Publishing Nuts and Bolts

Ever wonder who is behind the publisher's desk? The answer may surprise you.

According to the July/Aug 09 issue of Writer's Digest (if you don't already subscribe to a trade journal, do it today!), six major companies dominate the American publishing industry. Five of the six are foreign-owned.

1. Random House (German): imprints include Crown, Doubleday, Knopf, Pantheon and Random House; also includes The Literary Guild book club.

2. Penguin Group (London); includes Berkley, G.P. Putnam's Sons and Viking.

3. Simon & Schuster (a U. S.-based CBS Corporation): includes Pocket Books, Scribner and Simon & Schuster.

4. HarperCollins (Australian): includes HarperCollins, William Morrow, Zondervan and Hyperion.

5. Hachette Book Group, formerly Time Warner Book Group (French): includes Grand Central Publishing, Little, Brown & Company, Microsoft Learning books and Time Inc. Home Entertainment.

6. Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group (German): includes Macmillan, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Henry Holt and Company and St. Martin's Press.

Thankfully for beginning inspirational writers who aren't quite ready to compete for the limited slots in these mega-companies, there are lots of not-s0-worldwide-major publishers out there (Baker/Revell, Tyndale, Regal, Broadman & Holman, Cook, Navpress, Waterbrook, etc), and small presses as well. Just consult the "Book Publishers" section of your Christian Writers' Market Guide or Writer's Market for submission details.