The invention of writing allowed for the creation of written works, and printing made their distribution more efficient and widespread. Before printing, works were chicelsed on stone or cave walls, copied by hand, making publishing a slow and labour-intensive process. Printing made books more accessible and allowed for the development of the publishing industry.
Bi Sheng, a Chinese inventor, created the first movable type made of earthenware in 1045. No surviving examples of his work are known. Choe Yun-ui, a Korean civil servant in the Goryeo Dynasty, later invented the first metal movable type in 1234-1250. These innovations laid the foundation for printing and the dissemination of written works.
Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type in Europe around 1450, making it easier to cast type based on a matrix and hand mould. This invention reduced the cost of producing books and made them more widely available. Books printed in Europe before 1501 are called incunables or incunabula. During this time, more books were printed than had been produced by scribes since the founding of Constantinople in 330 AD.
Fast forward to 2013, to the merger of Penguin and Random House created the largest consumer book publisher in the world with a global market share of over 25%. The "Big Five" publishing houses, Penguin Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan, produce about 60% of English-language books. In 2020, ViacomCBS agreed to sell Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House, creating the first mega publisher, but the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit to block the merger on anti-trust grounds in 2021. The D.C. District Court ruled in favour of the Department of Justice in 2022 and the merger was permanently blocked.
Authors can have an impact on publishing by writing and producing quality content, promoting their work and building a following, and negotiating favourable terms with publishers. Self-publishing and the rise of e-books and online platforms have also provided authors with alternative routes to reach audiences without relying on traditional publishers. However, authors alone may not be able to entirely "rescue" publishing, as publishers play a crucial role in editing, marketing, and distributing books. Ultimately, the success of publishing depends on a balance between the interests of authors, publishers and readers.