Publishing

The publisher’s job entails identifying talent and helping it to flourish, whether it’s a question of selecting a manuscript from the multitude submitted (particularly in France), spotting an agent’s proposal (in English-speaking markets), or bringing a book into being – either the work of a single author or a collaborative project – by combining the expertise of writers and authors, illustrators, photographers and researchers. By investing in the creative process, publishers support creators, enable them to devote themselves fully to their work or art, and promote their careers. Lastly, publishing is also about enhancing the finished book’s visibility, which means promoting and distributing it so that it reaches readers. Whether, at the end of this painstaking process, the result is published as a print book or an ebook, the publishing industry relies on that irreplaceable know-how.