This master's thesis first answers the question of what, in a world where anybody can put out a book of their own, determines whether a book is considered published. It stresses the importance of filtering, curation, and amplification of content - selection of content appropriate for publication, its improvement, and marketing, which increases the exposure of the content and ensures that a wider audience is reached. Next, it tackles the problem of the Slovenian book market, its oversaturation, and the lessening of selectivity, which results in low standards for book quality. Using Darnton%s communications circuit of the book, it examines individual phases of book production and checks whether the books that leave out some phases match the quality of those that go through all of them. It considers a book as a whole to be a product of craft and publication, since many different elements are encompassed within it. Apart from good content, technical equipment and visual presentation are also key factors. The thesis also introduces the criterion of the symbolic capital of a (self)publisher, which, on the basis of books published, establishes the validity of being able to produce good books, proving the familiarity and the ability to comply with prerequisites for the production of high-quality books. The aforementioned criteria can be tested in practice and provide basic outlines of publishing standards. Their potential usefulness can be predicted in judging books where public funds are concerned, including books funded by the Slovenian Book Agency and other public institutions, as well as those who are a part of public funding in some other way.
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