This course will help you understand business requirements and practices in the publishing industry.
COURSE CONTENT
There are seven lessons in this module/course as follows:
- What to publish? – Deciding what and how to publish: market analysis, sponsorship, advertising, reader demand, industry support, distribution channels
- Planning a New Publication
- Costing a New Publication
- Resource Management – Managing physical, human and intellectual resources
- Risk Management – Legal considerations, insurance, staff wellbeing
- Managing Writers
- Managing Production & Distribution – Cost, timing, quality control, accuracy
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.
WHAT YOU MAY DO IN THIS COURSE
Some of the activities you will be required to do in this course are:
- Research the kinds and styles of works produced by three different book publishers;
- List market research strategies that a publisher might use to decide which proposal to develop;
- Research the percentage of publication given to advertising and graphics in three e-zines or books;
- List the information that a publisher might want to research before either (i) commissioning a new children’s book (choose the topic), or (ii) starting up a new magazine aimed at 8-12 year old children
- Investigate the costs involved in cash and/or in resources in producing a particular publication
- Write up a budget for the publishing of one issue of a local newsletter in two colours
- Identify factors that contribute the very different retail prices of books and magazines
- Prepare a draft business plan for a publishing business of your choice.
- Investigate insurance policies that would be relevant to the publishing industry
- Define publishers’ responsibility in regards to copyright
- Explain how a publisher would find a freelance writer and the process for contracting them
- Briefly explain the importance of a photo library.
- Track the process of a best seller and collect information on the marketing/advertising/selling process
- Writedifferent procedures which would be relevant to management of the production and distribution of a new e-zine, new magazine or new industry newsletter.