Editorial Management Functions and Strategies

Recommended texts & resources 

Each chapter within this course has a dedicated bibliography at the end, as well as further reading. These sources were originally selected from the Oxford Brookes University library collection and we are conscious they are somewhat UK centric. Below are some key texts and resources that you may find useful. See also the reading list for the IPA Academy Children’s & YA Publishing course.

The following three books are used as the set texts to accompany the MA course.

This Book Means Business by Alison Jones explains how to create a book proposal underpinned by market research and strategic thinking. Whilst this guide is designed to help business-book authors develop a content strategy which aligns with their business goals, This Book Means Business contains many editorial tactics and insights that can be applied to other genres of publishing. 
What Editors Do, by Peter Ginna brings together a collection of chapters from experts across publishing, revealing practical insights into the day-to-day work of editors.
Merchants of Culture by John Thompson describes the historic context and contemporary structures of twenty-first century publishing. It is quite UK- and US-centric in terms of the specific descriptions of publishing but does answer many questions one might have about how publishing and bookselling operate in those territories.  

Further to these, we highly recommend The Oxford Handbook of Publishing, edited by Michael Bhaskar and Prof. Angus Phillips which is a comprehensive review of the business of publishing and includes chapters on authorship, copyright, curation, economics, strategy and many other aspects relevant to editors. 

Editorial insight

Athill, D., 2011. Stet: a memoir. London: Granta Books.

Clark, G. N. and Phillips, A. (2020) Inside book publishing. 6 ed. Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY.

Ginna, P. (Ed.), 2017. What editors do: the art, craft, and business of book editing, Chicago guides to writing, editing, and publishing. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago

Greenberg, S., 2015. Editors talk about editing: insights for readers, writers and publishers, Peter Lang, New York.

Jones, A., 2018. This book means business: clever ways to plan and write a book that works harder for your business. Practical Inspiration Publishing, UK

Kretschmer. M., 2019 UK authors’ earnings and contracts 2018: A survey of 50,000 writers. CREATe, University of Glasgow. Available at: <https://www.create.ac.uk/uk-authors-earnings-and-contracts-2018-a-survey-of-50000-writers/> [Accessed: 21 February 2022]

Pack, S., 2020. Tips from a publisher: a guide to writing, editing, submissions and more. Eye Books, Much Wenlock.

Copy-editing and developing content

Butcher, J., Drake, C. and Leach, M. (2006) Butcher's copy-editing: the Cambridge handbook for editors, copy-editors and proofreaders. 4 ed. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press

Einsohn, A., Schwartz, M., 2019. The copyeditor’s handbook: a guide for book publishing and corporate communications, 4 ed. University of California Press, Oakland, California.

Norton, S., 2016. Developmental editing: a handbook for freelancers, authors, and publishers, Nachdruck. ed. University of Chicago Press, Chicago London.

Ritter, R.M., Waddingham, A. (Eds.), 2014. New Hart’s rules: the Oxford style guide, 2 ed. Oxford University Press, New York, NY.

Copyright, contracts and licensing

IPA, 2022. Copyright [online] International Publishers Association. Available at: https://www.internationalpublishers.org/our-work/copyright-enforcement [Accessed: 21 February 2022]

Jones, H. and Benson, C.,2016. Publishing law. 5 ed. London: Routledge.

Owen, L., 2020 Selling rights. 8 ed. Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY.

Owen, L., 2022. Clark’s publishing agreements: a book of precedents. Bloomsbury Professional, London.

PLS, 2022 Introduction to rights management, acquiring Rights, and licensing rights to others [Online Training Course] Available at: https://pls.thinkific.com/. [Accessed: 21 February 2022]

Stokes, S., 2019. Digital copyright: law and practice, 5 ed. Hart Publishing, Oxford; New York.

Stokes, S., 2021. Art and copyright, 3 ed. Hart Publishing, Oxford; New York.

WIPO, 2022. Publications [website] World Intellectual Property Organization. Available at: <https://www.wipo.int/publications/en/> [Accessed: 21 February 2022]

Publishing finance & market intelligence

Atrill, P. and McLaney, E. J., 2022. Accounting and finance for non-specialists. 12 ed. Harlow: Pearson.

IPA, 2022. VAT and fixed book price [online] International Publishers Association. Available at: <https://www.internationalpublishers.org/our-work/vat-and-fixed-book-price> [Accessed: 21 February 2022]

Mintel, 2022. UK books and e-books market report [Online/pdf] Available at: https://store.mintel.com/report/uk-books-and-e-books-market-report [Accessed: 21 February 2022]

Nielsen BookScan, 2022. UK TCM Charts [Dataset] Available at: <https://nielsenbook.co.uk/>

Outsell, 2022. Research [website] Available at: <https://www.outsellinc.com/outsells-research/>

Publishers Association, 2022. Export Toolkit [Online] Available at: <https://www.publishing-export.org.uk/> [Accessed: 21 February 2022]

Publishers Association, 2021. Publishers Association Yearbook 2020 [Online] Available at: <https://www.publishers.org.uk/publications/yearbook2020/> [Accessed: 21 February 2022]

Squires, C., Markou, H. An Ecosystem Model of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Publisher ‘Tiers’: Publisher Size, Sustainability and Cultural Policy. Pub Res Q 37, 420–438 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12109-021-09811-y

Wischenbart Consulting, 2022. Books and Markets [website] Available at: < https://www.wischenbart.com/page-2>

Publishing and book culture

Baverstock, A., Bowen, S., 2019. How to market books, 6 ed. Routledge, London ; New York.

Baverstock, A., Bradford, R., Gonzalez, M. (Eds.), 2020. Contemporary publishing and the culture of books. Routledge, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY. 

Bhaskar, M., 2013. The content machine: towards a theory of publishing from the printing press to the digital network. London: Anthem Press.

Davis, C., 2019. Print cultures: a reader in theory and practice. Red Globe Press Macmillan International, London.

Maguire, H. and O'Leary, B. eds. (2012) Book: a futurist’s manifesto: essays from the bleeding edge of publishing. [ebook] Available at: <http://book.pressbooks.com/chapter/context-not-container-brian-oleary> [Accessed on 10 February 2022]

Phillips, A. and Bhaskar, M. (eds) (2019) The oxford handbook of publishing. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.

Thompson, J.B. (2012) Merchants of culture. 2 ed. Cambridge: Polity

Thompson, J.B. (2021) Book wars: the digital revolution in publishing. Cambridge: Polity

1.1. Chapter Aim

• To introduce the definition and role of the commissioning editor within a publishing company, both historically and within a contemporary context.

1.2 Introduction

The term “edit” is defined in the Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary (1977) as “to prepare for publication, broadcasting etc.; to superintend the publication of; to compile; to garble, cook up; to revise; to censor…”. The Dictionary of Publishing and Printing (2006) defines the term as “to change, correct or modify text or films”. It differentiates between an editor who “changes or corrects text or films” or “makes the final decision about the contents and format” and a commissioning editor who “asks an author to write books for part of the publisher’s list for which he or she is responsible”.

The range of definitions is indicative of the role of an editor, who often has a wide brief and whose role and definition will often vary considerably between companies. A key area of responsibility for all editors is their work with some form of content. They may be employed in an acquisitive way, finding potential new products and/or working closely with material to develop it into a finished copy ready for publication. Editors need to engage with a process that covers a range of activities from an initial concept to final publication and beyond. This process will be examined in detail in chapter 2. This chapter is designed to equal approximately 5 hours of independent study and as you work through the chapter you will find skills builder exercises that will help you to develop what you have learned in a practical sense.

1.3 Historical Context

“In 1936 the British publisher Stanley Unwin received a package from an Oxford academic specialising in Anglo-Saxon Literature. It contained a painstakingly typed manuscript that had originated from bedtime stories told to the author’s children. Unsure what to make of this work, Unwin paid his ten-year-old son Rayner a shilling to read it and give his critical judgement. Rayner liked the book, concluding: ‘This book, with the help of maps, does not need any illustrations as it is good (sic) and should appeal to children between the ages of 5 and 9’. The text in question was, of course, The Hobbit…” (Finklestein, 2005: 1).

This legendary tale highlights some key attributes of an editor which are as applicable in the 21st century as in 1936. Although only ten years old, Rayner was exercising sound editorial judgement, identifying a target market for the book and pointing out key features which aid a reader’s understanding, such as the inclusion of maps. Stanley Unwin was testing the book on an anticipated age group to gauge interest and was effectively supervising a focus group to obtain qualitative feedback about the product, albeit with only one participant. (Note that feedback from a select demographic, i.e. the children of those who work for a publishing company, would not be considered reliable research today.) However, it would be highly unusual for current editors to receive an unsolicited package that would then become a bestselling book.

The role of the editor changed considerably over the 20th century and into the digital age of the 21st century. Therefore, the role of an editor in the 21st century might differ greatly from that of an editor in the 1930s. Some of the ways in which they might differ include:

• Commercial and financial acumen. How much money will this title/these titles make? This is a primary consideration for editors.
• Will this title fit with your company’s “mission” or lists?
• Current editors would be expected to commission products in a variety of media rather than only print format.
• Agents previously played a much lesser role in terms of facilitating author and publisher relationships and only became dominant in the UK from the 1970s onwards. Editors working in trade publishing, and specifically fiction, would now expect to engage with agents on a frequent basis.

1.4 Key Editorial Roles

The focus of this chapter will be on the role of the commissioning editors who are responsible for finding new content for future publications. Succeeding chapters will look at the methods by which these editors can add value to a company, primarily in commercial terms, but also in terms of reputation. To understand their role clearly you need to also be aware of the many other different types of editor.

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Skills Builder 1

Look at the work advertisements of recent online editions of The Bookseller, The Guardian Online (on Monday) or a selection of newspapers from your own country. Access the jobs page of the Oxford International Centre for Publishing website (OICP) and recruitment agencies such as Inspired Selection and make a note of the different types of  “editorial” jobs, their responsibilities and the attributes the advertisements request.

The roles might include some of the following: development editor, assistant editor, acquisitions editor, copy editor and digital editor. You will note that a liking for books and love for literature is assumed and therefore not usually mentioned. Later in the chapter, we will analyse the qualities needed for these roles. Unless a really detailed job specification exists, it is often difficult to decide exactly what type of skills or experience are required. Different publishers look for different personal attributes and it is often acceptable to expect some of the necessary experience to be learned “on the job”.

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Skills Builder 2

The following titles are often given to editors:  

Production editor – assistant editor – senior editor – managing editor – acquisitions editor – desk editor – publisher – editorial assistant – picture editor – design editor – editorial manager – associate editor – commissioning editor – editorial director – content editor – sub-editor – editorial services controller – developmental editor – copy editor – proofreader – digital editor. 

Look up definitions of editors online at a range of websites, such as:

www.writers.com or www.editors.ca/hire/definitions.html.

Divide the terms above into three columns under the headings:

Acquiring content

Working with content

Managing processes

You may find that some editors belong in more than one category.  Remember that not all editor roles contain the word ‘editor’ in the job title, e.g. Publisher, Publishing Director, Associate Publisher. Some editor roles also involve creating content; for example, the children’s publisher Usborne has editor/writer roles.

See Sample Answer.

1.5 Editorial Qualities

A close relationship can develop between an author and editor and this can develop over a long period of time. Some editors inspire extreme loyalty and there are many authors who remain very loyal to their editors. The late novelist Mary Wesley who had her first novel published in her seventies dedicated all of her books to James Hale, the editor at Macmillan publishers who first discovered her writing and championed her books throughout the editorial process. Authors’ agents can also play an important part in shaping editorial content. The role of agents and author relations will be explored further in chapter 4. 

The role of the commissioning editor is certainly not “glamorous” and involves much routine work, rather than long “publishers’ lunches”, drinks parties and launches. A large part of the role concerns finance as well as digital issues which will be discussed in detail in chapters 7, 8 and 9. Publishing is a business and editors’ success will depend on the income generated for their company. Thus financial and business acumen, a sound commercial awareness, the ability to build author/agent relationships and a clear vision for how to publish a book should all be part and parcel of an editor’s makeup.

Some important qualities of a commissioning editor are listed below:

• Attention to detail: although not directly engaged with copy-editing and proofreading, a commissioning editor is still often expected to read and oversee manuscripts as well as provide accurate copy which can be adapted for marketing activity.
• Strong and persuasive communication skills: both internally within companies and outside with authors, agents and networking contacts.
• Digital ability (e.g. familiarity with software such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe InDesign, etc.): the key attribute expected by future employers.
• Technical ability is less important than an ability to understand and promote the digital possibilities for all products.
• Editorial vision and creativity: all commissioning editors need to have ideas and some strategic ideas for future development.
• Financial acumen: an understanding of financial possibilities and basic business principles of profit and loss.

1.6 Commissioning and Acquisition 

You may have encountered the terms “acquisitions editor” and “commissioning editor”.  A basic comparison of the two might be:

• Commissioning – editor has an idea, finds author and develops the project
• Some editors embrace both roles and are free to come up with their own ideas for books while at the same time reviewing submissions from agents.

Acquisition – editor receives a proposal for the project and acquires rights to publish

Let’s now consider the process of commissioning or acquisition:

Access the product page for the following titles on http://www.amazon.com.

1. Slice & Bake Cookies: Fast Recipes from your Refrigerator or Freezer by Elinor Klivans
2. Nigella Express: 130 Recipes for Good Food, Fast by Nigella Lawson
3. Our Kind of Traitor: A Novel by John le Carre
4. Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine (Oxford Handbooks) by Murray Longmore et al
   

Consider these four types of publications. Which are likely to be commissioned and which acquired? Make a note of the reasons for your decision. 

Whether the material is acquired or commissioned, some key considerations need to be taken at different stages by an editor, such as:

• What sort of quality is the content and how should this be reflected in production? 
• Does it match the original brief?
• Does it have a clear one-line pitch?
• Is it suitable for your company, for the market?
• What is the author’s credentials/platform?
• What is the competition?
• Do you have space for this book on your list?
• When could you publish?
• Will it appeal to the target readership you have identified?
• How would you generate publicity/marketing interest?
• How much will it cost to acquire and produce?

1.7 Editorial Relationships with the Publishing Company

Editors occupy key roles in publishing and consequently work with everyone involved in the publishing process, including:

• Authors and agents
• Production and design colleagues
• Marketing, publicity and sales colleagues
• Staff in warehousing (inventory) and distribution
• Company management
• Administrative staff such as those in royalties departments
• Finance and commercial teams

The editor’s role is central and he or she needs to be consulted about a wide range of decisions within the publishing process, which will be examined in detail in chapter 2.

Consider the following statement:

Editorial still occupies the key territory where most publishing ideas are received, created and developed… (Davies, 1994).

The following diagram (Figure 1) places the editor at the centre of the process.

Whose job is it? 

The following jobs need to be undertaken and below is a list of the key participants who need to be involved based on the diagram above.

1. Producing advance notices with information about titles
2. Making decisions about the type of paper used if publishing a print product 
3. Releasing books from the warehouse in time for publication day
4. Deciding about cover design
5. Updating website with author details
   

So now let’s go on to consider the common denominator in the following answers:

1. Marketing department personnel, using material produced by the editorial department.
2. Production department staff (sometimes called “production editors”) where the final decision often needs to be agreed by editors.
3. The production and distribution departments will coordinate with suppliers of print products and digital intermediaries. The commissioning editor will have overseen the editorial schedule and planned for a specific publication date.
4. The design or production department will oversee this process, but the designs will need to be agreed by the commissioning editors, in consultation with the authors.
5. Most companies now have staff specifically allocated to website development roles, but the material for this job will have been generated by the editorial department, again after liaison with authors.

The role of the editor remains pivotal!

1.8 The Varying Role of the Editor – Two Case Studies

The role of the editor varies between large and small publishers. In the latter, it is not uncommon for an editor to be commissioning books as well as copy-editing and proofreading along with other tasks. But this is less likely in larger companies where often, proofreading and copy-editing is outsourced to freelancers. For example, let’s look at the following companies and consider the following questions:

1. Snowbooks (http://www.snowbooks.com/) is a small independent publisher specialising in science fiction and fantasy books. There are five people employed in the company. How many people are likely to be involved in an editorial role? 
2. HarperCollins Publishers (https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/) is a large publisher with international offices throughout the world. It produces trade and educational titles and has a well-established and proactive digital strategy. What type of editorial roles would you expect to find in this company and what sorts of editors are likely to be needed?

Snowbooks will probably have only one editor with other roles allocated to sales, marketing and finance. Copy-editing and proofreading are likely to be outsourced to freelancers and some of the books on their list are acquired from other companies rather than commissioned from initial ideas. A key feature of all small companies is the extent to which staff take on a variety of work, despite their specific job titles, and all will be expected to deal with digital enquiries and tasks.

HarperCollins has editors working in every part of their business, and as a large company, they are likely to have specific roles and job titles. Copy-editing and proofreading are also likely to be outsourced to freelancers. A key role is likely to be digital editor, allocated to different parts of the company’s lists or working for a separate department concentrating on digital strategy. Senior commissioning editors and publishers will have several assistant editors and editorial assistants working for them. An editor in the trade department working on fiction will be dealing with very different products from one in the educational division who might be developing school textbooks.
The role of the editor also differs between market sectors; the commissioning of titles within educational publishing will need a different approach from those required for a consumer market.

1.9 Future Directions

The future of the editor will be explored in more detail in chapters 9 and 10, but it has never been a more exciting and fast-moving time to study and work in publishing, and commissioning editors are expected to keep up with all new developments in their field.

1.10 Chapter Summary

In this chapter, you have examined types of editors and looked at the different relationships between editors and other types of publishing staff and their key role within a company. You have compared the historical and contemporary role of the editor and started to consider the specific tasks undertaken by commissioning editors. Chapter 2 will look in more detail at the editorial process involved in overseeing a product. You should now be able to:

• Differentiate between types of editors
• Compare the different relationships between editors and other types of publishing staff and their key role within a company
• Critically evaluate the historical and contemporary role of the editor

References and Further Reading

Books:

A & C Black. 2006. Dictionary of Publishing and Printing.  London: Bloomsbury.

Blake, C. 1999. From Pitch to Publication. London: Macmillan.

Clark, G., and Phillips, A. 2020. Inside Book Publishing 6th edition. Oxford: Routledge.

Davies, G. 2004. Book Commissioning and Acquisition 2nd edition. Oxford: Routledge.

Davies, G., and Balkwill, R. 2011. The Professional’s Guide to Publishing. London: Kogan Page.

Finkelstein, D. and McCleery, A. 2005. An Introduction to Book History. Oxford: Routledge.

Ginna, P 2017. What Editors Do. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Jones, A. 2018. This Book Means Business. London: Practical Inspiration Publishing.

Websites:

Chartered Institute of Editors and Proofreaders https://www.ciep.uk/resources/factsheets#AUQ

Skills Builder 2 – Sample Answer

This is not a definitive list as the definition of the role of editor can vary considerably between companies. The role of editorial assistant features prominently in all three columns and is the most likely route into publishing and first job for aspiring editors. Some roles, like developmental editor, differ quite dramatically from publisher to publisher depending on the formats they publish and the latest publishing technology.

2.10 Chapter Summary

2.1. Chapter Aim

• To consider the processes and workflow the commissioning editor is expected to engage with, from the creation of content to its publication.

2.2. Introduction

Chapter 1 looked at different types of editors and the variety of job titles that may be applied to their position. Whilst the primary role of the commissioning editor is to create new content, in practice however their role within the publishing process is much wider. The extent to which they shape and manage content will be examined in chapter 2, where the importance of insightful and early decisions and collaborative consultation will be explored. This chapter is designed to equal approximately 5 hours of independent study and as you work through the chapter you will find skills builder exercises that will help you to develop what you have learned in a practical sense.

2.3 Definition

The editorial process involves a sequence of operations and activities from the first concept to the final publication which involves editors or editorial functions performed by others. The editor’s role is to improve, develop and enhance the content as well as oversee the process by which this occurs. The product workflow and the processes relating to it have changed considerably over the last ten years with the rise of digitisation of production methods and digital products.

Traditional paper-based workflows may still apply to many products where a final manuscript is forwarded to a production department to be copy-edited, proofread and ultimately printed. However, digitisation, including “born digital” products and new processes are now blurring these stages. This is discussed further in chapter 9. 

