The book publishing business in the US is a thicket of interests that not only gets stories into the hands of the public but also shapes culture and public opinion. As a primer to how publishing houses operate, it is of interest to authors and aspiring writers and anyone who wants to know about books. Here's the full story of it all in book publishing, including what publishers are, and how books get published, and how books get promoted, and the problems, and the economics, and the woes of the industry.