Interesting Book Publishing Timeline Highlights

  

·         Though the printing press with movable type was invented around 1450 by Gutenberg in Germany, and though Mexico established the first such printing press in the Western Hemisphere in 1539, it wasn’t until nearly two centuries after Gutenberg’s invention that the first such printing press arrived in America. 

·         In 1638, in Cambridge, MA, religious texts for divinity students at Harvard College, along with posters, handbills, and a few books were initially printed.  

·         The first American novel to sell one million copies was Uncle Tom’s Cabin. It was an indictment of slavery written by abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe. It sold over seven million copies in its first decade. After the Bible, this book was the biggest best-seller of the 19th century in the United States. 

·         An Ohio school teacher named William McGuffey had a book published in 1835 that taught children to read using anthologies of varying difficulty levels, incorporating poems, short stories, essays, and speeches. While teaching reading, it promoted patriotism, honesty, frugality, and other values.  

·         The McGuffey Readers exploded into being a phenomenon. From 1836-1850, seven million copies were sold. Another 20 million were sold from 1851-1869. Then, 60 million more were sold from 1870-1890. These readers became the largest-selling English language textbooks of all time, with sales topping 125 million copies. They remain in print today.  

·         In 1896, the Associated Authors Publishing Company was established. It sold shares and raised money. After publishing a few titles, it went bankrupt.  

·         In 1912, authors created the Authors League of America, later to be renamed the Authors Guild.  

·         In 1926, the Book Of-The-Month Club was founded. 

·         In 1927, the Literary Guild was formed. 

·         The New York Times published its first national best-seller list in 1942. 

·         3 million new books were published last year.

 

 

Do You Need Book Marketing & PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over 3.9 million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Brian Feinblum now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).  This award-winning blog has generated over four million pageviews. With 5,000+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, he has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.