The following diagram (Figure 1) from Palgrave Macmillan publishers also demonstrates an editorial process for a digital product.

Figure 1: The Editorial Process for a Digital Product

Many activities occur simultaneously in a digital schedule, and the editor needs to be involved at every stage. In traditional print schedules, editors’ responsibilities for particular tasks such as briefing copy-editors, providing cover and text design briefs and ensuring that content is ready for formatting, remain key.

2.4 Editorial Liaison

An editor needs evidence – before investing company money – that colleagues are fully briefed about product specifications and have the resources and time to develop them. The extent to which editors are involved in all areas of the publishing process is demonstrated in a video from Random House publishers at

It is also essential to keep colleagues informed about changes. Below, a commissioning editor explains the communications protocol within Headline (an imprint of Hachette UK):

“Systems are in place that ensure conversations between departments happen in quite a structured way. I create an email that briefs all the relevant departments and then we are all in one room at the acquisitions meeting to have any necessary conversation. I would be unlikely to talk to design or production pre-acquisition unless it was a complex or illustrative title on a tight schedule.”

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Skills Builder 1: Liaison with Colleagues

A commissioning editor decides to publish a new printed book on yoga. The sales and marketing departments are excited as they have had success with “Mind, Body and Spirit” titles and the proposed first-time author looks like a marketable individual. Before offering terms for a contract the editor needs to talk to colleagues in departments of:

Design

Production  

Rights

Finance
List some key information each of these colleagues would require. Make your own notes. Clarity of information is critical to avoid problems at a later stage.

See Sample Answer.

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Skills Builder 2: An Editor’s Dilemma

You are an editor at a large international publisher in charge of a new edition of the successful textbook: Philosophy – A First Guide. It is critical that this book is published in May to enable copies to be sent to lecturers to review and recommend for their new courses in the following autumn. The manuscript was submitted several weeks ago but is messy, needs some rewriting and a very thorough copy-edit. The copy-editor has been on sick leave for two weeks, clearing permissions for copyright material is taking a long time, and you are in dispute with the author about the page design of the new edition. Your schedule is now slipping so badly that you will lose your prime printing slot with the printers in Hong Kong, meaning the book now has a publication date of the end of July, which is too late to send copies to lecturers who will then be on holiday.

Immediate implications are:

1) The marketing department is furious and refuses to spend any money on promotion for the book as it is now unlikely to be recommended by lecturers.

2) The production department is on bad terms with its most important printer in Hong Kong because it could not keep to the agreed dates for printing.

3) The copy-editor refuses to speak to you after you shouted at her over the phone.

4) The author blames you for everything and has very forceful views about the page design.

Could this situation have been avoided and if so, how? Is there any way you can improve the situation?

See Sample Answer.

2.5 Editorial Proposals

Editors are expected to assess editorial ideas in the form of proposals in particular market sectors where works are commissioned rather than acquired, such as in educational or academic publishing. Many publishers give detailed guidelines on their websites and expect to be given specific information from prospective authors. An early conversation on the telephone can save a lot of time, particularly with inexperienced authors who may not be market savvy.

Review the author proposal guidelines for two market sectors: 

Academic

Global Academic Business Division at Oxford University Press at http://global.oup.com/uk/academic/authors/AuthorGuidelinesMain/ 

Trade or Consumer

Random House publishers at https://www.penguinrandomhouse.co.uk/work-with-us/authors/

The literary agent Eve White at http://www.evewhite.co.uk/submissions/

Make your own notes of the key differences. 

The differences will indicate the very different approach editors take to receiving material from authors, influenced by the market sector in which it will be published. Academic author guidelines tend to be much more specific about how the material is presented and some market knowledge is expected from authors. When a proposal is received it can indicate to an editor whether the content is likely to be publishable – or not. The care an author takes when filling in the guidelines may also provide a guide as to the care they will take when writing their manuscript. It can also demonstrate their awareness of the market for their product and their ability to accept constructive criticism. These and other factors need to be satisfactorily resolved before contractual negotiations begin. Author/editor relationships will be discussed further in chapter 4.

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Skills Builder 3: A (hypothetical) author has filled in the author proposal using author guidelines from Palgrave Macmillan at: http://www.palgrave.com/gb/why-publish/submit-proposal

From an editorial perspective assess the information you see. Is the work publishable? If so, would you need more information before proceeding? Are there any areas of concern in terms of:

Content

Author ability

Costs

Market considerations

Your publishing schedule

See below: Publisher’s instructions are in roman. The author’s answers are in italics. 

See Sample Answer.

PUBLISHING PROPOSALS: GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS

NAME: A. N. Author

AFFILIATION: Professor of Political Studies, University of Epoka, Albania

This form is intended to give us a clear idea of your project in a succinct manner. Please complete it as fully as possible, or feel free to use it to structure your own proposal.

On submission, your proposal will be read by the appropriate commissioning editor at Palgrave who will, if necessary, discuss it with colleagues and/or send it for review by one or more external advisers chosen by us for their specialist and/or market expertise. Further details of relevant editorial contacts can be found at www.palgrave.com/contactus/contacts/editorial.asp.

We are committed to making publishing decisions as swiftly and efficiently as possible. However, obtaining reviews does take time and if there are any circumstances we should bear in mind from the point of view of timing, please do let us know. We ask for sole consideration of the project whilst it is under review – or notification from you should already have submitted this proposal to another publisher.

THE PROJECT

1. Proposed title and subtitle: A History of Russia
   
   
2. Brief description of the project’s scope and content (Include here a description of the key selling points of your project; what makes it distinctive? What are the particular benefits offered by its content, scope, organisation and/or educational features? What needs does it aim to satisfy?)
   This textbook offers a comprehensive guide to Russia until the start of the new Millennium. Incorporating new research by the author, the results of recent conference papers and previously unpublished letters from ex-president Mikhael Gorbachov, it offers a unique guide to Russian politics.
   
   
3. Proposed content (Please attach a chapter by chapter synopsis of the project’s planned content and main argument(s). If possible, please include major headings within each chapter. We appreciate that the content will be provisional at this stage, but in order to make a fair assessment of the project’s potential, your initial presentation needs to be as detailed as possible. If you have sample material available, please submit that also.)
   
   Not yet available
   
   
4. Market
   a) Please indicate the primary market for your project. What is the main audience for the work – students, academics or practitioners? To which subject areas/fields will your project most appeal? Where is the book going to sell in greatest numbers – and what is your best estimate of market size? If the primary market consists of students please provide details of the specific courses and modules for which the book would be relevant (e.g. PG/UG; 1st/2nd/3rd year; core/elective). If possible, please give an indication of typical student numbers.
   
   The book is aimed at academics and students of politics, history, international relations, Russian and European studies. I think, after the success of the author Orlando Figes with his Russian books, it will also appeal to the general reader. I am not sure of the market size but I am certain it is big and student classes at my own university have 15 students per year for this subject.
   
   b) Please list any secondary markets that may exist for the project (e.g. academic associations, professional bodies, etc.).
   
   Professional bodies such as the Association of Russian studies would order multiple copies.
   
   c) If the main audience for the work comprises academics, will the work be suitable for publication as part of Palgrave Pivot (i.e. between 20–50,000 words in length)? More information on Palgrave Pivot can be found at www.palgrave.com/pivot.
   
   NO
   
   
5. Competition: Please list (including author, title and publisher) those publications that your project will be competing with. These might not be direct competitors, but simply what your primary readership is buying/using at the moment. What are the key benefits of your project over and above these other publications?
   
   There is no competition for this book.
   
   
6. Additional Information
   
   a) How long do you expect the project to be overall (in thousands of words)?
   
   175,000 words
   
   b) Will any of your work included in this manuscript have been published previously? This might include (either in their entirety or in significant sections) journal articles, working papers, chapters in edited collections, etc. Please note that we require the ability to publish and sell the work in print and digital formats and will need to ensure that all relevant permissions are cleared in order to proceed with publication.
   
   Please give the percentage of the manuscript that comprises previously published work.
   
   15%
   
   Please provide details of previously published material included in the text along with details of copyright holders.
   
   To follow
   
   c) Seeking permission from copyright holders can be very time-consuming and expensive. We therefore recommend that you keep to a minimum the inclusion of third party material (such as tables, figures, illustrations, photographs, quotations, and epigraphs). If you cannot avoid including such material please be aware that, unless otherwise agreed with your editor, it will be your responsibility to obtain permission to use the material in print and online. Please confirm whether you intend to include third party material and supply details. Authors may find further information on permissions and copyright here. https://www.palgrave.com/gp/journal-authors/rights-permissions/10052490
   
   d) Will the project include interviews carried out by you or your contributors? If so, please give details.
   
   e) Is the book based on your PhD/PhD research? If so, is your thesis available electronically anywhere, e.g. an institutional repository?
   
   f) If your proposal stems from a specific research project please provide details of the project and the relevant funding bodies below.
   
   g) Does the project require any illustration? Please indicate whether you envisage including any of the following and, if so, approximately how many.
   
   
   

   Tables	[0]	Photographs	[0]
   Graphs/charts	[0]	Plate section	[?]
   Line diagrams	[0]	Other	[0]

   
   
   h) Are there any other particular features you plan for the project? For example, books aimed primarily at a student market may include pedagogical features including learning objectives, case studies, worked examples, further reading, etc.
   
   No pedagogical features
   
   i) Do you plan any ancillary content to accompany the main text? For student textbooks this may consist of content available via a companion website (e.g. PowerPoint slides, revision questions, web links, etc.)
   
   No
   
   j) When do you realistically propose to deliver a final typescript?
   
   December 2028
   
   k) Please provide names and affiliations of 3–5 experts in your area who might be well-positioned to evaluate the project and offer feedback. Note that we may not necessarily use these suggestions.
   
   l) Why did you choose to submit your proposal to Palgrave Macmillan?
   
   Oxford University Press turned me down.
   
   
7. Author Information
   
   Please provide below complete contact information for yourself and any co-authors/co-editors, along with a biography and a full CV for each author/editor. For edited collections please provide the names, positions and affiliations and/or 1–2 line bios (but not full contact details) of all contributors.
   
   I have contributed to journal articles – see separate list. This is my first book.
   
   

At first glance this author looks like an unlikely candidate to be commissioned. However, chapter 4 looks in further detail at author proposals and emphasises the need to educate and nurture authors.

2.6 Assessing Quality

When a manuscript arrives the editor needs to have a checking mechanism in place to assess the quality of the material.

There are a number of things that need to be checked when reviewing the material:

• Is the content readable, i.e. legible, and accessible? Will this require a thorough copy-edit?
• Is it pitched at the correct audience? For example, if intended for an educational market does the content correspond to a specific curriculum or age group? 
• Is it right for the market? Have there been any changes since first commissioned which need to be considered, such as new competition in this area?
• Does it match the original brief? Does it now include illustrations and copyright material which were not originally costed for? Is it over length? How is it structured?
• Is there any content which could be regarded as culturally insensitive or legally defamatory? (This will be discussed in more detail in chapter 5.)
• Does it still fit with your company profile and do you have the necessary resources to develop it?
• Has the material been submitted in an appropriate digital format?

A vigilant editor will help avoid escalating production costs and potential legal action if the material is assessed thoroughly before the “handover” stage of a manuscript.  After the manuscript has been submitted by the author (or their agent), its quality is first assessed by the editorial department.  The manuscript is then handed over to production at which point the editor must brief the production department and copy-editor.  Another checklist will be necessary and some key information will be needed, such as:

1. Product specification – Format (print, digital or both), extent, text and cover design, illustrations etc.
2. Schedule – is it time critical?
3. Author(s) – experienced, first-time, difficult, slow, and available for consultation and checking or away at some point? Will a light or thorough copy-edit be needed? 
4. Content – is all third-party material cleared for permission to reuse and within budget?

Chapter 1 looked at editorial titles and differentiated between editors who acquire publications and those who manage content. In practice, editors who work for small companies may often have to take on copy-editing and proofreading responsibilities and at any rate are expected to oversee final copy before the manuscript is printed or digital copies produced. It is not uncommon to find mistakes at a late stage; we will now go on to look at a recipe where, at first glance, the content looks accurate. However, some attention to detail is lacking and the considerations of two different core markets of the UK and US are not always addressed.

Case Study 1: Read the following recipe and make a note of any errors or areas where confusion might result. This recipe is from a book on family meals. It will be a combined UK/US version so the recipes will need to have metric/imperial/cup measurements where applicable, with glosses where appropriate for words or terms that are different in the UK and US.

Vegetable, Pecan and Feta pasties

Lozoan hoggan are usually served on religious festivals in the village of Crust an Byghan in West Cornwall. To celebrate Saint Piran, the patron saint of flour and baking, they are broken into pieces and flung into the crowd of brightly coloured people who are gathered in the village square.

Serves 6

400g can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 large courgette, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 red (bell) pepper, diced
50g/20z/⅓ cup pecans, chopped
175g/6 ozs/1¼ cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tbsp freshly chopped thyme
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Salt and ground black pepper
25g/1 oz/2 tbsp butter
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Salad, to serve (optional)

For the shortcrust pastry

500g/11/4lb/41/4 cups plain (all-purpose) flour
A pinch of salt
250g/9 oz/generous 1 cup butter

1) Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7. To make the pastry, put the flour and salt in a food processor with the butter, cut into pieces, and process until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add 6–8 tbsp cold water and process briefly using the pulse button. Wrap in cling film and let rest in the fridge for 30 minutes before rolling out.

2) Chop the onion. Put the beans, courgette, onions, nuts, and cherry tomatoes into a bowl and add the herbs, Worcestershire sauce and seasoning, then mix well.

3) Roll the pastry into six circles. Spoon the filling onto one half of each round and top with a small knob of butter.

4) Fold the edges of the pastry over to make pasties. Press the edges firmly together to seal and crimp them. Make a slit in the top of the pastry.

5) Brush the pastry with beaten egg to glaze and bake the pastries in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven setting to 160°/Gas 3 and bake for a further 45 minutes to cook the filling. Serve the pasties warm or cold with salad.

Vegetarian

Per serving: 640cals; 36g fat (of which 25g saturates); 59g carbohydrate; 11.1g salt

The changes are listed at the end of this chapter – please now take a moment to look through them.

This case study demonstrated the need for consistency and careful checking of content to ensure it is fit for purpose. A commissioning editor would not be expected to copy-edit such material (unless working for a small company where roles could be interchangeable) but rely on experienced colleagues, probably working as freelance copy-editors and proofreaders who are familiar with company house styles and have been given a clear editorial brief. However, the editor would usually be expected to review the material at some point and at the very least identify the mismatch of copy in the opening paragraph to the intended market of the book, to ensure marketing colleagues were not misled when promoting the title.

For an example of a cookery book error see: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/sep/19/cookbook-errors-recipes-for-disaster Are there any other subject areas or types of publishing where errors are most likely to have severe consequences? 

To what extent should an editor “interfere” with an author’s content? A public dispute between the author Ben Okri and his editor at https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/feb/13/ben-okri-robin-robertson-rewriting indicates the need for discretion and careful handling.

When preparing a manuscript for production the editor will be expected to provide details to internal colleagues and, for example, write a blurb that gives marketing colleagues some key selling information about the product. They would also be expected to produce or oversee the production of a cover brief and – if necessary – supply the cover text to the designer. As the contact closest to the author, they would need to ensure the author’s view is represented to avoid misunderstanding and likely delays with the design department at a later stage.

2.7 Schedules and Key Milestones

Schedules exist in different forms throughout publishing companies. From an editorial perspective, the period of time after submission and before final material is ready for either printing or digital production is a key period where editorial intervention is essential. Some vital components of schedules are:

• Needs company commitment and resources
• Planned in advance
• Tailored to individual product needs
• Must be flexible
• Needs constant monitoring
• Requires team effort

2.8 Financial Considerations

Financial considerations will be explored in chapters 7 and 8, but at an early stage, an editor needs to be aware of the cost considerations of contracting books and where the bulk of investment is needed. For example, a biography of a famous footballer would require a large advance on royalties to be paid and an illustrated cookery book would require considerable investment in design and photoshoots.

Research the following real titles online.

• Hard Choices by Hilary Rodham Clinton
• 50 Fast Chicken Fillets (Australian Women’s Weekly)
• The Norton Anthology of English Literature
• Foundations of College Chemistry by Morris Hein and Susan Arena
• The Three Little Pigs App at https://nosycrow.com/blog/nosy-crows-very-first-app-the-three-little-pigs-is-five-years-old/

Where would the majority of expenditure be for these titles? It is likely that the expenditure would be focused on:

1. Author advance on royalties
2. Design, illustrations, paper quality
3. Permissions clearance for copyright material, particularly poems
4. Design, specialist copy-editing
5. Digital app development – created in-house by Nosy Crow Publishers

2.9 Key Editorial Decisions

When is the best time to publish a product? The sales and marketing departments will have firm views on this, but the editor is expected to plan this well in advance when commissioning a product.

1. Horrible Histories: Ruthless Romans
2. TOP 10 Barcelona (Eyewitness Travel Guides)
3. Chemistry: An Introduction to General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry 
4. Guinness World Records 

When is the best time of year to publish these titles and what are the critical factors influencing your decision? Note you may have several suggestions for publication dates.

So let’s break these down:

1. Horrible Histories: Ruthless Romans. This title is a trade/consumer title intended for children and could be sold throughout the year. Key publication times could be the end of September (ready for the Christmas market) or June, before the summer holidays. It is also a crossover trade/educational title which might be stocked by schools, so an awareness of budgets and year-end spending could be helpful.
2. TOP 10 Barcelona (Eyewitness Travel Guides) Barcelona is now a year-round destination for holiday makers, so June/July – historically a key time for publishing travel books – may not be so significant. January and February may be preferred as holidays are planned for the coming year. October to December might be avoided due to space constraints which favour Christmas titles in bookshops.
3. Chemistry: An Introduction to General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry. The editor of this textbook would rely on adoptions from lecturers to recommend this title for students for a September intake. Therefore April and May would be favoured times to publish to ensure lecturers have plenty of time to review the book before leaving for their summer holidays.
4. Guinness World Records.The editor’s dilemma is to ensure this annual book is as up to date as possible but published by the start of September to capitalise on Christmas sales. The period of September to December is the key selling period – in January the book already seems out of date.

2.10 Chapter Summary

In this chapter we have considered the role of the editor within the editorial process. We have examined the role of teamwork, the importance of a clearly understood schedule and the challenges of interacting with both authors and internal and external colleagues leading up to publication.

You should now be able to:

• Critically evaluate the role of the editor within the editorial process leading up to publication
• Identify editorial responsibilities for publishing schedules 
• Demonstrate an awareness of the editorial decisions required by editors when managing content

Further Reading and Resources

Books

Clark, G. and Phillips, A. 2020. Inside Book Publishing 6th edition. Oxford: Routledge.

Ginna, P.2017. What editors Do. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Hall, F. 2013.  The Business of Digital Publishing. Oxford: Routledge.

Websites and Web Links

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.co.uk/work-with-us/authors/

http://global.oup.com/uk/academic/authors/AuthorGuidelinesMain/ 

http://www.evewhite.co.uk/submissions/ 

http://www.palgrave.com/page/submit-a-proposal    

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/sep/19/cookbook-errors-recipes-for-disaster

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/feb/13/ben-okri-robin-robertson-rewriting

https://nosycrow.com/blog/nosy-crows-very-first-app-the-three-little-pigs-is-five-years-old/

Skills Builder 1 – Sample Answer

1. Design. What sort of illustrations are expected and will the author provide them or will a photographer need to be commissioned? What size and how many illustrations are needed and do they all need to be in full colour? Is a new page design required or could it be based on a similar publication? What sort of cover design is expected and should the text layout be standard or intricate?

2. Production. When is content expected to be delivered and what is your suggested publication date? How critical are costs for printing locally or more economically in places such as Hong Kong or India. What format is required – standard sizes are much cheaper – and what sort of paper quality? What is the extent of the book in terms of text, illustrations and expected page count? If produced only in print, are there any plans for digital editions in the future?

3. Rights. Would this appeal to an international market in terms of likely translations or co-editions? If so, what changes in content would be preferred to achieve potential sales? Are there further opportunities to exploit subsidiary rights, for example, a serial deal?

