December 2007 Issue
12 Profitable Book-Production Tips for Publishers and Printers
Book-production management is, in many respects, an act of faith. For some, faith in the universality of Murphy’s Law—if something can go wrong, it will. Or, faith that virtue is its own reward—if you do everything right, things will always come out right. Old hands come to realize that “trust but verify” is probably the most prudent maxim to apply in managing workflow. Without systems in place and proven procedures, we’d have to reinvent the wheel every time. But without an occasional revisit to the last batch of XBIT transactions or Job Definition Format (JDF) specifications sent through, that error in the PMS color
18 Tips for Environmentally Conscious Publishing
1. Make “green” publishing company policy. That may sound daunting, but it can be done. Tyson Miller, director of the nonprofit Green Press Initiative (GPI), which helps publishers make informed environmental choices, suggests publishers make a commitment that demonstrates to printers, suppliers and mills that the market is shifting, and they will need to invest in developing new papers to meet the growing need. “Publisher commitments have been instrumental in the development of 24 new environmental sheets in North America within the last four years. The policy or commitment also serves to reinforce environmental responsibility as a priority in addition to creating cohesion within
22 Tips for Building Communities
The rise of niche marketing in the book world has led to a new appreciation of the power of audiences to drive interest in featured authors, titles and subject areas. Publishers are discovering a variety of ways to create communities, whether by building on time-tested marketing strategies or crafting innovative online features to encourage participation and create buzz. This feature shares tips from several experts on developing audience-building strategies that work. TIPS FROM ... Linda Leonard, Director, New Media, Random House Children’s Books Random House Children’s Books recently relaunched Teens@Random (www.RandomHouse.com/Teens), a Web site for fans of young-adult literature that makes extensive use of
22 Tips for Healthier Offshore Manufacturing Relationships
When the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) hosted its annual Publishing University conference in Chicago in early November, publishers, printers and vendors who attended the “Offshoring” session were provided with tips, advice and a few fair warnings about partnering with offshore manufacturers. Jennifer Butenschoen, director of production at Harvest House Publishers, which publishes Bibles, self-help titles and gift books, presented a 90-minute crash course on the topic, during which she offered tips that Book Business readers should find useful in evaluating their own offshore manufacturing strategy. More than 100 million Harvest House books have been sold worldwide since the company’s conception in 1974. Now
34 Cost-Cutting and Time-Saving Production Tips
Publishers looking to cut costs and production time face a wealth of challenges, not the least of which is shaking off old conceptions. Putting the focus on content, rather than on books as manufactured objects, can paradoxically help to uncover new ways to speed up the workflow (or, more accurately, customize the workflow to meet the needs of individual projects), and do so in as cost-effective a manner as possible. Common themes among those who shared with Book Business their cost- and time-saving production tips are planning and adaptability, which depend on effective communication. Despite all the technological advances of recent years (and
7 Tips for Utilizing Social Media
Social media is one of the tools book publishers need to have in their Web 2.0 arsenal. Web sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Gather not only draw millions of visitors, they also provide those visitors with a platform to converse and connect around shared interests and passions. On Gather (www.Gather.com), which President and COO Carl Rosendorf describes as “MySpace for grown-ups,” “Books” is one of 11 “essential” channels that visitors can navigate to find content and conversation of interest. Gather’s “Books” group boasts more than 45,000 members, who read, contribute and/or comment on original content such as book reviews, articles and
9 Tips for Staff Management and Motivation
It’s the end of the year, and that means a few things: The holiday season is upon us, and so is our annual Book Business “tips” issue. We pack as many tips on as many topics as we can into one issue. The end of the year is also performance-review time at many companies. As I prepare my own staff reviews, I got to thinking about being a manager and about the different management styles I’ve worked under throughout my career. Since it seemed most befitting to devote my column this month to “tips,” I decided to share some tips for better staff management
Behind Simon & Schuster’s New ‘Green’ Initiative
The book publishing industry took another step forward in its ongoing efforts to lessen its environmental impact with the recent announcement that Simon & Schuster Inc. (www.SimonSays.com) has launched a major environmental initiative and paper policy. As a result of this new initiative, the New York-based publishing company will aim to increase the amount of recycled fiber in the paper used to manufacture its books. It follows in the footsteps of Random House Inc., which launched a similar initiative last year. For its books printed and bound in the United States, Simon & Schuster plans to increase from its current 10 percent to
