At present, publishing should be understood as the production, business, and organizational and creative activities of individuals who are publishers in the production of electronic and printed products. The article will consider all aspects of this issue.
Publishing Concept
Publishing is, firstly, economic activity, a branch of the economy that specializes in preliminary preparation, formation, publication (in other words, publication in a certain circulation) and mass dissemination of information. Moreover, the information may be in musical, printed and other forms. The person involved in the publishing business is called the publisher. From the beginning of its development, information and publishing activities were closely associated with the printing and further distribution of books, brochures, magazines, booklets, newspapers, business cards, art albums, postcards, music collections and so on.
Modernity
After the Internet and digital information systems appeared and became widespread, the scope of the type of activity under consideration expanded significantly. Today, publishing includes various electronic resources. Among them are electronic books, periodicals, all kinds of blogs, websites, help systems presented on electronic media, video and audio discs, computer games, and cassettes.
Traditional publishing involves searching for authors and manuscripts, acquiring author’s rights, preparing material for printing (in other words, a set of activities, including editing, proofreading and layout), printing (or submitting it in electronic form), as well as marketing and performing functions distribution. From a practical point of view, publishing can only consist in the interaction of the author and the printing house.
Mediation
It would be advisable to consider in more detail the issue of interaction between the author and the printing house in publishing. In fact, publishers are a kind of intermediaries between the original owners of the rights of the author (in other words, the authors) and consumers of the publishing product. The work of the publishing structure consists in generating forecasts of demand for works, acquiring copyrights in them, reproducing the work in the required form (in electronic form or on physical medium), transferring the medium to distribution channels through distribution structures, retail outlets and so on.
OKVED: publishing
Publishing in the OKVED is determined by code 58. In accordance with paragraph 58.1 - the publication of books, periodicals and other types of publishing - the group in question includes the publication:
- Books, newspapers, magazines and other periodicals.
- Newsletters, encyclopedias, dictionaries, maps, atlases and all kinds of tables.
- Directories, directories and mailing lists.
- Photos, postcards, prints, emblems, posters, brochures.
- Reproductions of copyrighted works (these publications have creative intellectual potential, which is embedded in the creation process; as a rule, they are protected by copyright).
What else is involved in publishing?
In accordance with the OKVED data, the publishing activities of libraries, organizations and other structures also include:
- The organization of the reproduction of an information product (content) among an unlimited number of persons through the participation or organization of the reproduction or distribution of material in various forms. This should include the acquisition of copyright.
- Forms of publishing that are currently possible. Among them are electronic, sound, print, publishing activities of an organization or other structure on the Internet, which is used specifically for communication and dissemination, information retrieval. However, this does not include the release of films.
- Production of master copies (in other words, original matrices) or audio information for recording.
- Printing and printing products.
- Mass reproduction, in other words, copying information from recorded media.
Types of Publishing
Further, it will be advisable to consider the types of publications. According to their intended purpose, they are classified in accordance with the following categories:
- Official editions. They are published exclusively on behalf of government agencies, bodies or departments, as well as public communities, organizations. It is worth noting that official publications contain materials of a legislative or regulatory nature, for example, decrees or laws.
- Scientific publications. This view contains the results of experiments or theoretical studies, as well as historical documentation and cultural monuments, scientifically prepared to be considered published.
- Popular science editions. This variety contains information about experiments or theoretical research in the field of technology, culture, science. As a rule, the information in this case is presented in a form accessible to the ordinary reader, who is not an expert in a particular field.
What other types of publishing exist?
In addition to the above, today there are the following varieties of publications:
- Literary and artistic. Typically, this type of publication contains one or more works of fiction.
- Production and practical regulatory type. Here we are talking about the official publication, which contains the requirements, regulations and rules in various areas of activity related to production.
- Production and practical publications of the standard type. As a rule, this variety contains technological, technical or production information. Often, it includes information from other areas of social practice. These publications are designed mainly for specialists with various qualifications.
- Training. This type is characterized by the content of systematized information of applied or scientific orientation, which is presented in a form convenient for teaching and studying.
- Mass political publications. Usually they contain works on public or political topics, intended to be read by a fairly wide range of readers.
- Advertising editions. This variety contains information about services, products or events, set out in a form that attracts the attention of society. The main goal here is the formation of demand.
As it turned out, today publishing is well developed. The functions corresponding to it are carried out successfully and clearly, which entails even greater interest in the field from various public groups.