4. Finance. Your colleagues may not actually work in a finance office but you would need to have authorisation that money can be invested in this product, possibly from your publishing director. They need to know how many books you are likely to sell and over which period of time, who you envisage as key competitors and details of your pricing rationale. When do you envisage making a profit and in what time frame? The sales team would play a significant role in obtaining this vital information.

Skills Builder 2 – Sample Answer

Your answer could include:

1. Could this have been avoided?

• Anticipation of author problems. This is not a new author – he/she will have a track record; draft material should have been requested in advance of a draft manuscript to work through writing problems and assess the presentation of the manuscript

• Clearance of permission of copyright material should have been started before a final manuscript was submitted. It’s unclear in this brief whose responsibility this is – the author’s or the company? If the former, was the author correctly briefed and warned of the timescales involved?

• Early communication about likely problems and delays with both production and marketing departments would have allowed them to revise their schedules and reorganise their resources.
  
  

2. Can you improve this situation?

• Discuss with marketing colleagues ways of providing early samples of material to show lecturers key changes in the new edition. If lecturers are familiar with the last edition, your role will be to emphasise USPs which marketing can use to promote the new edition. You might also discuss air freighting early printed copies from abroad with the production department to ensure early copies are sent to key academics and allow for this extra expense in your editorial costings.

• Ask the author to check page proofs very quickly to try to make up time at the printers and give your production department a realistic new schedule.

• Apologise to the copy-editor – it is never acceptable to shout at colleagues (particularly if they are depressed) – and ask for an honest assessment of when the copy-editing will be complete. If necessary you may have to quickly re-brief a new copy-editor.

• Involve marketing with the page design dispute and provide evidence to the author that both their and your ideas will help sales.

Skills Builder 3 – Sample Answer

Content. Very little information is given. A draft contents list and some chapter synopses would be expected. The content is up to date to the end of 1999 but more recent developments would need to be included. No ideas for pedagogical features are suggested and these would be expected for a student market. The letters look more suitable for an academic monograph or trade history title rather than a textbook.

Author ability. This is the author’s first book and some evidence of writing ability would be required to assess his/her ability to write for the intended market. Details of the journal articles have surprisingly been omitted from the proposal.

Costs. The author requests 40 photographs which may be prohibitively expensive in terms of copyright clearance and payment; therefore the author would need to make a persuasive case for this number to be included. The length is 175,000 words, which is relatively long for a textbook and would be expensive to produce in printed form. The unpublished letters are also likely to be expensive to reproduce and the fact that 15% of the material has already been published elsewhere raises alarm (if payment is needed to reproduce it in another format). This may not please your marketing department who are expecting a completely new product.

Market considerations. The author is ambitious in the estimate of readership; very few titles crossover between academic, textbook, and the “general reader”. The reference to Orlando Figes, a successful trade history author gives an indication of expectations that will need to be managed. Based in Albania, evidence is needed that he is familiar with the large English language speaking textbook market. It’s also unclear as to whether this is a history or politics book – two separate markets in many universities in terms of teaching and content. It is delusional (or arrogant) to indicate there is no competition and the USPs of this title are not evident.

Your publishing schedule. Editors usually have a five-year plan for their publishing programmes and six years appears to be an excessive amount of time to write this book. Questions need to be asked as to whether the author also has other writing commitments and whether the market interest in Russian history books will be maintained in the future.

Case Study 1 - Changes

Changes and queries are marked in red. 

This recipe is from a book on family meals. It will be a combined UK/US version so the recipes will need to have metric/imperial/cup measurements where applicable, with glosses where appropriate for words or terms that are different in the UK and US.

Vegetable, Pecan and Feta pasties

Lozoan hoggan are usually served on religious festivals in the village of Crust an Byghan in West Cornwall. To celebrate Saint Piran, the patron saint of flour and baking, they are broken into pieces and flung into the crowd of brightly coloured people who are gathered in the village square. Does this description match the theme of family meals? There appears to be a mismatch with the introduction.

Serves 6

Add feta cheese ingredient?

Add 14oz / 400g can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 large courgette, / diced also insert zucchini

1 onion, chopped

1 red (bell) pepper, diced Bell – US term?

50g/20z/⅓cup pecans, insert pecan nuts chopped

175g/6 ozs/1¼ cups cherry tomatoes, halved size of cup?

1 tbsp freshly chopped thyme

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley for consistency

Salt and ground black pepper usually placed at the end of ingredients

25g/1 oz/2 tbsp butter

1 egg, beaten insert “medium”?

2 tsp Worcester sauce

Salad, to serve (optional)

For the shortcrust pastry

500g/11/4lb/41/4 cups plain (all-purpose) flour Do you need to add “extra flour to dust”?

A pinch of salt

250g/9 oz/generous 1 cup butter

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7. To make the pastry, put the flour and salt in a food processor with the butter, cut into pieces, (better in the ingredients list) and process until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add 6–8 tbsp 6 or 8 ?cold water and process ( or “by hand” also?) briefly using the pulse button. Wrap in cling film (“clear film” in the US) and let rest (“leave to rest” for UK) in the fridge (US – refrigerator) for 30 minutes before rolling out.

2. Chop (“chopped” already specified in ingredients) the onion. Put the beans, courgette (zucchini?), onions, nuts, and cherry tomatoes into a bowl and add the herbs, Worcestershire sauce and seasoning, then mix well. Where is the red pepper?

3. Roll the pastry into six circles. What size, diameter, how thick? Spoon the filling onto one half of each round and top with a small knob of butter.

4. Fold the edges of the pastry over to make pasties. Press the edges firmly together to seal and crimp them. Do you need to add moisture? Make a slit in the top of the pastry.

5. Brush the pastry with beaten egg to glaze and bake the pastries in the preheated (repetition?) oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven setting to 160°/Gas 3 (US fan oven) and bake for a further 45 minutes to cook the filling. Serve the pasties warm or cold with salad. Insert “if you like” or “if desired” to emphasise optionality.
   Vegetarian (But Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies and Parmesan cheese might not be vegetarian so a warning must be given and replacement ingredients suggested.)

Per serving: 640cals; 36g fat (of which 25g saturates); 59g carbohydrate; 11.1g salt

3.10 Chapter Summary

3.1. Chapter Aim

To analyse market research from an editorial perspective.

3.2 Introduction

Editorial research is also essential, to ensure that authors’ content is relevant to a specific market and to provide evidence to enable the editor to convince internal colleagues to support potential new products.

All titles have a market and a specific target readership and an author (or authors) who may or may not be well known. Apart from these similarities, the titles will differ in price, length, formats and cover design. How does the editor make the decisions which determine these variants? What sort of information needs to be collected or should decisions just be made on instinct?

This chapter will look at the reasons why editors undertake market research and the types of research that will be expected when commissioning new products.

This chapter is designed to equal approximately 5 hours of independent study and as you work through the chapter you will find skills builder exercises that will help you to develop what you have learned in a practical sense.

3.3 Why do Market Research?

Gaining insight into your consumers is, of course, critical when you are planning to produce and sell anything, including books. Publishers can use “audience segmentation” as part of such market research. Audience segmentation is a way of dividing up the population into predefined sectors, for example, by age, spending habits, or demographic and can be an effective way to gain more meaningful data.

On reflecting about her life as an editor in the 1950s in the following excerpt, Diana Athill recognised the need for knowledge as well as “gut” instinct when making decisions about publishing projects. 

“Thinking up” books on demand is one of the idlest occupations in all of publishing. If an interesting book has its origins in a head other than its author’s, then it either comes in a flash as a result of compelling circumstances, or it is the result of someone’s obsession which he has nursed until just the right author has turned up. Books worth reading don’t just come from people saying to each other “what a good idea!” They come from someone knowing a great deal about something and having strong feelings about it. Which does not mean that a capable hack can’t turn out a passable book-like object to a publisher’s order; only that when he does so it ends on the remainder shelves in double-quick time. (Stet: 110).

Commissioning editors are expected to make informed decisions about the titles they intend to publish, based on evidence provided by market research. Their sales and marketing colleagues need to be convinced there is a market for the proposed books and the editor is likely to attend many meetings over the course of their career to present their evidence and persuade their colleagues to support their ideas. As with all businesses, publishers aim to maximise profit and minimise risk; therefore strong commercial reasons, based on thorough market research, are needed before investing in new products. From a financial point of view this would lower risk by providing evidence that some return on investment could be anticipated. 

Market research can also help shape and develop a project and enable editors to anticipate both opportunities and potential problems for commissioning. Editors need to balance data from market research with their own instincts. For example, if a pop star has 60 million Twitter followers, that is the kind of data that might lead an editor to spend a lot of money on a book… but will those 60 million followers translate into book buyers? An instinctive blend of judgements, informed by experience, would be required when making a decision whether or not to publish this pop star’s book.

Data is only valuable if acted upon and one of the most important aspects of any editorial research is the “So what?” test. What will you do with the information? How will it inform your decision making/new product development? How will it be shared around your company? For example, when researching the market for an undergraduate textbook, the number of students studying a subject will be relevant, but further, more targeted research will then be necessary. A lack of market research can lead to dire consequences for a company, as will be illustrated in chapter 7 with the example from Dorling Kindersley publishers.

Taking the first steps in market research:

Chapters 1 and 2 looked at the relationship between the editor and colleagues in different departments within a publishing company. Market research is likely to be carried out by a variety of staff, all of whom are looking for answers to their own specific questions. However, they will all have one factor in common – the published product has to match the needs of its target market and be financially viable. This will be considered further in Chapter 6 New Product Development.

Market research by editors or market research by marketing – what’s the difference?

Editors are primarily concerned with the development of a product from its initial concept to publication and, aside from establishing if there is an actual market for their idea, they also need to consider the content and presentation of the title.

The marketing department also conducts market research and concentrates primarily on reaching a market for a product and maximising its potential in terms of sales and profile to a target customer. However, editors will expect to receive feedback from colleagues at an early stage, perhaps before a title is contracted. Sales and marketing colleagues may have the power to veto projects or significantly change the way they are produced, both in terms of content and design. The editor, as “champion” of the project needs to effectively sell an idea to colleagues and convince them of its merit.

Skills Builder 1: Dealing with Internal Colleagues

You are an editor of an established adult fiction list. You have an idea for a new series of six novels aimed at the young adult market, which you take to various meetings with colleagues in the following departments:

Marketing and publicity

Sales

Production

Rights

Your credibility and reputation will be tested here and you will be expected to have conducted some market research and be fully prepared to answer challenging questions. Write notes to prepare for your meetings. What sort of questions are your colleagues likely to have and what key information do you need to give them?

See Sample Answer.

3.4 Types of Editorial Market Research

The following section is intended to refresh your memory of the difference between qualitative and quantitative market research and how they are used by editorial. This section assumes some basic knowledge on the difference between qualitative and qualitative data.

Let’s think first about the questions “how” and “why”. For example, if an editor is researching the educational market for 8–11 year olds, it would be useful to undertake some quantitative research to establish how big the potential market is, the quantities of titles sold and perhaps the types of socio-economic groups who would be potential readers. Qualitative research would attempt to find out what the market thinks about existing and potential titles and why it feels this way.

Skills Builder 2: The following are some examples of qualitative and quantitative research which might be undertaken by an editor in academic publishing:

Surveys of trends in subject areas

Questionnaires about products used

Focus groups

Interviews at institutions

Sales data of competition

Analysis of competing titles

Compiling the number of students studying specific courses

Which do you think are qualitative, and which do you think are quantitative?

See Sample Answer.

3.5 How to Conduct Market Research

Imagine you are a commissioning editor working in adult fiction and have been asked to broaden the international range of your list and publish titles in the subject area of “crime” which will appeal to readers in other countries. How would you go about this? Initially you might like to:

• Talk to colleagues abroad. If you belong to a large company you may have separate companies or a number of overseas representatives to consult. If a small company you may use freelance personnel. Never underestimate the expertise which exists within your own organisation – the staff of a company is often its most useful asset.
• Look at sales figures for relevant titles. Perhaps you have already published a title which sells well in Europe in translation. If so where and in what quantities?

After this initial research you now need to have an overview of overseas markets to establish whether it is worth targeting your commissioning to particular markets. 

Access the current country profiles at  https://www.publishing-export.org.uk/country-profiles/ of: 

• China
• Germany 

Consider the following questions:

1. How important is fiction as a genre and what possibilities are there for translated fiction?
2. Are there any possibilities for sales of crime fiction in any of these markets?
3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of using this type of information?
4. What sort of editor is likely to undertake this research?
   

Let’s work through this together, one question at a time:

1. The 2 markets differ in terms of potential for overseas publishers.  All categories travel well into Germany, in both English and translated into German. In China, educational and children’s titles are popular but  “eight of the top ten fiction titles for the year 2018 were published ten or more years ago; six were first published more than 30 years ago. Industry insiders and authors suggest that ever-tighter censorship is largely responsible for an absence of new popular fiction genres or authors” https://www.publishing-export.org.uk/countries/china/.  This is clearly a more difficult market to penetrate, although potentially much larger and it is worth noting that “Four of the top ten fiction titles for 2018 were works in translation” (ibid). Censorship in China is a key factor when selling titles in all categories.

2. There is not enough information to make an informed decision about China, whereas crime and thrillers are regarded as strong categories in Germany. 

3. The publishing reports are highly regarded by many in the industry and are compiled by experts. They provide a useful overview of the publishing profile of a specific country and the sociological and economic factors that may govern buying decisions. However, they are not always current and inevitably offer a mere snapshot of market sectors. More detailed market research is essential before making publishing decisions.

4. This sort of market research is inevitably time-consuming; an editorial assistant or assistant editor might take on this role.

3.6 Researching Your Readership

A key area of market research is to establish a core reader for a project. For example, an editor working in trade or consumer publishing would first access external information about bestselling categories of titles such as the following:

Further quantitative research could then be taken to obtain sales figures for these titles, perhaps through an agency such as Nielsen BookScan data. It is often possible to pay for additional reports from other agencies that although extremely useful for publishers, may be prohibitively expensive. The next step might be to then establish what sort of reader you are aiming at; initially you might like to establish the gender of your intended audience.

---

Skills Builder 3 – Genre 

Sort the genres from the list above into two columns: the ones that you feel are most popular with men and the ones most popular with women. There may be overlap between the genres on both lists. A sample answer is given at the end of the chapter.

Top genres bought by men                                   Top genres bought by women

You may be surprised by the results. If you are surprised, then the value of market research is clear: gut instinct is not usually sufficient for effective commissioning. Markets, readership habits and public taste change frequently and the editor must not only keep up to date and understand current trends but also anticipate opportunities for the future. In this case, the initial research would help an editor to decide in which category they might concentrate.

3.7 Competition Research

One of the golden rules in publishing is to “underestimate the competition at your peril”. Some of the key questions asked by an editor are:

• What are the bestsellers in the market where you are commissioning?
• What is their expected market share and how is the market segmented?
• What are their unique selling points (USPs) – what makes them stand out?
• What do users like about them?
• Do they have any weak points?
• Do they match current market trends or anticipate future ones?

More detailed research could include: 

• Price analysis
• Sales research: Nielsen BookScan data, bestseller lists, contacts, Amazon ranking
• Output: number of competing titles, saturated market, niche, new, etc.?
• Format: illustrations, design, length, font, pedagogical features
• Production values: high or low, paper quality
• Author(s): profile, sales history
• Marketing: resources, profile, presence
• Publisher: brand, types of list, size, staff reputation, mergers and acquisitions
• Reviews, endorsements, recommendations, adoptions (if a textbook), fan fiction
• Up to date: edition 1, 2 etc.
• Sales outlets: placement and availability
• Content: variety, quality
• International
• “Extras”: merchandising, etc.
• Digital/online presence and features/platform application/innovation

The features and benefits of a competing product must also be analysed in detail before a comprehensive view of the competition can be obtained. 

Features describe the key information that needs to be given to highlight the selling points of a product, such as a competitive price, range of digital applications and type of author.

Benefits relate to the advantages obtained by a consumer when choosing a product. For example, a textbook about engineering which has a glossary of terms (a feature) could be of benefit as it explains difficult concepts in an accessible form to aid student understanding.

3.8 Case Study – Travel Guides

Consider the following scenario. Countrywide Travel has been publishing books about travel for over 50 years. Based in the north of England, they have a wide range of city and country guides that give a wealth of information for tourists. Information contained within the guides includes:

• All of the sights to see
• Where to stay
• What to eat

The books are published in a large print format with a page extent of around 264 pages and have 30–40 illustrations per book. They are priced at £14.99. The guides have a reputation for thorough research and are written by experts who have lots of local information about their chosen destination. Sales have been steadily declining for the last three years and some bookshops have stopped stocking certain titles. The sales force is struggling to achieve any significant subscriptions for new titles. In comparison, guides from other publishers such as Lonely Planet, Rough Guides and Dorling Kindersley travel books have seen an increase in sales.

You would be expected, as an editor, to give your ideas as to why the books are failing as well as justify any necessary market research, which can be costly in both time and expense. Your initial reaction might be that 50 years of experience of publishing these types of books might mean that the books are not as up to date as they should be, perhaps relying on previous success and their established brand identity. This might lead to complacency and a failure to react to changing market conditions. It should be noted that no mention is made of digital editions, only print.  At a first glance the ratio of illustrations to text seems low for a travel book and the format and the extent seems larger and longer than many current travel guides. You are competing with established new brand publishers and free information on the internet and the editor needs to question whether “thorough information” is still expected in a consumer market.

These views could be obtained by “gut instinct” – an editor would be expected to have a general awareness of significant trends. However, thorough market research would also be expected in the following areas:

1. Internal sales history. A comprehensive history of sales needs to be analysed. Where and when did sales start to decline? On all titles or just specific? Are there only sales in the UK or also in export markets? Have any of the titles been translated into other languages or been produced as co-editions?
2. Internal company profile. How are these titles promoted in your company catalogues or website? Are you in agreement with your colleagues as to the target readership of the titles? How do you think your colleagues regard these titles? Are they stocked in non-traditional outlets such as supermarkets, airports or gift shops, and what is the view of your sales representatives and key bookshop account managers?
3. Competition. What sort of market do other publishers’ titles appeal to? Look at booksellers’ shelves or online distributors. Where and how are they stocking these titles? Are they aimed at the same market or a different type of reader? Compare authors, price, content, format, design, sales outlets, marketing and promotion of competing titles. Study press reviews, online comments and familiarise yourself with all aspects of potential competition. Pay particular attention to digital applications.
4. Research some quantitative data. Read studies from experts such as Stephen Mesquita. What are the most popular holiday destinations and do they correspond with the titles you are publishing? Look at tourist boards, online holiday companies, most popular flights from key airports.
5. Research some qualitative data. Read articles about travel in newspapers and magazines. How often do people travel and are they more likely to access information online from freely available websites, download information from digital products, or buy printed books?

3.9 Case Study: Text Books

This section will look at how another type of publishing – the textbook market – requires a different approach to market research. So, imagine you are a textbook publisher at a large UK publisher and are considering commissioning a series of textbooks for second-and third-year undergraduate students studying Sociology in UK universities. You have some authors and a series editor in mind and have decided not to compete with the large and very competitive first-year undergraduate market. 

As an editor, you would be expected to present this information, both to your line manager and also to colleagues such as those in the marketing department. The research you provide would enable them to make predictions about likely sales for products, after weighing up all of the evidence. For example, the size of the market for a second-year textbook might be smaller than that for a first-year textbook in terms of estimated student numbers, but sales could still be substantial if your proposed title fits a need, is priced competitively and has a well-known author.  So far your research has concentrated only on the UK market, but it is highly likely that international sales would be necessary to produce a profitable outcome. The importance of clear questions and precise objectives when undertaking research is essential to avoid being overwhelmed by superfluous detail.

So what are some useful research questions?

The following useful questions are based on real-life research by editors. Make notes as to why you feel they are useful.

