BOOK DESIGNING AND ILLUSTRATION IN NIGERIAN PUBLISHING HOUSES (A CASE STUDY OF MACMILLAN PUBLISHING PLC)

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ABSTRACT

A Case Study of Macmillan Publishing Plc was sampled to examine book designing and illustration in Nigerian publishing houses. A survey of quantitative method was conducted with questionnaire as data gathering instrument. The population of study was 50 being of respondents randomly selected from the publishing company. Frequency counts and percentages were adopted for data analysis. Book designing available and accessible and accessibility in Macmillan publishing plc improves Nigeria educational sector. The possible constraints to book designing in Macmillan publishing includes: Lack of funds, Inadequate equipment, Lack of well trained staff. The possible ways of promoting book designing in Macmillan publishing are: Revitalize the Nigeria paper mills, Infrastructural development in publishing firms, Adopt new technologies for publishing indigenous books, Organize reading campaigns among students. The possible future challenges to development of book designing in Macmillan publishing: Piracy and indiscriminate copyrights infringement, A shift to digital platforms, Emergence of multimedia publishing, Political changes in Nigeria.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1  Background of the study

Book designing and publishing will constitute a wasted effort if worthy books are not placed in the hands of readers. The signs are that Nigeria is under-served and the potential book market largely untapped. Although various reasons could be adduced for unwholesome book reading development, publishers need to play their own part in changing situations by publishing books that readers can read and make sure that readers want to read them, and then put them within readers’ reach. Book marketing (and publishing) in Nigeria leaves a lot to be desired. To create a reading nation, Nigerian publishers need to operate within the marketing concept in their pursuit of profit and survival by satisfying readers. By so doing, the publishing industry should witness a tremendous change. A change that is not only beneficial to the book industry as a whole but the nation as well, since a reading nation is also a development-oriented nation (Arboleda, 2010). Publishing is a creative process through which different categories of books are published. It is a creative imagination of number of functionaries in the publishing house and those who are fairly distant especially the authors, freelance editors, designed compositors (typesetters), printers, paper and plate merchants, readers and a host of others. Therefore, it is appropriate to discuss publishing as a formidable succession of activities no one of which can by it be called publishing (Joseph, 2011).