台灣出版社有著創立資金門檻低及固定成本少的特性,使得大小出版社林立,在這塊二千三百萬人民居住的土地上,擁有著高達一千多家的出版社,每年並以四萬多冊的數量出版圖書。然而,大量出版社的加入,造成出版市場供需失衡,競爭激烈,許多小型出版社最終因不敵大環境的競爭而遭到淘汰,然而,出版社數量的減少卻仍趕不上新出版社成立的速度,因此,台灣出版社家數在資料數據上,仍始終維持正向成長曲線,這是台灣出版產業的一個特殊現象。 然而,在這個競爭激烈的出版環境中,有一群小眾,經營著特殊形態的出版社,他們無法歸屬於小型、中型或大型出版社,他們的社內成員較少,出版頻率較低,並以少量印製、精緻內容為訴求,非以營利為目的、而以出版者個人理想性為依歸,為台灣出版界開闢出另一條書香小徑,我們稱之為獨立出版社。而這些獨立出版社,也正是本論文的研究對象。 由於獨立出版名詞於近年內始逐漸被關注及討論,但是對於獨立出版名詞的定義多以西方為主,在台灣的討論並不多,因此筆者希望深入進行研究,以明確獨立出版的定義,並挑選幾間新一代的獨立出版社做為研究對象,為其建構生存模式,作為獨立出版研究者及從業人員和相關執政單位的參考。
Abstract: Taiwan publishers show characteristics of low capital threshold and unfixed costs. Because of this, the publishing industry has flourished here. However, in this highly competitive publishing environment, there is a group of minority publishers that do not belong to any type of publishing. They have few employees, small circulation, produce quality products, and appeal to non-profit purposes. They pursue their own personal ideals. These independent publishers and the realm that they have created within the Taiwanese publishing world is the object of my thesis. ‘Independent publishing’ has been discussed and a matter of concern in recent years, but the definition of ‘independent publishing’ is Western-oriented, and has not spurred much discussion in Taiwan, so I have conducted in-depth research, to clarify the definition of ‘independent publishing’. I have selected some publishers who fall under this category as the object of this thesis for constructing their mode of existence and as a reference for independent publishers, researchers, practitioners, and related governing units.