His publisher, Viking, preferred to title it with the more marketable "The Company of Women."

It also stresses that the publisher prefers the term "Life stories" to "Biographies" which according to the publisher is more subjective.

He was never entirely convinced that the new title, which his publishers preferred, was an improvement.

Most publishers prefer to fix mistakes quietly, between editions.

But publishers prefer satisfying longtime local advertisers by offering the widest format variety.

And at the end of the day publishers prefer their books to be on the booksellers' shelves than in the warehouse.

And publicity-hungry publishers prefer to have authors they can tour and put on talk shows.

Election Day is the only poll that matters, politicians are fond of saying, while publishers will always prefer good sales to good reviews.

And why publishers apparently still prefer to whine about getting paid content, rather than invest in online advertising offers that are remotely fit for purpose.

"I wrote it at the end because publishers and critics prefer, for their convenience, that there be something like a conclusion," Mr. Enzensberger said.