These copies have been ordered by another person in the chain of production, generally the publisher or the author, who has taken the financial risk and, nowadays, the legal responsibility for the content of the work. Typesetting, printing, and binding can be provided by the same company, but these activities can also be performed by specialized firms. In other words, the gatekeeping function is undeveloped and weak. When the book is manufactured, various processes remain for selection, distribution, and selling. They contribute to the selection process, first by choosing what to review and when, secondly by their opinions.
Reviewers tend to think of themselves as intellectuals and examiners, which is largely true.
But they also function as marketers and advertisers of literature, since the very act of reviewing means that information concerning a book is divulged to the public. At the same time, the reviewer is a deputy reader, summarizing his or her reactions to a work, thereby partly exempting the reader from the necessity of reading the work in order to know what it is about. The wholesale bookseller offers books from many publishers, often warehousing the books for fastest possible delivery, but selling only to retail booksellers, not to the reading public. However, retail booksellers can unite in groups or nationwide chains, functioning on a central level as a wholesale bookseller. The retail bookseller sells books to the public, generally in his or her own shop.