1. Do you have any sense of how many books students buy – one for each module? (From telephone research questions)
2. If you were in my position, what book/material would you be looking to commission for the future? (From campus calling and face-to-face personal contact with lecturers)
3. If you are familiar with the following books by my company please rate them from 1–5 in terms of usefulness to students and give a reason for your choice, where 1=low and 5=high. (From a questionnaire)
4. Please complete the following table, ticking the most accurate answer in each row. The books I put on my reading list(s) come to my attention through… (From a questionnaire)
5. In this section we’re interested in immediate reactions. Please indicate how strongly you agree/disagree with the following statements… (From a questionnaire)

You may have noted that:

1. This is more specific than just saying “How many books do students buy?” The second clause is a useful prompt to encourage the interviewee to supply detailed numerical details.
2. This open question is quite personal to encourage the suggestion of ideas, although unlikely to elicit consistent responses.
3. Useful structure and easy to engage with.
4. Grids like this can be very inviting, encouraging lots of information in a small space and in a way that is relatively easy to analyse, because it’s expressed consistently.
5. Excellent introduction to each part which explains why you’re asking the questions and encourages buy-in and engagement rather than autopilot.

Whether conducting research solely or supervising a team of assistant or development editors, the editor is expected to provide solid market evidence before a company agrees to invest in a product.

So to summarise, below is a list of five key factors for an editor to research when considering new product development.

1. Market size, share of market
2. Competitor analysis
3. Product (content and format) research
4. Features and benefits
5. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT)

3.10 Chapter Summary

In this chapter, you have examined the value of market research and evaluated types of market research for different market sectors. You have noted that the collection and collation of data such as age, spending habits, economic status, etc. can be useful at helping publishers profile readers and thus make more informed decisions. You have also begun to critically examine competing titles and consider the unique selling points of products and their potential readership. Chapter 4 will now analyse the research needed to find authors and investigate strategies for managing them and developing author content. You should now be able to:

• Justify the need for market research to inform product development
• Select methods of editorial research appropriate to different market sectors
• Analyse market competition
  

References and further reading

Books:

Athill, D. 2000. Stet. London: Granta.

Biggam, J. 2009. Succeeding with your Master’s Dissertation. Berkshire: Open University Press.

Clark, G. and Phillips. 2020. Inside Book Publishing, 6th edition. Oxford: Routledge. 

Jones, A. 2018.  This Book Means Business. London: Practical Inspiration.

Mesquita, S. 2020. UK Travel Publishing Year Book, 14th edition. Oxford: Nielsen Bookscan

Websites:

https://www.publishing-export.org.uk/country-profiles/

Skills Builder 1: Sample Answer

You would be expected to have obtained some information about some or all of the following:

1. Key market and readership; age; target gender for product; author; competition
2. Anticipated sales and market position; also author and competition details
3. Print or digital format or both? E.g. size, extent etc.
4. International sales potential both in your own language and also in translation.

Skills Builder 2: Sample Answer

Quantitative research might analyse:

• Number of students studying Sociology in UK universities and other key market reports: available from agencies such as www.hesa.ac.uk and www.ucas.com.
• University reports: to find out details of spending in libraries, statistics about subject expansion or retraction
• Average sum spent on textbooks by undergraduates: reports
• The results of questionnaires sent to every Sociology lecturer or Head of Department
• Nielsen BookScan data and Amazon: to look at sales of all titles and listings, although note that this will not include library or second-hand book sales

Qualitative research could examine:

• Types of courses and topics: how is the subject taught and what are the key areas of interest?
• Recommended reading lists: are books compulsory or optional purchases?
• Reviews of existing titles, through academic journals, Amazon reviews, etc.
• Trends: e.g. Criminology is now often favoured over Development Studies as a preferred topic and is also a separate degree in many institutions
• Author research: how highly regarded are your suggested authors?
• Journals and magazines: e.g. The Times Higher Education Supplement, The Guardian newspaper
• Conferences and exhibitions: what are the “hot” topics and who are the “hot” authors?
• Other publishers’ websites and catalogues: what are their key titles and how are they presented?
• Feedback from sales representatives
• Marketing forms (“Inspection Copy” requests which ask for formative feedback)
• Examination papers and coursework information
• Focus groups
• Company history: where have you failed or succeeded in the past?

Skills Builder 3 – Sample Answer

4.8 Chapter Summary

4.1. Chapter Aim

• To investigate the nature of the core relationship between commissioning editors and authors.

4.2. Introduction

Are you an author? Most of us are – whether by initiating emails and letters, writing blogs or perhaps by producing material which others may enjoy perusing.

The Oxford English Dictionary identifies an author as “the person who originates or gives existence to anything” but the Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary specifies it as “one who brings anything into being…the original writer of a book, article etc.” Whichever definition we choose we can agree it is a creative process, resulting in some sort of material which can be read and made public. It is, for most writers, unlikely to be a full-time profession.

A Writer’s Salary: How much does the average British writer earn per year?

Choose one of the following options:

(a)  £10,000 
(b)  £15,000
(c)  £25,000

Now access the following article: UK Authors’ Earnings and Contracts 2018, a survey of 50,000 writers’ salaries at https://www.create.ac.uk/blog/2019/05/02/uk-authors-earnings-and-contracts-2018-a-survey-of-50000-writers/

By choosing the first answer you begin to appreciate the challenges facing both author and editor. The survey highlights that few authors earn all of their income from writing and so for the majority there are clearly other demands on their time as well as financial pressures. Even writers such as Philip Larkin and T. S. Eliot were salaried employees when they wrote their great works. If we then take into account that it is thought that only 10% of all of these full-time authors earn 70% of the total royalties income of bestselling titles, it is clear that publishing is a risky business for both editors and authors and that high rewards are given to only a few.

In chapters 1 and 2 we looked at the pivotal role of the editor within the publishing process, the “agreed vision” between all of the people involved in producing new content and the strong relationships which are necessary to avoid misunderstandings. The relationship between editors and authors is perhaps the most important of all within the publishing process and in this chapter we will look at how authors are discovered and managed. This chapter is designed to equal approximately 5 hours of independent study and as you work through the chapter you will find skills builder exercises that will help you to develop what you have learned in a practical sense.

Authors’ Reflections:

Consider the following author quotations:

“When I stepped down from hard manual work to writing, I just stepped from one kind of hard work to another.” (Sean O’Casey)

“I have bought Chekhov’s stories: how delightful they are! You buy them too.” (Anton Chekhov)

“We shall probably have nothing to say, but we intend to say it at great length.” (Don Marquis)

“Most writers are in a state of gloom a good deal of the time; they need perpetual reassurance.” (John Hall Wheelock)

Based on these quotations, now list (in your own notes) some of the author characteristics and challenges facing editors when dealing with authors. 

The quotations emphasise some key points in the relationship. Writing is very hard work and often a solitary activity. Editors should never underestimate the efforts made by their authors and should offer constant encouragement. Also, if like Chekhov, authors have very high expectations of their work, these need to be managed in advance of publication to avoid potential conflict. Finally, many authors do not heed the original briefing for their work and often produce too much content which needs to be “pruned” by vigorous editors. The value which some authors put on editors and the publishing process is illustrated by revisiting the video from Random House Publishers at:

 

.

4.3 Types of Author

The following list shows some types of authors:

• Single author
• Co-authors
• Multi-authors
• Editors (title or series)
• Ghost writers

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Skills Builder 1

Using the checklist above identify types of books/content which may have these types of authors and list the advantages and disadvantages of these types of authors from an editorial perspective.

See Sample Answer.

Editors also need to distinguish between new and experienced writers. The former may need more time and encouragement from their editors as well as educating them as to the market they are writing for. Experienced writers, particularly those who have achieved success, can also be demanding with high expectations of future sales and a resistance to being edited and having their content adjusted. Editors also have to distinguish between authors for different market sectors. For example, an author of a textbook for students would expect, and need, specific guidance from their editor, both in terms of the type and level of content which needs to be provided and also the market requirements for their title. A successful writer of a fictional title may welcome advice about their initial idea for a plot but not their writing style. A writer of purely digital material would expect an editor to be able to discuss both the content and presentation of material within a multimedia format. 

In chapters 1 and 2 we examined the key qualities needed to be a successful commissioning editor, with communication skills shown to be of paramount importance. The proactive nature of a commissioning role means that new authors are always needed, but competition is fierce amongst publishers, all of whom would like to find the next J. K. Rowling. Authors are now expected to actively engage with social media and have Facebook and Twitter accounts to emphasise their profile. 

A recent development is that of crowdfunding where authors are sponsored to write by their readers. For example, take a moment to explore the website http://unbound.co.uk and look at some of the author videos for examples of potential products. To what extent do you think this is the way forward and should readers or editors be most influential when deciding on content?

4.4 Finding Authors

Finding new authors remains a key task for all commissioning editors and in this task they are expected to be proactive. Commissioning a new author requires a leap of faith by the editor, but first-time authors have to be found and nurtured. 

Market Sectors: Consider and research the following market sectors and make a list of where you might be able to find authors of the following - once you have made your own list, then we can go through the sectors together.

1. Autobiographies and biographies 
2. Self-help guides for different topics such as gardening or cooking

Your researched sources may have some common denominators, notably by:

• Analysing competition
• Surveying bookshops, both physical and online
• Talking to contacts 
• Utilising existing authors

Let’s think these two scenarios through together…

1.

• Dealing with agents. As with fiction, most new biographies are acquired by editors in the UK through agents and it is rare for an editor in a large publishing company to accept unsolicited manuscripts. The Hare with Amber Eyes (Vintage 2011), an international bestseller and winner of the Costa Biography Award in 2010, was taken on by the Felicity Bryan Literary Agency. It was then presented to, but rejected by, several leading publishers before being taken on by Vintage, an imprint of the Random House group. It has now sold over half a million copies worldwide. As a new writer, its author Edmund de Waal would have been considered a high risk to commission, combined with the unusual nature of the material in the biography. A good relationship between an editor and agent can be mutually beneficial. See 4.8 for further discussion of agents.

• Bidding at auctions. It is common in the UK for biographies by even up-and-coming authors to be the subject of auctions, when each publisher would bid sums of money for the right to publish. For an editor from a small company, attempting to compete with large advances of money is difficult.

• Responding to increased public interest.  Are there any particular events or anniversaries forthcoming which would lead to increased interest in a subject? For example, the 2014 football World Cup spawned a wide selection of biographies of footballers. With few exceptions, many ended up in discounted form in remainder bookshops or Amazon but were examples of potentially profitable short-term publishing. An author’s death is also likely to encourage new biographies, such as the plan to issue a new biography of the late novelist J. D. Salinger on the anniversary of his death. Perhaps there have been radio and television programmes about historical events and figures which have also generated interest.

2. 

• Reading magazine and newspaper articles. For example, the writer India Knight, a columnist for The Sunday Times, was commissioned to write a book about shopping – The Shops. Her writing style was popular, seen to be accessible and humorous and she already had an established public image through her journalism, all of which matched the needs of the market for her new book.

• Accessing blogs and discussion forums. The internet has transformed the way in which prospective writers can publicise their ideas. A vigilant editor might consult online sites to cultivate new contacts and obtain ideas for titles. Judith O’Reilly received a book deal after her blog about living in the north of England at: http://www.wifeinthenorth.com/2007/02/blog-to-book-in-60-seconds.html was noticed by an editor. This led to a successful book deal.

• Researching self-published authors who may have had some initial success and have built a following and fan base. An early example from 1931 is The Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer. See:

•  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ronald-h-balson/bestseller-success-storie_b_4064574.html for other examples and also the emphasis on finding fiction authors by this method, notably E. L. James and the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy.

Editors need to be persuasive when looking for authors and sell both themselves and the brand of their company to convince authors of the advantages of joining them.

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Skills Builder 2: Look at websites for two publishing companies: one large company such as the large conglomerate HarperCollins at www.harpercollins.co.uk/ and one small company, such as the small independent company Nosy Crow at www.nosycrow.com. Using these companies as examples, write an annotated list for your own notes of the advantages to an author of joining a small company and a large company.

In a large company, a publisher is likely to have an established brand and reputation, backed up by a large international sales force. As an editor you may have a large list of titles and it may be appealing for authors to join a range of established writers, where they may envisage one day being highlighted in the “author spotlight”.

In a small company, an author may receive more individual attention, although royalties may be lower and sales handled by freelance representatives and overseas agents. The website of Nosy Crow has biographies of all of their writers as well as staff and a personalised and dynamic feel to their company. This may appeal to new writers in particular. Both companies appear to have a clear direction for their digital products, an important consideration for all children’s publishers.

Editors can build up a reputation in their own right and it is not uncommon for an author to follow an editor who moves to a new company. Occasionally, authors decide to publish in a different area and choose both a different publisher and consequently editor, to manage their work. For example, J. K. Rowling chose to leave Bloomsbury Publishing and her editors of Harry Potter when her adult novel was published in 2012 by Little, Brown Publishers where she worked with specialist crime editor (and now CEO) David Shelley. Her book was not offered to auction by her agent indicating that her prime reason for moving was not money. 

Some authors may display their work publicly in a bid to build up a following to engage the interest of a publisher. For example, look at the following website: https://www.wattpad.com/. The website encourages the use of community forums for writers to upload their work for public perusal. 

If the publishing community is to deliver on its goals of being more inclusive and increasing opportunities for underrepresented voices then editors need to be proactive about doing so. At an organisational level, recent reports on diversity within publishing (PA, 2020; Shercliff and Grant, 2021) recommended that publishers capture standardised data about authors, illustrators (and other creators) and monitor the ratios of submissions to commissions so that inequality can be addressed. The PA report also suggested that publishers reach out to a wide range of creative networks in order to grow the volume of submissions from underrepresented voices. 

Further to this, editors need to be aware of their own conscious and unconscious bias towards proposals that might appear (to them) as niche or limited in appeal. They should also avoid pigeon-holing within the editorial decision-making process; just because a person is part of a group or community does not mean they should only be given opportunities to work on projects that are connected to their identity. 

Skills Builder 3:  Watch this short section of video interview [minutes 1:15 to 7:49] with author and TV presenter Candice Brathwaite on her best-selling debut I Am Not Your Baby Mother; a guide to motherhood and parenting as a Black woman in the UK (

).

Research Candice Brathwaite independently to get an idea of her brand and range of journalism.

Imagine you are a commissioning editor for a small independent nonfiction publisher.  Think of five nonfiction book ideas that fit nicely with Brathwaite’s brand and expertise – which of these book ideas would you pitch to her and why should she sign her next book deal with you?

4.5 Developing Author Content

So to what extent do editors influence content?

The way in which editors work with authors varies between market sectors and between particular individuals. What is clear is that editors will all, to a certain extent, have some influence in the shaping and writing of content. A primary responsibility will be to advise and, if necessary, educate an author about the market requirements of a work.

Some key questions need to be asked of authors at an early stage: what do they see as the market for their work and who is going to buy it? Does this tie in with your view as an editor?  Are your expectations the same? 

Refer back to the unsatisfactory author proposal in chapter 2. Now consider the following email from an academic working in the field of Business:

Dear Editor

As promised, attached are a draft contents list and a sample chapter for a new book on Relationship Marketing. As you know, this is a growing area of interest and one for which I am particularly well known. (I recently chaired the Plenary session on Building Marketing Relationships at the European marketing academy meeting in Portugal and have been asked to sit on the editorial board for a new journal in this area.)

As far as competition is concerned, there are a number of practical books on the topic which are aimed at marketing professionals and a few advanced monographs, but nothing that can be used by students. My book will fill this need and take a critical approach to the subject, weighing up the pros and cons of different approaches and taking in the views of different gurus. Nothing else on the market looks in such detail at the current research in the area and accessibly relates this to the practical issue companies face in the real world. If we can get this out quickly we will have a real winner on our hands!

The sample chapter follows the successful style of my recent book for Heinemann Publishers (which has sold 5,000 copies since it was published in January!).

I look forward to hearing from you.

Dr A. N. Author

Reflect on the email above and write notes for yourself about the following:

1. What are your first impressions of the prospective author?
2. Is this idea likely to be a viable publishing project?

Let’s now consider these questions together:

1. Initially this looks like a promising project. The author has a successful track record and some experience of writing for the textbook market, helpfully supplying a contents list and sample chapter so her writing ability can be assessed. She has contacts in the area that might help with marketing for the book and appears to have undertaken some competition research. She has a clearly targeted market area; editors like statements such as “fills a need” if an idea springs from an academic’s own teaching. The editor might like to find out why the author has left her previous publisher – were there difficulties and is the author demanding? The author also has expectations of publishing the book “quickly” which would need to be managed. There is also no mention of digital application or pedagogical features.

2. This could be a viable project but some questions would need to be asked of the author:

• Where is the evidence that the topic is a “growing area of interest”? An experienced editor would be expected to have a lot of market knowledge but needs to ensure authors have the same ideas.
• More details are needed about the competing titles and why the author feels they are not suitable for students, as well as information as to which courses would be applicable, to ensure author and editor views coincide.
• Sales figures of previous books are useful, but where did the books sell and were there any international sales? For example, if 4,000 copies were sold at a low price to an international market the figures would not be so impressive.

In summary, this is an interesting proposal and the editor must now decide whether this particular author will be a valuable addition to a list and whether the content can be developed into a saleable product. At a time when it has become increasingly difficult to persuade academics to write textbooks rather than scholarly works, the editor is likely to pursue this author and spend time developing the content and refining it for a target market.

The key information required on a typical author proposal form for an academic book is:

• Title
• Basic information – length, format, number and type of illustrations
• Introduction – a paragraph explaining what the work is about
• Contents
• Market and readership
• Competing titles
• Features/benefits/unique selling points
• Author details
• Sample material
• Schedule – when does the author expect to deliver?

The proposal stage for a work of non-fiction and fiction for the consumer or trade market is likely to be handled in a different way, but most of the key points above relate to all genres.

4.6 Managing Authors

Once an author is found and contracted the editor’s pivotal role is now to manage the publishing of their book. The managing of authors both before and after publication is a time-consuming yet vital part of an editor’s role. It is much easier to retain good authors than find new ones and even after publication an author would expect to be kept informed of sales figures and marketing initiatives, as well as reviews of their work.

Many authors forge strong personal relationships with their editors. and publishers’ websites often contain endorsements about their authors’ relationship with their editor. As an author builds up a relationship with an editor a strong mutual understanding can develop over time as well as a friendship.

Some authors become so successful that they can be developed into author “brands”. For example, the chef Jamie Oliver has branched out into television series and merchandising; it would be difficult for an editor to “manage” such a high-profile celebrity author, but critical comments about revising editorial content for new publications, suggestions for format and design and ideas for new editions of titles are still expected.

The commissioning editor, as the first point of contact for an author, is expected to liaise with colleagues in different departments and ensure the author’s views are consulted. There are many occasions when it is necessary to intervene in order to manage author conflict. For example, imagine you are an editor at a publishing company and are coping with the requests of an author who has started to ring you up every day with the following demands, relating to different publishing departments:

1. Publicity. The author expects to approve all written material which relates to his work, including press releases.
2. Design. The author demands to have the final decision to approve the cover design of her book.
3. Production. The author has been asked to speak at a conference and is using the opportunity to promote his book – he needs final bound printed copies four weeks in advance of publication.

In each of the above scenarios the editor is likely to be involved.  In all cases, the author’s expectations need to be managed and a compromise reached where possible. An author may be understandably nervous that information put into the public domain is inaccurate and needs to be reassured that there will be an opportunity to check all recorded data at least once for approval. This data may then be reused for a press release. However, the author also needs to recognise that the publicity department has expertise in this area and will promote the writer to the best of their ability. The process of approving cover designs can be extremely time-consuming and many author contracts stipulate that the publisher has final approval. However, by involving the author at an early stage and encouraging them to put forward ideas for the designer, misunderstandings can often be averted. In terms of production, it is encouraging that the author is taking the opportunity to promote his book and the editor would need to balance the cost of possibly bringing publication forward with expected additional sales. If an accelerated publication schedule is not logistically possible, perhaps sample material could be sent in advance, along with customised publicity material prepared by the marketing department.

4.7 The Role of Agents

In some market sectors, agents play a key role as intermediaries between authors and editors, particularly in “trade” or consumer publishing of fiction and non-fiction and most often in the UK and US markets. 

In the UK, the first literary agency, A P Watt, was established in 1875 and over the next century only a dozen more companies were established.  Since the 1970s, new firms appeared on the UK market in quick succession and there are now over 130 agencies; the US has experienced a similar growth. Editors looking to acquire authors for their lists in these areas would be unlikely to take on a new author unless recommended by an agent.

So what do agents do and how does their role differ from that of editors?

