.

That leaves, among the Big Five, Simon & Schuster, which is owned by CBS, which is actually an American company for real. But before you indulge visions of launching a rearguard action from the remaining wisp of ‘Murican cultural territory, you might consider rumors that CBS has considered pitching this dead tome overboard since at least 2013. Maybe the Russians will buy it. Gazprom and Schuster, anyone? - See more at: http://goodmenproject.com/arts/book-war-authors-already-lost-hesaid/#sthash.iMJ30NYK.dpuf

That leaves, among the Big Five, Simon & Schuster, which is owned by CBS, which is actually an American company for real. But before you indulge visions of launching a rearguard action from the remaining wisp of ‘Murican cultural territory, you might consider rumors that CBS has considered pitching this dead tome overboard since at least 2013. Maybe the Russians will buy it. Gazprom and Schuster, anyone?

Now even though I was roughly acquainted with these facts, it was not a situation I much thought about - or even now feel particularly concerned with, much less, am worrying about.  But - still - it is a reality every US writer should be aware of.  Here is the opening of his piece:

J.E. Fishman questions the importance of publishing companies in a book’s success. 

____

Question: If books are an important part of the culture — and I believe they are — does it follow that the way we publish and sell books is an equally important part of the culture?

If you answered Yes, you should know we’ve been under siege from foreign forces for a long time.

It started back in the Thirties when a newly minted British company called Penguin sent a flotilla of cheap paperbacks to our shores and changed the economics of American book publishing forever. I know what you’re thinking: Who knew that the British had founded anything new at all since the nineteenth century? But at that time, apparently, they spotted some economic flaws in the hidebound U.S. book industry.

When those dime paperbacks flooded the market, you can bet that a lot of stodgy old east-coast publishers started pissing their dollar-stuffed pants. The new competition soon put their fat margins under pressure, eventually forcing them to indulge in the sincerest form of flattery: imitation. Pretty soon there were dime paperbacks (later known as mass market paperbacks) everywhere.

Through all of this disruption no one asked authors what they thought. When it came to business, authors were there to be read and not heard — at least not on the subject of business. Many authors probably stood appalled, but others jumped in and wrote pulp fiction until their fingers bled. Some of these authors went on to become major brands. Go figure.

But the foreign invasion didn’t stop there. It took a pause for World War II, and with the whole world a smoldering wreck and the U.S. standing proud we had nothing to fear for a while from foreign dominance. Then the Germans, of all people, came ashore.

In 1986 that now-famous German publishing conglomerate Bertelsmann — of whom, I guarantee, not a soul in America had ever heard before 1986 — purchased venerable old publisher Doubleday for nearly half a billion dollars. With that kind of loot kicking around the Nelson Doubleday household, our cultural defenders forgot to contemplate whether this acquisition was good for American letters. Maybe it helped knowing that Bertelsmann had begun life as that most unthreatening of all entities: a Bible publisher.

 Anyway, once again, no one asked authors — you know, those originators of the content that makes the book business the book business — what they thought. The only option authors had was to go on writing books and hope it all worked out.

The rest of the article is here.

The Book War That Authors Have Already Lost

June 21, 2014 by The Weeklings 2 Comments

ADVERTISEMENT

J.E. Fishman questions the importance of publishing companies in a book’s success. 

____

Question: If books are an important part of the culture — and I believe they are — does it follow that the way we publish and sell books is an equally important part of the culture?
If you answered Yes, you should know we’ve been under siege from foreign forces for a long time.
It started back in the Thirties when a newly minted British company called Penguin sent a flotilla of cheap paperbacks to our shores and changed the economics of American book publishing forever. I know what you’re thinking: Who knew that the British had founded anything new at all since the nineteenth century? But at that time, apparently, they spotted some economic flaws in the hidebound U.S. book industry.
When those dime paperbacks flooded the market, you can bet that a lot of stodgy old east-coast publishers started pissing their dollar-stuffed pants. The new competition soon put their fat margins under pressure, eventually forcing them to indulge in the sincerest form of flattery: imitation. Pretty soon there were dime paperbacks (later known as mass market paperbacks) everywhere.
Through all of this disruption no one asked authors what they thought. When it came to business, authors were there to be read and not heard — at least not on the subject of business. Many authors probably stood appalled, but others jumped in and wrote pulp fiction until their fingers bled. Some of these authors went on to become major brands. Go figure.
But the foreign invasion didn’t stop there. It took a pause for World War II, and with the whole world a smoldering wreck and the U.S. standing proud we had nothing to fear for a while from foreign dominance. Then the Germans, of all people, came ashore.
In 1986 that now-famous German publishing conglomerate Bertelsmann — of whom, I guarantee, not a soul in America had ever heard before 1986 — purchased venerable old publisher Doubleday for nearly half a billion dollars. With that kind of loot kicking around the Nelson Doubleday household, our cultural defenders forgot to contemplate whether this acquisition was good for American letters. Maybe it helped knowing that Bertelsmann had begun life as that most unthreatening of all entities: a Bible publisher.
Anyway, once again, no one asked authors — you know, those originators of the content that makes the book business the book business — what they thought. The only option authors had was to go on writing books and hope it all worked out.

- See more at: http://goodmenproject.com/arts/book-war-authors-already-lost-hesaid/#sthash.iMJ30NYK.dpuf

hat leaves, among the Big Five, Simon & Schuster, which is owned by CBS, which is actually an American company for real. But before you indulge visions of launching a rearguard action from the remaining wisp of ‘Murican cultural territory, you might consider rumors that CBS has considered pitching this dead - See more at: http://goodmenproject.com/arts/book-war-authors-already-lost-hesaid/#sthash.iMJ30NYK.dpuf

hat leaves, among the Big Five, Simon & Schuster, which is owned by CBS, which is actually an American company for real. But before you indulge visions of launching a rearguard action from the remaining wisp of ‘Murican cultural territory, you might consider rumors that CBS has considered pitching this dead - See more at: http://goodmenproject.com/arts/book-war-authors-already-lost-hesaid/#sthash.iMJ30NYK.dpuf

That leaves, among the Big Five, Simon & Schuster, which is owned by CBS, which is actually an American company for real. But before you indulge visions of launching a rearguard action from the remaining wisp of ‘Murican cultural territory, you might consider rumors that CBS has considered pitching this dead tome overboard since at least 2013. Maybe the Russians will buy it. Gazprom and Schuster, anyone - See more at: http://goodmenproject.com/arts/book-war-authors-already-lost-hesaid/#sthash.iMJ30NYK.dpuf

That leaves, among the Big Five, Simon & Schuster, which is owned by CBS, which is actually an American company for real. But before you indulge visions of launching a rearguard action from the remaining wisp of ‘Murican cultural territory, you might consider rumors that CBS has considered pitching this dead tome overboard since at least 2013. Maybe the Russians will buy it. Gazprom and Schuster, anyone - See more at: http://goodmenproject.com/arts/book-war-authors-already-lost-hesaid/#sthash.iMJ30NYK.dpuf