Quick Answer: Publishing is the process of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, whether in physical or digital form, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, comic books, newspapers, and magazines, to the public. The advent of digital information systems, the scope has led to an expansion of the scope to include digital publishing, such as e-books, digital magazines, websites, social media, music, and video game publishing. The commercial publishing industry ranges from large multinational conglomerates such as News Corp, Pearson, Penguin Random House, and Thomson Reuters to major retail brands and thousands of small independent publishers. It has various divisions such as trade/retail publishing of fiction and non-fiction, educational publishing, and academic and scientific publishing.