Agents exist to represent the interests of their client – the author.  Editors, despite often having very close relationships with authors, represent their company in the first instance. Agents will negotiate financial terms for their authors and place them with particular publishers who they feel will be best placed to maximise their author’s potential earnings and profile. Interestingly, the agent who brokered the contract will always handle the revenue for that particular work for the author (while they are living) and their estate after their death.  This means that even if the personal relationship between author and agent breaks down, there is an enduring financial relationship.

For trade titles, often there will be an auction in which publishers bid for a manuscript. Some agents undertake editorial work by reading and helping to shape content before it is presented to publishers. The agent Andrew Wylie helped secure the largest ever advance on royalties for his author Martin Amis and his novel The Information in 1995, although Amis now regrets receiving such a large sum of money, as indicated at: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jul/14/martin-amis-kingsley-regrets.

The trend of large advances which resulted put a great deal of strain on editors acquiring fiction, many from companies who could never match such large sums. Even large conglomerates soon began to realise that some of the advances would never be earned and cut advances accordingly. However, large advances, particularly for celebrity authors still occur as described at:

  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-pinter/lena-dunham-book-advance_b_1954689.html.

In many cases, agents and editors work well together and develop long-term relationships. But is there any overlap between their roles?

A survey in the journal Publishing Perspectives was conducted in 2011 by Edward Nawotka, entitled, “Who do Authors Need More, Agent or Publisher?” with the following results:

http://publishingperspectives.com/2011/06/survey-do-authors-need-agent-or-publisher

Do the results surprise you? It is encouraging for editors (“publishers”) to feel their work is valued but significant that almost 40% of respondents felt that agents were more important or that “DIY” or self-publishing was preferable.

4.8 Chapter Summary

In this chapter we have identified some methods for finding and managing authors and analysed the importance of the relationship between author, editor and agent. In chapter 5 we will look in further detail into the questions of ownership of content and the management and protection of an author’s intellectual property.

You should now be able to:

• Identify methods for finding and managing authors
• Assess the importance of the author/editor relationship
• Evaluate the external factors which influence this relationship

Further Reading and Resources

A. & C. Black 2020. Writers’ and Artist’ Yearbook 2020. London: Bloomsbury.

Blake, C. 1999. From Pitch to Publication. Oxford: Macmillan.

Clark, C. 1999. Great Expectations: What Authors Want from Publishers. Journal of Scholarly Publishing 30(3): pp.131-137.

Clark, G. and Phillips, A. 2020. Inside Book Publishing 6th edition. Oxford: Routledge.

Lorimer R. 2005. Editor to Author: Some Personal Reflections on Getting Published. In Juby, S. Publishing Studies Book Publishing 1, ed. Burnaby: Canadian Centre for Studies in Publishing.

Publishers Association (2020) Diversity Survey of the UK publishing workforce 2020. London: PA. Available at: <https://www.publishers.org.uk/publications/diversity-survey-of-the-publishing-workforce-2020/> 

Ramdarshan Bold, M. (2017) The Eight Percent Problem: Authors of Colour in the British Young Adult Market (2006–2016) London: UCL 

Ramdarshan Bold, M. (2019) Representation of people of colour among children’s book authors and illustrators. London: Booktrust 

Saha, A. & van Lente, S. (2020) Rethinking ‘Diversity’ in Publishing. London: Goldsmiths Press

Shercliff, E., Grant, M., (2021) Understanding Author Diversity Report September 2021 London PA. Available at: < https://www.publishers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Author-Diversity-Report-and-Toolkit.pdf>

Thompson, F. 2010. Merchants of Culture. Cambridge: Polity.

Websites and Web Links

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/08/authors-incomes-collapse-alcs-survey

http://unbound.co.uk

http://www.wifeinthenorth.com/2007/02/blog-to-book-in-60-seconds.html.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ronald-h-balson/bestseller-success-storie_b_4064574.html

www.harpercollinschildrens.com

www.nosycrow.com

https://www.wattpad.com/.

http://www.millsandboon.co.uk/aspiringauthors.asp

http://www.davidficklingbooks.com/AuthorDetails.php?authorID=2

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jul/14/martin-amis-kingsley-regrets

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-pinter/lena-dunham-book-advance_b_1954689.html

http://publishingperspectives.com/2011/06/survey-do-authors-need-agent-or-publisher

http://writersrelief.com/blog/2008/06/the-difference-between-a-literary-agent-and-an-editor/

UK Authors’ Earnings and Contracts 2018, at https://www.create.ac.uk/uk-authors-earnings-and-contracts-2018-a-survey-of-50000-writers/

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Skills Builder 1 – Sample Answer

5.8 Chapter Summary

5.1. Chapter Aims

• To evaluate the role of editors in protecting and exploiting intellectual property 
• To examine the key responsibilities of editors in rights management

5.2. Introduction

In chapters 1–4 we looked at the researching and processing of content. This chapter will consider the development and management of authors’ content from a legal perspective and examine the responsibilities of the editor to develop good practice in this complex area of publishing. The opportunity for editors to exploit the rights potential of commissioned material is also considered. This chapter is designed to equal approximately 5 hours of independent study and as you work through the chapter you will find skills builder exercises that will help you to develop what you have learned in a practical sense.

“We now operate in a global village, when anything can be produced almost anywhere with instant communication, what you own is what you have thought about, created and designed. It is inevitable that the core of a company will become its intellectual capacity.”

(Jolly, 2004)

The key features of any product are its intellectual content, the intangible ideas and creative thoughts that as intellectual property form the primary assets of any publishing company.

Who owns what?

You decide to buy a new book, perhaps an illustrated guide for children about animals. Consider the questions of ownership of intellectual property? Do you now own it?

You are certainly the owner of the actual book and have paid money for this privilege. You can then lend it to friends if you like, sell it on or throw it away if you have no more use for it. 

You are, however, not the owner of the intellectual property or content inside of the book which is likely to be owned by the author or occasionally the publisher. Nor are you the owner of the illustrations which are often provided by artists or picture libraries or the cover design, which may have been provided by a designer. This means that there are rules you have to follow, such as not reproducing the material for commercial use without permission.

Intellectual Property is protected by copyright legislation in most countries and editors are expected to have a working knowledge of the key legal issues which relate to the works they commission. 

Key features of copyright are:

• Deals with intellectual property
• Protects literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works
• Includes text, photographs, graphics and typographical arrangement
• Has a finite time span

It is important to remember that laws and their interpretation vary between countries. Unless otherwise stated, UK law will be referred to in this chapter. If you are applying this knowledge in other countries you will need to identify where the law will differ.

5.3 Moral Rights

Aside from economic rights of “ownership” authors also retain moral rights to their works of:

• Paternity – this gives the author the right to be credited as the author of the work (before it can be enforced, it must be asserted by the author).
• Integrity – this right protects the author from editorial distortion of the work.
• False attribution – this prevents an author from being credited for works they did not write.
• Privacy – this right is for individuals in the case of, for example, where photographs were commissioned and the photographer owns the copyright.

It is important to remember that these rights can be waived and vary in duration. The right of integrity is particularly relevant to the editor where any rewriting of an author’s work must be approved.

5.4 Copyright in Practice

Copyright is constantly evolving, but to appreciate its contemporary significance it is firstly important to understand its history and legal standing

As part of a daily routine, a commissioning editor would not be expected to be familiar with the details of the above treaties, but a concrete knowledge of copyright protection can be very helpful in attempting to understand the way in which intellectual property can be used in the most advantageous way for both author and publisher.

To work effectively editors need to appreciate the extent to which authors’ content can be exploited and are also expected to answer questions posed by authors about contemporary copyright issues.

Editors are not expected to be legal experts but a working knowledge of copyright law is useful and can save expense and time at a later date. For example, it can cost up to £2,000 to have a manuscript of 100,000 words checked by a lawyer and much more if copyright infringement leads to a court case. Note that this can vary according to different types of books and publisher policies.

Authors, as the original owners of the material they have created, are copyright holders of their work. Authors may decide to assign their copyright to their publisher and this is common practice in multi-authored works such as reference titles. Or perhaps they have produced the material in the course of their employment and their employers own the copyright. However, it is more likely that the author will assign certain rights to a publisher.

Let’s look now at some of the frequently asked questions surrounding copyright:

1. What is the period of copyright in the European Union? 
   70 years after the death of the author

2. What is the period of copyright in the USA?
   70 years after the death of the author

3. Who owns the copyright in a translation?
   The translator

4. Who owns the copyright in the typography on the page?
   The publisher

5. What is the period of copyright in the typography?
   25 years                       

6. Reproducing material in a published work from another author is permissible under the “fair dealing” rule if the following applies:
   
   (a)  3 lines of poetry
   (b)  One extract of 400 words
   (c)  800 words of selected extracts
   (d)  None of the above
   
   Answer: (d) – it depends on the use of the term “substantial”. Previously (b) and (c) would be applicable

7. What is the universal copyright symbol?   
   ©

8. Who owns the copyright in a photograph?
   The photographer

9. If an author dies on March 5th 2000 when will his/her work be out of copyright?
   31st December 2071

10. Which work was awarded perpetual copyright protection in UK copyright law? 
    Peter Pan was granted an extension of copyright “in perpetuity”

NB. The use of the word “substantial” in question 6 can be ambiguous and open to differing interpretations. It is generally accepted that it is permissible to reproduce third-party material “for the purposes of criticism and review” if the material does not constitute a significant part of a work. E.g. one line of poetry may be regarded as substantial if the poem is only ten lines, rather than fifty lines. Alternatively, 1000 words from a work of 40,000 words are likely to be acceptable and could be reproduced, subject to the inclusion of the correct sourcing for the original work. The decision about the quantity and quality of third-party material needs to be assessed by an editor on a case-by-case basis.

5.5. Contracts 

Editors are expected to be familiar with, and generate terms for, contracts. They also need to ensure that the expectations of their authors are matched to the requirements of their companies. Authors’ rights are clearly defined and protected by contracts, which need to be adapted to specific publishing projects and also checked by editors to ensure the specifics are appropriate to the projects. At first the contracts may seem daunting but in practice many companies have simplified templates (known as boilerplates), these might be particular to publisher and agent.  For example, between the agent Curtis Brown and the publisher Harper Collins.

Some key features of a contract are:

• Defines rights held by author and/or agent
• Defines rights conferred to publisher
• Gives a schedule. e.g. Delivery of author material
• Clarifies financial terms and product specification. e.g. Royalties, extent

The whole legal process of drawing up a contract can take a number of months. Therefore, at early stages a ‘deal memo’ might be written covering the key points of the deal. From this the publisher’s contracts team (or in some instances, the literary agency) can create a full draft of the long-term agreement that was negotiated.

5.6 The Checking Mechanism – “Troublesome Material”

When the author contract is checked and signed by all parties the next stage will be for an editor to check the material which the author produces, either in sample material during the course of writing or when the final manuscript is handed over. When editors receive material from authors they expect the work to be amongst other things, “original” and free from legal infringement or “trouble”.

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Skills Builder 1: 

Using the internet or a dictionary, write definitions for the following terms: 

1) Defamation – and the difference between libel and slander

2) Confidentiality

3) Blasphemy

4) Passing off

5) Plagiarism

6) Obscenity

See Sample Answer.

Educating the Author

Read this following sample letter from an editor to an author and, looking at each point, highlight key legal areas for concern, by using the checklist above as a guide. 

Dear Tom

I’ve now had the opportunity to look through your draft manuscript and I have some concerns about your material which I would like you to address. I’m listing them below:

1. I’m a little worried that there seems to be quite a few lists that may have been directly reproduced lists as they were originally published – we do need to seek clearance for permission for these. The lists that are of concern are on p. 28, 33–38,43, 45–7, 88, 91, 94–5, 103, 105–6, 111, 117, 200, 214, 216–7, 223–5. I’m sure these may well reflect your way of highlighting the key points of a lengthier article or text, so please let me know if this is the case. Where you have reproduced lists directly from other sources I’m afraid we will have to clear permission. Bearing in mind the frequency of the lists and the amount of work it will take to clear permission, you might be able to get round this by adding to each of the points with your own words (as you’ve done for other lists) or by contextualising each point in a paragraph rather than a list. Let me know what you think.

2. The article taken from the You supplement of the Mail on Sunday also needs clearance as you’ve reproduced quite a lot of it. We might get round this by using “fair dealing” guidelines if it is not a substantial part of the work. What do you think – how much of the work have you used?

3. There are a few epigraphs dotted around the text which are not actually covered by “fair dealing” guidelines as they are not being used for the purpose of criticism and review. For example, the quote from www.prospects.ac.uk that begins chapter 4, the quote that begins the section “Writing a Report” on p. 66 and the Haslett quote on p. 252. I’d suggest that in the former case, you remove the quote rather than adding more permissions to clear, or rewrite this in your own words (it seems that all of the material here is common sense). In the case of latter 2, could you include the quote within the text with some comment around it, rather than reproducing the quote on its own? 

4. I’ve noted that you list some real trademarks and slogans on pp. 135, 137–8; these are also covered by copyright and I’d suggest you replace these with fictional slogans. On p. 135 perhaps you could ask the reader to think of well-known slogans instead?

5. I’d also like to check that the letter you’ve reproduced on pp. 150–1 is your own creation and not taken from another source? Is the sender a real person?

6. Your comment about the famous writer on p. 56 contains some strong words. Do you have evidence to back up your claims?

I realise that there are quite a few things to get your head around at a fairly late stage, but we do need to address all these points before I am able to put the book into production and send for copy-editing.

Best wishes,

A. N. Editor

Consider the implications of the points raised by the editor. If left unresolved, this future publication could be very costly for its publisher and could also damage its reputation, particularly in the area of defamation. In terms of reproduction of others’ work, a common misconception amongst authors is that if material is free to view it is free to use and they need to be educated that this is not the case. An editorial assistant is often given the role of dealing with third-party permissions and needs to have clear direction as to:

• What material needs clearing

• Who is clearing – author or publisher?

• Who is paying – author or publisher?

• Who is checking that clearance has been undertaken and paperwork is in place

A critical factor will be to ensure that rights granted for reproduction of third-party material matches the rights granted to the publisher in the head contract. Guidance for authors is often provided on publishers’ websites such as by Palgrave Macmillan publishers at:

 https://www.palgrave.com/gp/rights-permissions. 

Other centralised websites also provide automated help for publishers and authors such as the US based Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) at https://www.copyright.com/, as well as the UK based Publishers Licensing Society at http://www.pls.org.uk/. 

Libel: An editor needs to know some basic facts. Access the 2013 Defamation Act for up-to-date information at: http://inforrm.wordpress.com/2014/01/21/defamation-act-2013-a-summary-of-the-act-iain-wilson-and-max-campbell/.

Skills Builder 2: Answer true or false to the following:

1) To libel someone you must name them.

2) A person has to prove a writer intended to libel him or her.

3) You cannot libel a company.

4) It is possible to libel a person by use of a photograph.

5) A person must prove financial loss before he/she can proceed with a libel action.

6) To state in writing that a man was a thief if he had recently been convicted of theft is not libellous.

7) A writer and publisher cannot be sued for simply repeating another person’s defamatory statement.

8) A publication which includes contributions such as letters cannot be the subject of a libel action because they are not the publication’s own opinions or claims.

9) It would not be libellous to describe a rising young pop singer as a “19-year-old bachelor boy who enjoys the gay social life of pubs and clubs”.

See Sample Answer.

5.7 Rights Potential of Products

The relationship of the editor to the Rights Department is important and in some cases critical to the success of a publishing company. In many small companies the editor will also be in charge of rights and aside from ensuring that content is “trouble free” he or she will endeavour to maximise the sales potential of all titles outside of their core markets. In larger companies, editors act as champions of their products and should provide their colleagues in Rights with a clear idea of the content and sales potential of their proposed publications. Editors may also receive useful feedback from these colleagues who will pass on commissioning leads from their contacts at book fairs and sales trips, as well as give useful advice about the rights potential of content. Products can also be commissioned and designed with rights potential in mind.

The growth of the English language, strength of the international translation market, new digital and media and merchandising opportunities as well as the opening up of new markets such as China and East Europe have all identified the importance of rights opportunities for UK publishers. The financial benefits of rights income are analysed in chapter 7 Finance.

The editor’s role is to distinguish between “core” and “other” markets and realise the potential of slicing and dicing their content in a variety of markets. For example, it can be useful to visualise a product as a cake, complete with icing. For a publisher publishing titles in English language, will all of the sales for this cake be obtained from direct sales to English language territories? Or will there be scope for further sales in other languages and in this case how much of the “cake” can be sliced or diced to maximise income? 

Editors need to decide whether rights income is essential or additional, a substantial part of the “cake” or simply a small part of the icing. For example, when publishing children’s illustrated books it would be very difficult to commission a commercially viable product without producing co-editions with other companies in order to share production costs. These co-editions are likely to affect the design of their products. For example, Dorling Kindersley Publishers, mindful of large co-edition sales to Germany, ensured that the sausages displayed in one of their cookery books referred to “German” sausages. In academic publishing it is not usually possible to publish a scholarly work in the UK without a co-publishing agreement with an American publisher. However, an educational textbook linked to a school curriculum is unlikely to have sales potential overseas and it may not have sufficient core market to be viable. Ultimately, it would be dangerous for an editor to make assumptions about rights income when commissioning, in terms of both revenue and the timing of when this money is received, without firm evidence from the rights department.

Translations

The Index Translationum is an international database with information about translations created since 1932 and compiled by UNESCO. Look at their website at 

https://www.unesco.org/archives/multimedia/document-152

Note the following: 

1. The 10 languages from which the greatest number of books have been translated.

2. The 10 countries that publish the greatest number of books in translation.

Are you surprised by the existence in list (a) in the top 10 of Russian and Latin? Consider the longevity and number of classic works of literature which are then translated into many different languages, e.g. The Russian novel, War and Peace.

Consider list (b) which features Germany as the country most likely to translate content from other languages. How would this fact affect a fiction editor hoping to reach an international market? 

The following questions are useful for editors to consider when assessing the rights potential of product: 

• What sort of title is it? What are the sales expectations? Is it a mass market paperback novel which will appeal to an international audience or a textbook which is applicable to a select number of courses in only one country?

• Author’s Contract. What rights do you hold? Do you have world rights, in all languages and in all territories? 

• History. Have you already sold rights? How and where?

• Are there any conflicts with existing business in your core market? E.g. is it worth selling translation rights to a country such as Sweden with a high literacy rate and where your English language sales are already high? Which strategy would maximise your income?

• Short- or long-term revenue? Is your commissioning dependent on immediate rights income or is it additional income for the future?

The following checklist lists a selection of rights that could be exploited when commissioning:

• Digital

• Translations: by language or territory, e.g. Spanish world rights (which could include sales in Latin America) or Mainland Spain only

• Co-editions, e.g. illustrated books which would not be economically viable without a contribution from other publishers towards production costs.

• Permissions: are there likely to be excerpts, figures or diagrams which could be included in other publications?

• Overseas edition potential, e.g. customised textbooks for different countries

• Serial rights for newspapers and magazines: is any material suitable for excerpts in magazines or newspapers?

• Merchandising, e.g. calendars, mugs, posters, etc.

• Audio: spoken word adaptations

• Film and TV
  

In practice, an editor acquiring rights from a successful trade author with an agent would have limited access to most of the above.

5.8 Chapter Summary

In this chapter we have examined the responsibility of editors in protecting and exploiting intellectual property and their key role in assessing the rights potential for products. The importance of a basic understanding of law pre-publication and knowledge about penalties post-publication, combined with an informed judgement and willingness to call in expert advice from colleagues in the rights department, has been demonstrated. You will now be able to apply this knowledge when analysing the editor’s commissioning and development of new products in chapter 6.

You should now be able to:

• Critically evaluate issues of content evaluation within a legal context

• Analyse the relationship of the editor to the exploitation of intellectual property rights in the publishing industry

Further Reading and Resources

Books

Clark, G. and Phillips, A. 2020. Inside Book Publishing, 6th edition. Oxford: Routledge.

Jolly, A. and Philpott, J. 2004.  A Handbook of Intellectual Property. London: Kogan Page.

Jones, H. and Benson, C.  2016. Publishing Law, 5th Edition. Oxford: Routledge.

Owen, L. 2022. Clark’s Publishing Agreements, 11th Edition. London: Bloomsbury.

