'A sketch of the book industry might situate publishing as an intermediate step in the chain that carries the book from author to reader. In fact, publishers are more dynamic figures in the whole process than such a view allows. Publishers and publishing houses are the most powerful group in the industry. Some publishing houses are geared to the mass market book while others focus on books with a more limited readership market. What the author-reader view ignores is the push-pull of competition and co-operation between publishers and its effect on the book industry.' (Author's abstract)