Abstract
The decline of perpetual copyright in the eighteenth century reshaped the nineteenth century publishing industry, forcing booksellers to abandon reliance on reprinting established authors and prompting new commercial strategies. While historians have emphasised copyright’s role in transforming publishing, its impact on professional life within the literary world has been less explored. This paper addresses that gap by examining how changing copyright legislation altered business practices, contractual relationships, and the professional identities of those working in the industry. In particular, it traces how copyright influenced evolving dynamics between authors and the public, helping redefine literary work as a credible and respected occupation. Situated within the Victorian context of expanding respectability and commercialisation, the study investigates the factors that enabled authorship to gain social legitimacy. Through newspaper commentary, it analyses how writers articulated their social value and negotiated their place within an increasingly professionalised literary marketplace.