Publishers are continually needing to consider: “What to publish?”

Some establish a limited repertoire of publication activities, focusing on academic books, novels, westerns, romance novels, text and educational books, informative or self-help books or material on specific topics such as health and wellbeing, ostrich farming etc., fashion or gardening magazines, music scores etc. Other publishers are engaged in a much wider range of activities, publishing books, journals, monographs and newspapers in their various branches. The nature of the publishing enterprise will determine what kinds of texts they can publish, and how they select which texts to publish.

Whilst it can be taken alone, this course is ideally studied as a follow on from Publishing A and B.

Course Aims:

• Understand the important considerations that affect the decision of what to publish.
• Prepare a plan for developing and producing a new publication.
• Manage financial requirements for the production of a new publication.
• Develop procedures for management of staff and other resources in a publishing business, small or large.
• Demonstrate insight into the different types of potential risks in a publishing business, including legal, financial and health risks.
• Develop an improved capacity to work effectively with authors
• Develop procedures for the management of production, and distribution of a publication.

There are 7 lessons in this course:

1. What to Publish?

• • Nature of publishing enterprises
  • Deciding what to publish
  • Commissioned work
  • Uncommissioned manuscripts and proposals
  • Factors influencing the decision of what to publish: Genre or type of writing, News value,
  • Storyline, Cost and profit potential, perceived need
  • Guidelines for writers

2. Planning a New Publication

• • The publication plan
  • Publication process
  • Editing and proofreading
  • Designing the document and preparing the art work
  • Typesetting, printing, desktop publishing

3. Costing a New Publication

• • Cost components: Staff, Production resources, printing, quantity, distribution, etc
  • Why some publications fail
  • Sponsorship
  • Creatation costs
  • Production costs
  • Marketing costs
  • Distribution costs
  • How royalties work
  • Income sources
  • How to prepare a budget
  • Collecting from debtors
  • Cash budgets and decision making

4. Resource Management

• • Managing publishing
  • Nature of management
  • Different resources for different publishers
  • Printing: print run, binding, cover, paper, etc
  • Analyzing the market
  • Developing procedures
  • Developing a business plan

5. Risk Management

• • Legal risks
  • Financial risks
  • Sources of finance
  • Health issues and risks
  • Duty of care
  • Safety audits
  • Managing risks

6. Managing Writers

• • Scope and nature: publishers, writers and illustrators
  • Support role of literary agents
  • Support role of publishing staff
  • Photo libraries
  • Copyright free material
  • Benefits an author gets from a book
  • Style: variations, page set up, formatting etc
  • Guide to good writing

7. Managing Production and Distribution

• • Timing production and distribution
  • Quality control during production
  • Quality control during distribution
  • Marketing and distributing a publication
  • Sales procedure
  • Managing the marketing process: step by step
  • Merchandising
  • Publicity and public relations
  • Managing distribution
  • Distribution channels: retail sales, direct sales
  • Physical transportation and stock control
  • Remaindering stock