Custom Publishing Rise of a Silent Giant

Custom Magazines are increasingly yet unnoticedly becoming the most-read print publications — a shift that deserves our attention. This book examines and portrays the production side of the custom publishing ?eld with a primary focus on the UK. It aims to offer de?nitions characterising the branch whilst assessing the weaknesses and ambiguities in current de?nitions used in marketing and communication literature. Drawing on sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s ?eld theory, the author looks at the heteronomous — and hence externally determined — principle inherent in the relationship between the contracting companies and the contracted writers. Furthermore, the research details the resources which form the basis of the publishers’ work and how the struggle between the economic and symbolic capitals is manifested in the "three pillars". Finally, based on extensive interviews, six key aspects are identified which are of significance for the future of European custom publishers.