Stokes, S., 2019. Digital copyright: law and practice, 5 ed. Hart Publishing, Oxford; New York.

Stokes, S., 2021. Art and copyright, 3 ed. Hart Publishing, Oxford; New York.

Websites and Web Links

https://www.palgrave.com/gp/rights-permissions 

http://www.copyright.com/

https://www.internationalpublishers.org/our-work/copyright-enforcement 

http://www.pls.org.uk/

https://www.unesco.org/archives/multimedia/document-152

http://www.infideas.com/

Skills Builder 1 – Sample Answer

• Defamation is an action or statement which is communicated to at least one other person and damages a person’s reputation. 
• Libel exists in permanent form. It is commonly written down and so can be repeated. However, it can also be broadcast or be available in electronic form.
• Slander exists in temporary form. It is often spoken but can also be a physical gesture.

Skills Builder 2 – Sample Answer

1. False – reference by innuendo can be just as relevant.

2. False

3. False

4. True

5. True, although damage to reputation is also the basis for a claim

6. True - “truth” argument

7. False - although new rules exist for online publications

8. False

9. False – innuendo argument

6.7 Chapter Summary

6.1. Chapter Aim

• To investigate the nature of the core relationship between commissioning editors and authors.

6.2. Introduction

New product development and acquisition is the responsibility of the editorial department. In chapter 3 we looked at the market research undertaken by editors both in determining a market for their product and in analysing competing titles. This chapter will look in detail at the editorial decisions needed when commissioning a variety of products

Chapter 1 discussed the qualities needed to be a successful commissioning editor and creativity was found to be a key skill. The next section looks at the methods by which this quality can be applied to contribute to the profitability of a company. We will now think about the process of commissioning new products through the lens of the editor-author relationship. This chapter is designed to equal approximately 5 hours of independent study and as you work through the chapter you will find skills builder exercises that will help you to develop what you have learned in a practical sense.

6.3 Types of Commissioning

There are various categories of products, which editors can be expected to commission:

• Single or standalone products
• Series
• Lists
  

We will consider list building in chapter 10, but within this category exist both single titles which can be published as standalone titles and series which group titles together. The role of the digital editor will be explored in chapter 9, but clearly editors need to consider format as well as content when commissioning and developing new products.

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Skills Builder 1: Commissioning Individual Products

Research some publishers' lists online and make a note of some standalone titles which particularly interest you.  What are the advantages and disadvantages of publishing such titles?

Single titles are sometimes projects that require a good deal of investment, with high revenue expected. For example, it could be a new reference work that has been many years in preparation. Or perhaps it is an autobiography by a celebrity author where a large advance on royalties is required. However, by publishing a single title, editors may also be testing the market with both content and a new author, thus minimising financial risk. For example, The Book of Bunny Suicides was author Andy Riley's first book in 2003 and proved so successful for his publishers that several other titles in the same vein followed, as listed at:  http://misterandyriley.com/cartoons/the-book-of-bunny-suicides/. Disadvantages could mean that a single title may be hard to market and need to rely on an author brand name to succeed.

Occasionally a standalone book can spawn a new trend. An example is C: Because Cowards get Cancer too by the journalist John Diamond, who wrote a book based on his weekly column about coping with terminal cancer. See: http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2000/may/14/features.magazine37.  It became a bestselling title and was later adapted into a documentary and play. It tapped into a “confessional” trend that is now commonplace in publishing lists. It also became a “crossover” title, being read by the general public and also recommended as a set text for medical students. It is likely that John Diamond’s editor would initially be reassured that large sales would result due to the popularity of his newspaper column in which he discussed his illness. However, there were also many who felt that this was not a suitable subject for a book and it was in many ways ahead of its time.

Commissioning Series: Series titles have the advantage of being linked to others. They can inspire customer loyalty, while the metadata helps to promote new additions to the series. Retailers may also feel more confident about ordering a book which is part of a popular series with known sales. In some instances, a standalone title can be commissioned to test the market before further titles are added and a series is formed. 

For example, the Horrid Henry series of titles from Orion Publishers originated with one title and now has over 40 books in the series, which is part of the Orion Children's Publishing list at: https://www.hachettechildrens.co.uk/titles/tony-ross-4/horrid-henry/9781444013849/.  

In some market sectors it is more usual to commission a series of books, such as in the textbook market. For example, see Bloomsbury’s Critical Scripts series at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/series/critical-scripts/.

Marketing colleagues prefer to promote several titles together and will be more likely to allocate a financial budget if this can be spread across a number of titles. Sales representatives will be able to sell each book off the back of another and it may be easier to have a presence in a market sector. It also provides a connection in a consumer’s mind where the success of one title can influence the purchase of another within a series.

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Skills Builder 2: Publishing a Series

Cambridge Monographs on Mechanics http://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/mathematics/fluid-dynamics-and-solid-mechanics/series/cambridge-monographs-mechanics 

Then answer the following questions:

What are the unique selling points (USPs) of the series?

What are the links between the published titles?

Are there any similarities in design?

What kinds of authors have written for the series?

See Sample Answer.

Editors often find it helpful to appoint another “editor” to oversee a series. Series editors may be experienced in publishing but also overcommitted in terms of the time they can devote to the project. However, series editors are likely to have lots of contacts who might become new authors and may also be very efficient in organising their time. As experts in the field they would be asked to read sample material to assess its quality, from an academic and teaching point of view. They might be paid a fee or share of a title’s royalty and would be expected to have a lot of contact with authors of the series. 

The publishing editor can also have a useful role as a buffer between series editor and author if, for example, draft material is of a poor standard and a publisher's opinion is needed to mediate. The importance of clear guidelines between publisher and series editor are essential to establish good communications.

6.4 Commissioning for Market Sectors

Editors need to consider trends and market changes when commissioning and in particular, anticipate future developments.

One of the first considerations is to evaluate the place of a product within a commissioning programme. Aside from considering whether it is a standalone title or part of a series, an editor needs to consider if it is intended to have longevity. Is it publishing for the short term or long term?

The skills builder below highlights some different types of publishing and the fact that a return on investment in a product can sometimes take a long time.

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Skills Builder 3: Short and Long Term Publishing

An editor is considering commissioning the following titles:

A self-help guide to coping with depression

A “celebrity” autobiography from an established football player

A textbook about Mathematics aimed at first-year undergraduate students

An erotic novel from a new author of fiction

Make your own notes about the publishing potential of these products and categorise them as short- or long-term publishing.

See Sample Answer.

Editorial commissioning varies considerably between market sectors. The consumer and trade publishing market is notoriously fast-moving and often trend dependent; the editor of both fiction and non-fiction titles needs to tap into new trends and think “outside of the box”. The idea of “copycat” publishing is not a new concept and if an idea is successful for a publishing company, editors can be quick to publish similar titles to capitalise on new trends. For example, the bestselling novel Fifty Shades of Grey has spawned many imitations and resurrected the sales of erotic or romance fiction. It has also encouraged sales of non-fiction with many parodies, as exemplified in:

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/22613.50_Shades_Parodies. 

The timing of such publishing is critical.

One of the most challenging areas of commissioning is that of fiction. As discussed in chapter 4, in markets such as the UK and US it would be highly unusual to publish a new writer unless initially a submission is received from an agent, unless it is from a self-published author. Therefore, much new fiction is acquired rather than commissioned. A fiction editor needs to be aware of trends and reading tastes as well as have an eye for quality writing.  Literary tastes vary significantly between consumers and the editor has an important role in positioning types of content within genres and categories. A fiction editor will need to be aware of genres and the way in which they are categorised by sales data from agencies such as Nielsen BookScan but also in the way they are represented by online booksellers such as Amazon. Success with one “big” title can significantly affect the profitability of a title.

6.5 Differentiating Your Product from the Competition

Chapter 3 looked at competition research and the importance of identifying the features and benefits and unique selling points of competing products. When commissioning new products, it is essential for an editor to ensure their products are distinctive in some way and ensure marketing and sales colleagues agree. The editor, as “champion” of the product and author, must make a convincing case.

6.6 Risk Analysis

One of the key dangers as a commissioning editor is complacency. This can be shown in disregarding the competition and conducting inadequate market research. It can also be highlighted in a lack of awareness of risk. Your company is investing money in your ideas and is expecting a profitable return on investment (to be discussed further in chapter 7 Finance). It would be expected that an editor would be aware of high, medium and low-risk categories when commissioning new products.

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Skills Builder 4: Risk

Assess the following publishing ideas and categorise them as high-, medium- or low-risk products.

1) A new “misery memoir” from an actress previously acting in a TV soap opera, to be published by a large publisher

2) A new title for the series Biology in Action aimed at 16–18 year olds by a medium-sized educational publisher

3) A children’s picture book for 3–5 year olds, from a small publisher

4) An ebook of the proceedings of the 25th Building and Surveying Conference 2022

See Sample Answer.

6.7 Chapter Summary

In this chapter, we have evaluated editorial strategy for commissioning new products and examined the editorial decisions applicable to different market sectors. The importance of creativity backed up by market knowledge has been emphasised. Chapters 7 and 8 will now examine the key financial decisions an editor is expected to engage with.

You should now be able to:

• Critically evaluate editorial strategy for commissioning new products
• Distinguish between the editorial decisions applicable to different market sectors
• Assess the level of editorial risk when commissioning products

Further Reading and Resources

Books:

Clark, G. and Phillips, A. 2020. Inside Book Publishing 6th edition. Oxford: Routledge.

Hall, F. 2013. The Business of Digital Publishing. Oxford: Routledge.

Jones, A. 2018. This Book Means Business. London: Practical Inspiration.

Thompson, F. 2010. Merchants of Culture. Cambridge: Polity.

Websites:

http://misterandyriley.com/cartoons/the-book-of-bunny-suicides/

http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2000/may/14/features.magazine37

https://www.hachettechildrens.co.uk/titles/tony-ross-4/horrid-henry/9781444013849/ 

http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/series/critical-scripts/

http://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/mathematics/fluid-dynamics-and-solid-mechanics/series/cambridge-monographs-mechanics

http://www.aisleone.net/2008/books/penguin-on-design-series/

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/22613.50_Shades_Parodies

Skills Builder 2 – Sample Answer

You may have considered the following:

The Cambridge Monographs on Mechanics are a series of specialised books published for a niche market, though with some potential for paperback copies of some titles. Their USPs are based on the quality of the scholarship they present, enhanced by the trusted brand of Cambridge University Press.

The titles are linked by a common subject matter of mechanics, have similar design templates with illustrations, tables and other features. The authors are expected to be experts in their field but with the ability to make their works accessible for a wide audience, which is another USP. The editor's brief might be to continue to publish large numbers of these titles, which are likely to have a small individual sale but a large cumulative series sale, in terms of turnover. Its remit to publish new research enables new titles to keep the series fresh and re-promote previously published titles. The series style is adapted from a template, to enable production costs to be kept to a minimum

Skills Builder 3 – Sample Answer

1. A self-help guide to coping with depression

A topic with a potentially large readership and linked to a self-help trend which has proven success in publishing and longevity. Long-term sales would be expected but short-term only may be obtained if linked to specific media coverage.

2. A “celebrity” autobiography from an established football player

This is likely to be short term and seasonal with Christmas as the target market.

3. A textbook about Mathematics aimed at first year undergraduate students

Long term sales are essential in order to cover likely high investment costs. The product would need time to establish itself in the market but lecturer recommendations over a period of time would encourage longevity.

4. An erotic novel from a new author of fiction

This proposal is tapping into a trend which may have peaked and the author is unknown. Unless the editor can help the author to build an author brand or the material has strong USPs this is likely to be short-term publishing.

Skills Builder 4 – Sample Answer

You may have considered the following:

1. “Misery memoirs” which specialise in stories of difficult childhoods became a trend with the publication of books like A Child called it by Dave Pelzer in 1995 and established a new genre of publishing, which still remains quite popular. The combination of a celebrity author and a misery memoir does appear to be appealing. However, note that if the author was “previously” acting in a soap opera, an editor will need to gauge their popularity and whether they have an interesting story before proceeding. The editor will also need to position the book in the market for colleagues – is it an autobiography or a misery memoir?
   

A large publisher would have the support of a substantial marketing budget to help promote the book and would be likely to have a brand name in this area. Depending on the above, this could be cautiously regarded as “medium” risk, bearing in mind that the author is likely to have received a large advance on royalties which would need to be earned out. 

2. An addition to an existing series which presumably has a proven track record would be regarded as low risk but an educational editor must be constantly aware of curriculum changes to ensure the product is suitable.
   

3. The children’s book market is possibly the most competitive market in trade and consumer publishing and for a small publisher to compete this product would need to have an obvious USP. For example the publisher Nosy Crow launched their company with award winning apps for children before concentrating on print products, to gain a reputation in the children’s publishing market. Therefore, unless the book was authored by a brand author, it is likely to be high risk.
   

4. Although “conference proceedings” are not high revenue earners, the editor may be able to publish very quickly and economically in ebook format to ensure the publication is up to date. There may be a small but captive market amongst those who attended the conference – and who might be offered a special price to purchase the book – and it could be priced highly for an inelastic market which is not too price sensitive. Therefore it could be regarded as low risk.

7.5 Chapter Summary

7.1. Chapter Aim

This chapter will provide a basic understanding of the financial principles relevant to the development and management of a publishing list. It is intended as an introduction to the core financial information used in the evaluation of a new publishing project or programme, and in the assessment of the performance of an existing one. The chapter will cover the core financial building blocks and the relationships between them. It will also place the publishing project within the context of the publishing company as a whole. It emphasises the relevance for a publishing editor of financial understanding and the importance of the key financial decisions in building and sustaining a successful publishing enterprise. Examples of financial accounts are used to explain concepts and real-life case studies are used as illustrations. Basic arithmetic skills are needed to undertake the numeric activities and the use of a spreadsheet is recommended for several of them.

7.2. Introduction

Why is an understanding of finance important in publishing? 

Publishing, whether commercial or not-for-profit, is a business activity. Publishing enterprises, both large and small, must all address the same principal financial issues. These involve decisions about spending priorities, appropriate levels of investment, the management of costs, the prediction and monitoring of revenue performance. At the heart of almost all of these is the understanding and management of cash flow. Decisions and policies in all functional areas of the business, including editorial, have financial underpinnings and implications. The publishing strategy and the financial strategy of a publishing enterprise are interlinked and must complement one another. 

As in any business, the financial decisions made in a publishing setting must be based on sound information, they must comply with relevant legal requirements and organisational policies, and they should be rational, consistent and transparent.

Key terms which will be covered in this chapter are:

• Profit and Loss/Income Statement
• Direct Costs
• Unit Costs
• Author Royalties 
• Gross Profit/ Gross Margin
• Operating Expenses
• Overheads
• Net Profit
• Balance Sheet
• Cash Flow
• Discount

If you are unfamiliar with these terms, we suggest that you start with some brief research via the internet.

The following case study shows how a company’s publishing strategy has a direct bearing on its financial performance. Senior managers in a publishing company must always be aware of the financial implications of their decisions, and even at junior levels, editorial decisions taken can have a significant impact on the business. Thus at all levels, an understanding of the key financial principles is needed. This chapter is designed to equal approximately 5 hours of independent study and as you work through the chapter you will find skills builder exercises that will help you to develop what you have learned in a practical sense.

Case Study – Dorling Kindersley

Read about the circumstances which preceded Penguin’s purchase in 2000 of the illustrated publisher Dorling Kindersley (DK).

1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/696695.stm
   http://www.investegate.co.uk/article.aspx?id=200003310703412585I

What fundamental publishing error did Dorling Kindersley make in the run up to the decision to sell and what were the financial consequences?

Let’s think this through together. Although now several years old, this is a famous case. The management at DK had allowed themselves to be carried away with enthusiasm for a single publishing project (Star Wars). In 1999 DK over-printed ten million copies of the Star Wars book. The consequence of this was that the company had to make a provision of £14 million against their profits to allow for the writing off of unsold stock of the Star Wars titles. The reasons for and background to the mistake are not reported, although it is clear that DK misjudged the level of demand. The mistake may have been down to some or all of the following:  overconfidence in a single idea, incorrect market research, ineffective sales and marketing, a contractual sales volume commitment to the film makers, and possibly a cost overrun.  For DK this was a costly mistake. The case illustrates the dangers of over-committing resources to a single project and of over optimism in printing decisions. Notwithstanding the difficult financial situation of DK, Penguin, for its own strategic reasons, was prepared to pay a generous price to acquire the business including its debts.

7.3 The Key Financial Statements

This section introduces the three financial statements used in financial reporting and the relationship between them:

• Cash Flow statement
• Income Statement/Profit and Loss 
• Balance Sheet

Examples will be drawn from the financial accounts of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. This background is an essential precursor to the more detailed study of the Profit & Loss later in the chapter.

In this section and elsewhere we refer to Financial Accounting and to Management Accounting, and sometimes we draw a distinction between them. Financial Accounting is often described as intended for external purposes, whereas Management Accounting is for internal purposes. The external purpose of Financial Accounting is to provide investors, lenders, tax or other regulatory authorities with regular accounts which have been compiled and independently audited to recognised professional standards. Financial Accounts must be generated for all formally constituted enterprises and for public companies they are a matter of public record. Management accounts are used within the business to assist the management of operations. These accounts are not publicly available. 

We start with the three core financial statements. In all external financial reporting they are: the Cash Flow Statement, the Profit and Loss, or Income Statement, and the Balance Sheet. All three reporting statements have applications in Management Accounting as well as in Financial Accounting and are often used as tools for forecasting or budgeting as well as for reporting performance. It is important to understand the purpose of each of these financial statements and the relationship between them. In the brief descriptions below we include links to example financial statements from Bloomsbury Publishing. 

In brief:

Cash Flow is concerned with the management of money in the business, with investment in projects and with the funding of operations. The Cash Flow Statement is one of the three principal Financial Statements and is the record of cash coming into and leaving the organisation over a financial reporting period. A Cash Flow Forecast enables an organisation to predict incoming and outflowing cash. This is vital in any enterprise, but particularly in a publishing setting where many of the key publishing decisions are about what to spend money on, and when. For example, decisions about how many titles to publish, when to publish, the size of author royalty advances, print runs, trade customer credit periods, the timing of payment to suppliers, all affect cash flow. For this reason many publishing companies operate sophisticated cash flow planning models to enable them to forecast and control their cash flow. 

The Profit and Loss (P&L), or Income Statement, is the tool which is in the most common use in a variety of forms within all publishing organisations. At its most simple, it is a structured way of presenting summary information as to sales revenues, costs and the resulting profit, or loss. The P&L may be used both for external financial reporting purposes and, importantly, for internal management accounting and planning purposes. The P&L is used throughout the business by managers of an entire publishing company, of a subdivision or of a publishing list to predict and to monitor the performance of their part of the business. It is also used at a product level by Commissioning or Acquisitions Editors as a tool to model and validate the viability of a new publishing project as well as to track the performance of a title after publication. Editors are often held accountable for the P&L performance of their titles. The P&L looks at performance over a period and is often used to compare performance during different periods or to compare actual performance with budgets or plans. 

The Balance Sheet is used to present the financial state of a business at a particular moment in time. It presents the assets of the business, both current and noncurrent, and shows how those assets are funded, for example by borrowings, by supplier credit or by the investment capital of the shareholders. Assets are always ascribed a value which the business can justifiably realise. For example stock, or inventory, of books is often ‘written down’ to its saleable value to allow for the possibility that some of the stock may have aged and may not sell. This is especially relevant for editors as the stocks of books are often the responsibility of the editor who commissioned them. The Balance Sheet will always balance. On one side it shows the use to which the capital employed by the business is put – its assets.  On the other side it shows the sources of that capital – shareholders, lenders or suppliers extending credit.

7.4 The Structure of the Profit & Loss Model

This section develops the discussion of the Profit & Loss model.

As mentioned previously, the Profit and Loss (P&L) has many applications within a publishing (or any other) business. Used in conjunction with the Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement, it provides the means of Financial Reporting for a financial period.  It is important to remember that the P&L does not represent the actual movement of cash. We discuss this further below.  For this reason it is important to view a P&L statement alongside the Balance Sheet and Cash Flow statement when looking at the performance of a business. As a forecasting tool the P&L provides a commonly understood method of modelling the planned revenues, costs and profit (or loss) of an enterprise, a division, or even a single product or service. This last application is where attention is focussed in this chapter, as this is particularly relevant for an editor within a publishing organisation. 

