Darnton's silly circuit

Darnton is a smart guy, we all know this. I mean.. he went to Harvard and Oxford. His communication circuit is a very useful way to go through who's hands touch the book and when. However in Adams and Barker's opinion, Darnton does not focus on the right things. "The weakness of Darnton's scheme is that it deals with people, rather than with the book. It is concerned with the history of communication." (51) Today, the book trade isn't something that is the same every time. The process changes depending on the book, and how the author and publisher want to go about selling it, and getting it into the hands of readers. There are more steps in the circuit than Darnton displays. Take the printing to shipping step of Darnton's circuit. Today, when an author is in the process of publishing they have to think about whether or not they are going to make a website for their book, or a blog, or a facebook page, etc. They need to think about if they want to distribute it online, or if they want their book only in print. Therefore once their book goes to the printers, and the first copies are made, they need to start marketing right away, and to not use the internet.. just plain wouldn't be smart. It isn't as simple as printing to shipping. Books today are sometimes online before they are in print, and sometimes they aren't online until later on. It all depends on the publisher, and the author. As Adams and Barker point out, there is a "spectacular uncertainty of the book trade," and today with everything that is offered over the internet, the book trade will be forever changing.