Like many industries, book publishing is dominated by a small number of companies known as the Big Five publishing houses. These publishers include Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster.

They hold the lion’s share in the book manufacturing and selling industry, and with so many resources at their disposal, they have the ability to make or break a book release. Despite churning out an innumerable number of releases each year, many writers find it difficult to make connections with these Big Five publishing houses, resulting in more and more authors deciding to self-publish instead.