The P&L is usually presented in a vertical column format, beginning at the top with revenue and ending at the bottom with profit, after various cost items have been deducted. Very often different time periods or comparators, such as budget or prior year are presented in columns alongside one another.

The following table gives a simple example of a P&L for a publishing unit, showing actual performance compared with budgeted performance. Study Table 1 below, comparing actual results with the budgeted forecast and identify what has gone well for this publishing unit and what has gone less well. 

Table 1: Profit and Loss for a publishing unit – actual vs. budgeted performance.

Let’s think this through together…Sales came in slightly below budget, but direct costs were managed well, enabling a one percentage point improvement in the Gross Margin from 52% to 53%. Expenses were £50k under budget and other income was £20k better than budget, meaning that overall the business yielded an improvement in operating profit on budget of £70k, or 39%, (the 39% improvement is the relationship between £70k and £165k).

Sales Revenue

The top line of the P&L will always show sales revenue. Sales revenue in book publishing is generally recognised in the P&L at the moment an invoice is raised by the publisher. The timing implications of this are important, as raising an invoice is not the same thing as receiving payment from the customer. Trade bookseller customers are given a credit period before the invoice becomes due for payment. UK customers are typically given 30 days from the end of the month in which the invoice is raised. Overseas book customers supplied from the UK might be given up to 90 days. The credit period allows time for the book to reach the bookseller and grants the bookseller a period of time in which to sell the books before he has to pay for them.  As a consequence of the credit period there may be an average of 60 days before the book publisher receives the cash from an invoiced sale. This delay means that at any given time the publisher’s cash receipts lag two months behind his invoices. The amount owed to the publisher appears on the Balance Sheet among current assets as a debt. The debt is an asset as it has a future value for the publisher. Until the debt is paid the publisher has to continue to fund it out of working capital. 

The revenue shown on the P&L is the net amount invoiced (or planned) after the deduction of any discount taken by intermediaries or channel partners. It is also after the deduction of returns from the book trade. These returns may be actual or anticipated. In some markets trade returns may be considerable. For example, trade returns for adult fiction may be as much as 40% of the copies shipped. It is therefore important that the publisher makes appropriate provision for these returns when presenting revenues in the P&L. If the publisher fails to do this there is a risk that returns produce an unwelcome surprise and that the sales revenue in the P&L might be overstated.   

In journals publishing, although annual subscriptions are typically paid by customers in advance of publication, the sales revenue is usually recognised not when the subscription monies are received but when issues are published. Thus if the journal is published twelve times a year, one twelfth of the annual subscription is recognised through the P&L each month as an issue is published. Until the issue is published, the money received - known as deferred income - sits on the balance sheet as a cash asset and appears as a prepaid subscription, which as it is, carries an obligation to supply the customer, and is treated as a liability.

Direct Costs

Returning to the P&L, beneath the revenue line come the costs and expenses which relate to the generation of the revenue. The direct costs of creating, producing, purchasing or delivering the goods or services whose sales are being reported are shown first. In a publishing context these traditionally will be authoring, design, composition and manufacturing costs. In a digital environment, the direct costs will include development costs and technology costs. The direct costs of the books that are sold in a particular period are often referred to as the ‘Cost of Sales’ or ‘Cost of Goods Sold’ on the P&L. We discuss costs in more detail below.

Author Royalties

Royalty or other fixed-fee payments due to authors or other content creators or rights holders are an important component of these direct costs. Typically a royalty will be a percentage of either list price or of the publisher’s net receipts, after the deduction of discounts and, sometimes, of commissions. Many popular authors whose affairs are managed by agents are paid a royalty based on the list price. This approach is unusual in academic, professional or educational markets. In these settings, a royalty based on net receipts is more usual. Generally, the royalty system means that the author and publisher share both risk and success. This is fundamental to trade publishing where the rewards from success can be high, but the risks can also be high. 

An alternative vehicle for compensating authors is a fixed writing fee, this is sometimes used in reference or educational publishing, or it might be used to compensate an editor. A fixed fee provides no upside for the author in the event that the work is especially successful commercially. A fixed fee very often will also be associated with the assignment of copyright in the work by the author to the publisher.   In every case, the level of royalty or author payment is governed by the contract between the publisher and the author/developer or other rights holder. 

In trade publishing, especially in fiction, children’s publishing and celebrity non-fiction, advances paid to authors are a significant feature of the business. Such advances may be in six or even seven digit numbers, according to the status of the author, the revenue potential of the project, the negotiating muscle of author and agent, the competition among publishers for the title, and the appetite of the publisher to add the work to their list. Advances might also sometimes be used in other areas of publishing to motivate an author to deliver their manuscript. Some authors are dependent on advances to support them financially during the writing phase. Royalty advances are used by publishers to secure the project and to motivate the author to deliver a finished manuscript. Therefore advances are frequently phased, with part payment on signature of the contract, part on delivery of the author’s manuscript, and part on publication. 

It should be understood that an author advance is not a profit and loss item, it is a cash advance and as such it is treated as a cash flow item, and it appears on the balance sheet as an asset until it is earned out through sales of the work. In other words, the advance has been prepaid to the author in anticipation of future sales. As books are sold, a royalty is applied to the sales at the contracted level and that part of the advance is considered to have been ‘earned’. The unearned royalty advance, which is included among the balance sheet assets, is reduced by the amount of royalty then payable for the period. At the time the royalty is earned, it appears on the P&L as a direct cost. From time to time publishers find that they have unearned royalty advances sitting on their balance sheet which have been paid up-front to authors of slow-selling titles without the prospect of the advance ever being earned out. When this happens the publisher will take the decision to write off the value of the unearned advance. This write-off will then be taken through the P&L. The discomfort involved in doing this can be a painful reminder of past mistakes and it demonstrates the danger of offering too high advances.

Gross Profit   

The Gross Profit (or Gross Margin) is shown after Direct Costs have been deducted from Revenue. It is usually expressed both as an amount in money and as a percentage of the Publisher’s net sales revenue. Levels of Gross Profit vary considerably from one publishing sector to another. Whereas some journal and professional publishers might be able to achieve Gross Margins of 70% and above, trade book publishers may see Gross Margins in the 40–50% range.  There is no rule across the entire publishing industry, as Gross Profit levels are shaped by respective market conditions and cost structures. However, there are norms within different sectors, and most publishing companies apply Gross Profit hurdles both when evaluating new proposals and measuring the performance of published titles. 

Table 2 below shows a typical P&L summary for a single copy of a title with a retail price of £9.95, earning a gross profit of 58%.

Table 2: Typical profit and loss for a single title.

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Skills Builder 1: Gross Margin Calculation

A higher education chemistry textbook is priced at £30.00. The bookseller sells it at list price and receives a discount of 33.3% from the publisher. The publisher incurs an average unit cost of £5.00 and pays its author a 10% royalty on net receipts.

Following the example above, calculate the Gross Margin made by both the publisher and the bookseller on the sale of one copy of the textbook. 

If the publisher decreased the price to £25.00 and with other things remaining equal, what would be the impact on the gross margin? 

See Sample Answer.

Other Income

Other income is a ‘catch all’ expression used in publishing to encompass income other than typical volume sales of books or subscription or advertising sales. Examples of ‘other income’ are: income from licences or permissions as discussed in chapter 5, or from the sales of rights, or sometimes dividend income from interests in another business.  As the income is expressed below gross profit it includes only that part which is taken by the publisher and is net of any share payable to the author. Thus, a translation rights sale might attract a 50% share to the author. The publisher will show in the P&L only the remaining 50% part.

Operating Expenses

Below Gross Profit on the P&L are deducted the publisher’s other operating expenses. These include staff costs (e.g. salaries, benefits, pension costs), office accommodation costs (such as rent, heat and light), travel and entertainment, sales and marketing costs, warehousing and distribution costs, and overheads such as support services from finance, IT, and Human Resource departments, and probably a share of senior management expenses. The level of these expenses and their precise treatment will vary from business to business, and from sector to sector. In a publishing context, expenses and overheads are typically in the range of 30–50% of sales revenue. Please note that some publishing businesses treat distribution and/or marketing costs as Costs of Sales and show them above the Gross Profit line. Gross Profit is diluted as a consequence of this. Many operating expenses are comparatively fixed. Salary costs and office rents cannot be easily cut back when trading is tough. By contrast Sales and marketing costs are usually more flexible; they can be increased or decreased as needed. The overhead costs such as HR, IT and Finance, are often applied via an allocation ratio, e.g. in proportion to sales, or to the number of staff or to space occupied.

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Operating Profit

Once these operating expenses have been deducted from Gross Profit, we are left with a Net Operating Profit or Activity Profit for the publishing activity. At this stage the profit does not take into account interest or tax costs and is often referred to as PBIT (Profit before Interest and Taxation). As with Gross Profit, Operating Profit is often expressed as a percentage of net sales, and is sometimes called a ‘Return on Sales’. This percentage may be anywhere in the range from 0% to as much as 25%, depending on the sector, the level of investment in developing future business, the policy for allocating overheads, or indeed the quality or otherwise of the business. The profit may sometimes be a negative number, indicating that a loss has been made.

Very frequently financial reporting presents profit as Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA). Companies take this approach in order to show how the operations are performing without any distortions resulting from interest payments, taxation or the accounting treatment relating to depreciation or the amortisation of assets.

The company’s P&L statement continues below Operating Profit (although the more granular divisional or project P&Ls would rarely look below Operating Profit) to include interest and taxation to give Net Profit or Profit after Tax (PAT).  After interest and tax a dividend might be paid to the shareholders in the business. Any profit remaining after the dividend has been paid is reinvested in the business.

7.5 Chapter Summary

In this chapter we have developed a basic understanding of the financial principles relevant to the development and management of a publishing list.

You should now be able to:

• Analyse a publishing company’s financial statements and identify the relationship between the shape of the financials and the company’s business model. 
• Be able to build a profit and loss model for a new project from raw information as to sales and direct costs. 
• Demonstrate understanding of the impact of editorial decisions, such as royalty levels, author royalty advances, development investment, production values and print run, upon a project’s financial attractiveness or viability.
• Critically evaluate the impact of sales and marketing decisions, such as pricing, discounts, sales channels and credit periods upon a project’s financial attractiveness or viability. 
• Understand the wider consequences for the enterprise of project-based financial decisions.

Further Reading and Resources

Books

Atrill, P. and McLaney, E. 2022. Accounting and Finance for Non Specialists, 12th edition. Harlow: Pearson.

Clark, G. and Phillips, A. 2020. Inside Book Publishing, 5th edition. Oxford: Routledge.

Jones, H. and Benson, C. 2016. Publishing Law, 5th edition. Oxford: Routledge.

Websites:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/696695.stm

http://www.investegate.co.uk/article.aspx?id=200003310703412585I

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/landing.jsp?catId=cat440138a&rootCatGameStyle=books

http://cpibooks.com/uk/

https://www.ingramcontent.com/publishers/print

Skills Builder 1 – Sample Answer

The gross margin calculations are shown below for both the publisher and the bookseller at the original £20.00 price (Column A) and the revised price (Column B). 

Note that the publisher’s percentage margin is reduced when the price is lowered because costs (other than royalties) have remained constant. The Bookseller’s percentage margin remains the same because the bookseller’s costs have also been reduced proportionately. In practice, the publisher might expect to sell more as a result of lower pricing; this in turn might have the benefit of reducing the unit cost.

8.1. Publishing Sales and Revenue Models

Different markets and sectors offer different revenue opportunities. An editor in a publishing organisation must have a good understanding of the company’s revenue model and be able to create and develop new products which play to the company’s market strengths. The following case study is an example of a business with an unusual and successful revenue model and it illustrates the connection between publishing decisions and revenue models. This chapter is designed to equal approximately 5 hours of independent study and as you work through the chapter you will find skills builder exercises that will help you to develop what you have learned in a practical sense.

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Skills Builder 1 – Case Study: Understanding the Link between Publishing Strategy and Revenue Models.

Games Workshop has built a successful direct sales model for their publishing business in tandem with their modelling business. Identify the strategic and financial advantages of this model for Games Workshop. What are the disadvantages or risks of a direct selling approach like this? 

https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Black-Library

See Sample Answer.

8.2. Channels and Discounts

In this section we look at how books are sold and the financial implications of working through different sales channels in terms of discounts and profitability. In simple terms, the higher the discount demanded in a channel, the lower the profitability for the publisher, although high-volume sales will normally allow publishers to achieve lower production costs through economies of scale.

Print and electronic books are sold through multiple sales channels. The nature and mix of these channels vary according to the market sector and the product type. The mix of channels through which a publisher reaches the users of its publications is one of the principal factors that shape the profitability of a publishing sector, a particular business or an individual product. Therefore, when presenting a P&L, it is often useful to split the revenue into the important channels or markets so that the differences in the respective dynamics of those markets or channels can be properly understood. These differences might be to do with price sensitivity, discount levels or volume sales expectations. Commissioning Editors need to have an understanding both of the markets for their product and the channels through which a proposed title will be sold, in order to model the likely revenues. Managers of larger publishing enterprises need to understand the differences between market sectors. It is therefore instructive to look more closely at the current shape of the book trade and the trends within it and to explore the differences between different channels and publishing sectors.  

The principal sales channels (in the UK) are:

• The Internet (e.g. via Amazon)
• Bookshops
• Supermarkets
• Direct Sellers
• Other non-specialist shop

Table 1 below shows you eight publishing companies. The Sales Revenue Mix and Discount Profiles (table 2) shows the various details for these company’s Sales Revenue/channel mix and average discount profiles, listed A-H. Match the eight UK-based publishing businesses listed below to their Sales Revenues and make a note of your reasons. We will go through them together afterwards.

Table 1 – Eight publishing companies

Table 2: Sales Revenue Mix and Discount Profiles shows the various details for these company’s Sales Revenue/channel mix and average discount profiles

Answers – let’s think this through together…

1/G Social Science Journal Publisher – Revenues are 75% digital (of which 35% is through subscription agents/resellers such as EBSCO and 40% comprises direct sales to libraries and consortia),  20% is print subscriptions, 5% other (Article Processing Charges); sales are made at a low (5%/7%) discount

2/H Children’s Non-fiction – 90% of revenues are for print, of which 60% = UK; Amazon and the trade wholesalers predominate, 13% of sales are through other (perhaps supermarket) channels; High discount levels (50% in the UK, 58% into export markets). Relatively low digital sales (10%)

3/B ELT Publisher – 70% of revenues are export; low digital revenues (7%); low UK discount (28%) higher export discount (42%) 

4/E STM Book Publisher – proportionately high sales through Dawsons, Blackwells and other specialist STM channels, export relatively high at 33%, substantial digital sales (21%), of which most is direct; low(ish) discounts

5 /D College Textbook Publisher – proportionately high sales through academic channels and Amazon, low direct sales; low levels of digital sales 

6 /A Secondary Schools Publisher – 81% UK domestic sales, of which the majority is direct, 16% via other (probably specialist educational book suppliers); low digital sales; low average discounts in UK

7 /C Trade Fiction Publisher – strong sales through UK book trade channels especially Amazon and wholesalers, significant and growing eBook sales (18%); high discounts    

8/F Professional Law Publisher – High direct sales (18%), low export sales (8%); high digital revenues (51%) of which most are direct (41%); low UK discount

8.3 Pricing Decisions

One of the important decisions taken in publishing, as in any commercial setting, is the pricing decision. Although primarily a marketing decision, pricing policy has an impact on the revenue and profitability of the product specifically and of the business generally, and editors are expected to have an understanding of the dynamics of pricing. Thus it is important to be aware of the implications of pricing upon volume sales expectations and on profitability. The price asked for a product or service must always be appropriate to the package offered in order to provide value to the purchaser. It must also be pitched at a level which takes any competitors into account.  

It is generally held that as price is increased, volume sales expectations decrease. The extent to which price affects volume is termed ‘price elasticity’. A situation where demand is immediately sensitive to a change in price would be described as price elastic; conversely a situation where demand does not react to a change in price would be described as price inelastic. Publishers must have awareness of the price elasticity of the goods and services they are taking to market. Mass market trade titles are generally considered to be highly price elastic, meaning that all publishers tend to cluster around relatively low price points such as £5.99, £9.99 or £19.99. At the other extreme professional journals are often found to be price inelastic, allowing publishers to price quite highly.

The publishers of Publishing Law 5th Edition are ready to go to press and are trying to decide what the best pricing, packaging and print run decisions would be for the first printing. The sales team were asked what level of sales could be achieved at different price points and for hardback and paperback versions. They have now researched the likely first year sales quantities and associated average discounts for the different pricing options and the production team has calculated the unit costs for these formats and quantities. The publisher must now make a decision as to price and print run.

Case Study – Pricing

Publishing Law 5th Edition
Publication date:  April 1 2016; Extent: 370 pages.

“With an introduction to UK and EU law, full coverage of electronic rights and e-commerce issues and detailed coverage of changes in UK and EU legislation, Publishing Law continues in its status as a comprehensive guide to the law as it affects the publishing process”.

“This work is a comprehensive handbook for publishers, authors and agents, and anyone who needs a practical understanding of where and how the law may apply”. 

Table 3 below summarises the information on the different options as provided by the sales and production teams.

Table 3: Sales and production team options.

Skills Builder 2: For the pricing case study, calculate what the gross profit would be for each option and, considering marketing and financial criteria, take a view on which of the four options would be the most appropriate pricing and packaging decision. 

See Sample Answer.

Now consider – How does the above case study show the connection between the P&L and Cash Flow and what other approaches might the publisher consider in order to improve cash flow when publishing this title? To answer this question, consider how much cash (or working capital) the publisher is committing to each of the printing and pricing models and what other options might be available to reduce the amount of cash that is tied up. 

Let’s think this through together…

Each of the four options is a traditional print solution involving investment in printing.  Therefore each of them requires working capital to be tied up in stock. However, the level of working capital varies for each of them. 

Option 1 requires the least working capital (£7,600 spent on Production) the direct costs are the lowest and the gross profit is highest. Option 4 requires the most working capital, with £18,000 invested in printing the stock, and the potential for sizable trade debts at high discount and low margin. Options 2 and 3 are quite similar in shape to one another from a cash flow point of view. 

A glance at the ratio between the Gross Profit and the Direct Costs for each option confirms this view: Option 1 shows a ratio of 2:1 (Gross Profit: Direct Costs), Options 2 and 3 are in the areas of 1:1, and Option 4 is skewed in the other direction 1:1.  

Increasingly publishers are looking for different solutions which offer more attractive use of working capital. Printing on demand would offer a lower gross margin than conventional printing, but would significantly reduce the level of working capital tied up in stock. EBook distribution likewise would remove the commitment to tying up printed stock. Although Routledge made this title available as an eBook, this format was in addition to its availability in print format, not instead; thus the publisher still incurred the working capital of manufacturing and holding stock of printed copies.

8.4 Production Costs

In this section we look at the financial treatment of direct production costs in publishing. Although the cost structure of a digital project is different from that of a print book, it is helpful to begin with an understanding of how a publisher handles print costs.  Direct production costs incurred in a print publishing project will generally be considered to be either fixed or variable. On the P&L these costs may collectively be referred to as the ‘Cost of Sales’.

Fixed Costs 

Fixed costs in a publishing context are often referred to as ‘origination’ , ‘plant’, ‘plate’, or ‘pre-press’ costs. They are one-time, non-repeating costs and are the same regardless of how many copies of a book are printed or sold. Sometimes these costs are incurred several years before a book is published. Such costs as these are much heavier for the publishers of highly developed works, such as textbooks and reference books, than they are for publishers of straightforward typographical works.

Typical examples of these costs would be:

• One-off writing fees, contributor fees, editor costs
• Copy-editing, proofreading, indexing
• Text layout and design
• Typesetting 
• Artwork, commissioned photographs or illustrations
• Text permissions and photo permissions
• Origination to plate (colour separation) or digital files
• Ebook conversion costs

Publishers account for these costs in one of three ways, as listed below. The approach taken is usually a consequence of the publisher’s size, its market sector or its product type.

