ABSTRACT
Book publishing serves the million-copy fiction writer and the specialist author with sales of under 300 copies. Books can be published profitably for tiny markets which though limited in scale are many in number. As a long-established industry, publishing developed over time a worldwide distribution system through which its output of physical books could be traded in a regulated and controlled way. This ecosystem now coexists with digital distribution through which content can be sold and distributed right around the world on to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Whilst this off ers an exciting opportunity, at the same time publishers have to compete vigorously against other forms of entertainment, learning processes and information sources.