1. Write off the costs to the P&L as they are incurred (this is the simplest solution).

2. Treat in the same way as variable costs below, absorbing them into the cost of the first printing of the book.

3. Capitalise these costs as ‘origination’ or plant costs and amortise over a period (see explanation of amortisation below). 

Amortisation

When origination costs are high, such as in educational or illustrated reference publishing, origination costs are often treated as a lump to be ‘expensed’ through the P&L when the book is published, rather than when they are incurred. These origination costs are then termed as ‘capitalised’. This lump of origination cost is placed on the balance sheet and then spread out evenly or ‘amortised’ through the P&L on a straight line over an agreed period, of say 24 months regardless of the rate of sale, commencing on publication. 

Amortisation over 24 months would mean that a twenty-fourth share, or 4.2%, of the total origination cost would be amortised through the P&L each month. This means that the lump of origination which is held on the balance sheet is reduced by one twenty-fourth part each month, until it reaches zero. Different businesses adopt a different approach to such amortisation and employ different amortisation periods. But the principle is to separate the one-time costs from those that reoccur with each printing, and to spread the cost of origination over a longer period equating with the life of the book. This method also enables the publisher to control the timing of when heavy origination costs flow through the P&L and it may help the publisher to match the release of heavy origination costs to the sales life of the project. 

The table below presents two approaches to the treatment of £20,000 of origination costs. It shows the impact on the P&L of either expensing in the first year of publication (Option b above) or amortising over 36 months (Option c above). In both cases the effect on the P&L over three years is the same – achieving £55,000, 55%, Gross Profit. However you will note that the phasing of the gross profit varies between the two models across the three years.

Variable Costs

Variable manufacturing costs are recurring costs to do with printing; these are sometimes called PPB (paper, print and bind). 

• Paper (these costs might be up to 60% of the manufacturing cost of a paperback)
• Jacket and cover material, boards, card, cloth
• Binding costs, ink, glue, thread and wire
• Printing on machine
  

These costs vary depending on the number of copies printed.  

The variable unit cost is the total manufacturing cost divided by the number of units printed. Thus, if the total manufacturing cost was £5000 and 2000 books were printed, the unit manufacturing costs would be £2.50. The variable unit cost will continue to be associated with the physical copy of the book until it is sold. Therefore every copy of the book in the publisher’s warehouse has its unit cost. The unit costs may vary according to the timing and the quantity of each printing or reprinting event, with longer print runs attracting lower costs through economies of scale, and vice versa. Thus, reprinting 1000 of the above book may incur a unit manufacturing costs of £3.00.  These printing events are commonly referred to as ‘impressions’. Each impression will have a number and a unit cost.

Stock Holding

The publisher’s stock is the combined value of all the units in the warehouse. While a book remains unsold in the warehouse the capital used to print it remains tied up. This is money locked up and unavailable to invest in other projects. Meanwhile the stock is potentially declining in value. For this reason every book publisher is keen to print as few copies of a title as makes economic sense, but always bearing in mind that unit costs will be greater and that gross margins are lower when fewer copies are printed. Treading the correct balance to optimise both unit cost and print number is a key decision for all print publishers, and editors in publishing houses are sometimes measured by the level of unsold stocks of their titles. Many book publishers will try to apply rules on stockholding and on gross margin hurdles in order to control decisions in this area. Most publishers will aim to turn over their print stock at least one time per year. Trade publishers would typically aim to turn their stock at least twice a year. Some academic publishers expect their stock turn to be slower than once a year. If many copies of a profitable title are left unsold, the cost of writing off the unsold copies may well be applied to the P&L of the title, rendering that title unprofitable. It is one of the cardinal sins of publishing to print too many copies of a book.  

The Cost of Sales that is included on the P&L is the total of the unit costs of all the books sold in the period, plus origination amortised in the period, plus royalties payable to authors as a result of net sales made.

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Skills Builder 3: Financial Benefits of Print on Demand

Review the websites of two digital short run and Print on Demand (POD) suppliers. List the financial benefits to trade or academic publishers of Print on Demand technologies. 

What counterbalancing concerns should a publisher take into account when adopting a POD approach?

https://www.shortrunpress.co.uk/

https://www.cpi-print.co.uk/services/print-on-demand/

See Sample Answer.

Digital Development Costs 

Development costs for future revenue earning digital publishing projects are treated in much the same way as the fixed origination costs described above. Some publishers write off these costs as they are incurred, whereas others capitalise the costs and amortise them over a period following the launch of the product or service. The choice as to approach will be driven by the accounting policies of the organisation and the scale of the project. The most conservative approach is to write off the costs as they are incurred. However this approach may have a damaging impact on the P&L at a time before the product or service is launched.  Regardless of the accounting approach taken, the cash effect of such development is the same as software developers, website designers, database builders, testers and others will all be paid for work done during the development phase of the project. An alternative model for the handling of significant development costs would be to enter into a profit share agreement with the developer, agreeing to share the costs and the revenues. In this way the upside potential and the downside risk are both shared between publisher and developer. Such an approach requires a carefully constructed formal agreement between the parties.

8.5 Chapter Summary

In these past two chapters, we have explored many of the financial aspects of editorial work in publishing, but certainly not all of them. It has placed a focus on the principal tool used in the planning and analysis of publishing projects – the Profit and Loss model. By the end of this chapter you should have a solid understanding of the role of the P&L in a publishing setting, and you should be able to interpret a P&L.  You should also have a solid understanding of the impact of financial decisions on individual projects (such as pricing, discounts, licensing) upon the enterprise at large.

In addition, throughout the chapter emphasis has been placed on the importance of careful cash flow management, for profit is not the same as cash, and gross profit achieved by publishing great products will not pay the bills until the cash is received from customers in payment of invoices. Ultimately, cash is the resource that all publishing businesses need in order to continue to operate and to grow.

Finally, all publishing companies have an interest in creating, building and protecting value, whether this is a list of respected book titles, a portfolio of successful magazines, a database of professional or learned information, or some other product. It is in the nature of publishing that the product offering must be continuously renewed. Customers have no need to buy the same product more than once, unlike buyers of commodities or fast-moving consumer goods. Therefore the publisher must constantly publish and innovate. This is even truer in a digital world, where the product no longer has a physical existence when bought by the customer and consequently is vulnerable to appropriation or unauthorised distribution.

Further Reading and Resources

Books:

Atrill, P. and McLaney, E. 2012. Accounting and Finance for Non Specialists, 8th edition. London: Pearson.

Clark, G. and Phillips, A. 2020. Inside Book Publishing, 5th edition. Oxford: Routledge.

Jones, H. and Benson, C. 2016. Publishing Law, 5th Edition. Oxford: Routledge.

Websites:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/696695.stm

http://www.investegate.co.uk/article.aspx?id=200003310703412585I

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/landing.jsp?catId=cat440138a&rootCatGameStyle=books

http://cpibooks.com/uk/

https://www.ingramcontent.com/publishers/print

Skills Builder 1 – Sample Answer

Like some other publishers who have developed direct customer lists or have built entire publishing programmes to be sold directly to consumers, Games Workshop has been able to build up a community around its products and services. Exploiting the direct channel to market is a key element in the Games Workshop business model and plays a central part in shaping the development of new products. Rather than depending on resellers, Games Workshop preserves for itself the relationship with its customers; it knows who they are and what interests them, and it can maintain a dialogue with them, develop the products they want and make more sales to them. In any publishing business, it is essential that product developers and editors listen closely to their customers and understand the company’s channels to market when developing new products.

The key advantages to Games Workshop of this direct sales model are:

1. No need to give a discount to trade intermediaries, thus the amount received is the entire list price. This contributes to a strong gross margin.
2. High Prices – A highly motivated customer group. Games Workshop is able to charge premium prices for its unique products, again enabling a strong gross margin.  
3. Lower returns of unsold items because sales are made directly to consumers. 
4. Cash payment up-front means that the level of debt is low and that cash flow is stronger. 
5. Frequent contact with customers means that the company can be aware of customer preference and can develop the products that the customers want. Competitors are closed out.
6. Customer loyalty – repeat business means that marketing costs can be kept within acceptable limits.
   

Disadvantages and risks of a direct sales approach as followed by Games Workshop might be: 

1. The costs of direct marketing to individual customers – this is mitigated by low-cost digital marketing.  
2. High volume of low-value transactions meaning that customer service and distribution costs are relatively high – but this is mitigated by recovering handling costs from customers and by the high prices charged.  
3. Risk of suboptimal market penetration through a focus on a single channel, or failure to develop new customers. Direct sales businesses in publishing are most effective when the customer group is easily identified and targeted, but there is a risk to this of being ultra-focussed. 
4. High dependence on a single market segment and hence vulnerability to changes in fashion and taste.

Skills Builder 2 – Sample Answer

The different levels of Gross Profit and the % Gross Profit Margin are shown below. The first option is high margin (61%). However it brings the risk that the market will not be sufficiently inelastic to accept the high price, although the volume predictions are much lower. The second option, still hardback, increases the volume sales but the gross profit is much lower, and the % GP Margin is lower at 47%. The third option at a lower price of £34.99 and paperback format, points to increased volume sales, which would bring higher revenues and gross profit than option 2, but it still yields only 48% profit margin. The fourth option, with its low price and high volume, promises the highest revenues but it requires a higher discount to drive these sales. It will generate more revenue than the other three options, but at a much lower margin (35%). It is probably the most risky.   

Option 1 is the most conservative and yields the highest Gross Margin. But there may be a risk to making sales by asking too high a price for such a package as this.

Option 2 indicates that the hardback book is relatively price inelastic. Reducing the price from £95 to £49.99 would only increase sales by 50%. This option is unattractive as it yields lower sales revenue and a lower gross margin (47%).

Option 3 means a relatively high price for a paperback but indicates greater sales volume and higher revenues, although at a lower price. This option might enable the book to gain more exposure in the market.

Option 4 is risky because of the high volume sales expectation for a specialised book, the increased working capital requirement to print 3000 copies, and the increased discount needed to gain exposure for the book in retail channels. The resulting low gross profit margin (35%) makes this option additionally unattractive.     

There is no absolute right answer, as this would depend upon a wider view of the publisher’s objectives. However, Option 3 was the one chosen by the publisher Routledge. The publisher has also made a hardback version available. 

The most appropriate answer to this and other pricing/packaging decisions is dependent upon:

• Market positioning – is it an academic monograph, a professional trade book, a textbook? Do we want to establish recurring adoption sales to students or one-time library sales?
• More information on the market – size, price points and, crucially, competing titles 
• The company’s financial policies on working capital, stock holding costs, gross margin hurdles
• The company’s position on risk

Skills Builder 3 – Sample Answer

Benefits of POD:

• Low or zero stock holding means no working capital tied up in printed copies sitting in the warehouse
• Reduced storage space and lower warehouse handling costs
• Slow selling titles which would not justify conventional printing can be made available
• No risk of having to pulp or write off unsold stock

Questions relating to POD:

• What turn-around time can the supplier guarantee?
• Will the supplier be able to ship directly to my customer rather than sending the books to me?  This would involve double handling and would take longer.
• How do the unit costs of printing this way compare with conventional litho printing? 
• What other service costs are there?
• What will be the gross margin on sales of POD titles?
• Will the quality be fit for purpose?

9.1. Chapter Aims

• Explore the evolving role of the editor in the creation and consumption of digital content
• Identify and understand the legal, social, technological and commercial issues the digital editor must take into consideration
• Critically evaluate the way the editor’s role is likely to change in the future when developing digital products

9.2. Introduction

This chapter focuses on the role of the editor in creating digital content – how does this differ from the traditional print editorial skill set and what emerging trends might impact on the editor’s role in the future? Particular attention is paid to the way social context impacts on content creation, including technology adoption, user expectations and legal principles. In this context, we focus on the more creative aspects of the editor’s role – commissioning and planning – rather than the narrow act of on-screen editing of text. This chapter is designed to equal approximately 5 hours of independent study and as you work through the chapter you will find skills builder exercises that will help you to develop what you have learned in a practical sense.

9.3 How Digital Content is Different

In this chapter we look first at how the nature of content itself can change in the shift from print to digital, and how readers’ and authors’ responses to these possibilities shape what is commercially and editorially viable. 

Publishing is a diverse landscape with traditional print products still generating the bulk of revenues for most publishers, alongside a well-established ebook market, and a range of more experimental born-digital products such as apps and databases. Perhaps the most fundamental challenge for editors today is to think beyond the print paradigm to identify the mix of formats and channels that will best serve the content to be published. 

In the simplest case, the print book once complete can simply be converted to epub and/or mobi and made available via ebook retailers such as Amazon’s Kindle store and perhaps library suppliers such as Overdrive or EBSCOhost Ebooks. Increasingly, however, the digital publication is not simply a derivative of the print but a ‘native’ form designed from the beginning to complement or in some cases even replace it.

Skills Builder 1: Watch the Digital Minds 2013 conference video (up to 32:11, you can watch the audience questions too if you have time): at

. What do you learn about the challenges and opportunities for digital editors?

You might have identified the following challenges: no processes exist, much uncertainty, legacy supply chain, cost of development and perhaps opportunities such as these: better understanding and being able to respond to readers, speed of publishing and making changes, collaboration, connection, innovation.

9.4 Digital Content

As you are aware, digital content is broader than text alone: it can include visual/multimedia elements, links, interactive elements and animations, for example. The editor needs to assess which non-text elements, if any, are suitable for any given project, and how the book relates to other elements such as a promotional website.

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Skills Builder 2: Product Platforms

Using an internet search engine, how many different digital products can you identify derived from the original print book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland?

Compare two or three of these products and consider the editorial decisions that were made to differentiate the products.  

See Sample Answer

9.5 The Digital Reader

All publishing starts with a focus on the reader or user of the content. It is vital that digital editors understand how their digital readers function: who is reading digitally, on what devices? How do they discover, access and consume digital content? What are the expectations and behaviours associated with digital reading, and how do these differ from traditional print reading?  Let’s now go on to consider how the mobility and ubiquity of reading via a device can have an impact on readers’ experience and expectations. Below we have listed the advantages:

• Speed/ease of access – if a reader hears about/sees a potentially interesting read, he/she can now purchase the book and begin reading it immediately, e.g. via Kindle store. 
• No dedicated point of access – rather than finding a bookstore or library, a place dedicated to books with knowledgeable support on hand, readers can now obtain their books wherever they happen to be, and have access to the opinions/recommendations of peers as well as expert reviews.
• Fragmentation of attention – instead of being fully engaged with a single text, readers can now be interrupted by calls (on mobile phones), divide their attention between the text being read and social media or other internet functions, or skip to different content (text or non-text) on the same device.
• Cross-device access – a digital reader can exploit pockets of ‘down time’ to pick up a book where he/she left off, e.g. reading a book on a Kindle device in bed then next morning on a tablet during a train journey and that evening on a mobile phone while waiting for a friend at a restaurant.
• Digital affordances – as well as replicating traditional print functions such as bookmarking, highlighting and annotation, digital content lends itself to functions such as search, copy/paste, linking between texts and social sharing.
• Social dimension – readers can share the very fact that they are reading a given book with their followers and friends, and can instantly review it on completion. 
• Dynamic nature of text – digital books can be resubmitted with updates and automatically loaded to readers’ devices, other content such as magazines can be updated on the fly as required.
• Potential interruption of access – if content is being accessed via an internet connection (rather than as a downloaded file) it is vulnerable to disruption if the connection is lost. Access is also lost if the device runs out of power. It is possible for a book to be removed from a device by the provider, e.g. in the case of a legal action.  
• lack of differentiation – where physical books each look very different and feel different in the hand depending on their size, thickness, paper quality, cover design etc., content on a digital device is essentially anonymous. Readers are no longer broadcasting their tastes when they read in public, and are not constrained by issues such as weight.

Clearly, the ‘affordances’ of digital content are very different to those of print. If print-specific affordances such as highlighting/annotation, copying and distribution within a classroom, archiving, etc. are important to the reader, it is vital that the editor consider how the digital content can be designed to support these needs.

9.6 The Digital Author

The other key part of the content equation, of course, is the author. As discussed in chapter 4, some authors are pioneers of digital content, excited about its possibilities and keen to experiment: most, however, are not. The editor has a responsibility to educate his or her authors on how best to prepare content for digital publishing, for example creating search-engine-optimised abstracts or summaries, structuring chapters consistently to aid with XML tagging, minimising the use of third-party material with restrictive permissions and so on. (The marketing team will also want to work with the author to maximise the impact of his or her existing platform, e.g. blog, Twitter, newsletter circulation, and this activity may be very closely linked to the creation of content, e.g. the advance circulation of a sample chapter.)

In some cases, the editor and authors will work closely together to create digital-first content to support the book, or in some cases as the main output. For example, the author of a textbook may create interactive tests, presentation material, handouts or animations for a companion website, or an annual reference work might have a website where updates and/or additional content can be published in between print editions. More generally, the shift to digital consumption is changing the content itself: short stories are enjoying a renaissance, as are massive reference archives that would have been impossible to contain in bound volumes. Linked content, referencing other online resources, is also growing in popularity.

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Skills Builder 3: Innovation and Research

Listen to this brief interview with Rebecca Smart, formerly CEO of Osprey Group about Managing Change in Publishing at https://publishing.brookes.ac.uk/podcasts/P12/. Podcast Episode: 59

Select one of the examples she cites of publishing innovation and research it in more detail. In what way does it push the boundaries of publishing?

9.7 The Digital Editor

The editor stands at the point at which the needs, expectations and behaviour of the reader meet the creativity and capabilities of the author. The traditional skills of the editor include identifying good ideas and good writers, ensuring the content is both fit for purpose and of a high quality, and bringing it to market in a way that ensures it is discovered by the readers it is intended for. All these remain important to the digital editor, but they are overlaid by additional concerns relating to platform, format and channel. Publishing Law.

9.8 Legal Issues

As the creation and distribution of digital content evolves, so too does the global framework of associated rights and responsibilities. It is essential that digital editors understand the legal constraints and risks associated with digital publishing, and also the opportunities afforded by this fast-changing legal landscape.

9.9 Copyright and Copyleft – Creative Commons

Traditionally, editors have required from their authors an assignment of copyright (in scholarly publishing) or the exclusive right to publish (in trade). They have acted as guardians and custodians of their authors’ intellectual property, taking legal action against those seeking to profit from it illegally, for example by printing and selling counterfeit books. Increasingly, however, authors are baulking at this exclusivity. In scholarly publishing, the Open Access movement which insists on free access to funded research, particularly but not exclusively in journals, is transforming the landscape. Some trade authors, notably Cory Doctorow, have taken a similar route. Most of those who reject copyright (literally, the right to control who is able to make a copy of the work) choose to publish under Creative Commons licensing. One notable response to this has been the move by some trade fiction houses to remove DRM (digital rights management) on their ebooks, spear-headed by Tor in 2012.

This is partly a response to a cultural shift, the democratisation of everything, reflected in parallel movements such as MOOCs (massive online-only courses), in which universities make available their teaching freely to anyone who signs up. It’s driven also by technology: for digital content the cost of reproduction is zero, copying is instant, perfect and almost infinitely scalable (unlike, say, photocopying a printed book), and moreover it’s central to the way that we are used to using other digital items, such as documents, photographs, etc. 

Your authors might be concerned about piracy – why would anyone buy their book if it could be easily copied and shared? What might that mean for revenue? Would their royalty income suffer? In response, you might point to evidence that removing DRM seems to increase rather than decrease sales revenue (e.g. O’Reilly’s experience, http://toc.oreilly.com/2011/01/book-piracy-drm-data.html) and the results of market research you had commissioned demonstrating the intentions of book-buyers. You could make the case that the biggest danger for authors is not piracy but invisibility, and that this initiative would increase their visibility and therefore their earning potential. You would want to reassure them that you will be monitoring and reporting on the impact of the initiative carefully.

9.10 Rights and Permissions

Another key issue for digital editors is the acquisition of rights and permissions: traditionally picture libraries and other rights holders have priced permissions on the basis of, for example, number of books printed and territories covered, but these metrics are problematic for ebooks. Some rights-holders have responded by removing hard-to-enforce restrictions such as territoriality, but increasing the cost of permissions accordingly, which can be uneconomic for a low-earning title. Editors have responded to this problem in a variety of ways, from negotiation with rights-holders to simply dropping non-essential images or quotations. If the content is to be excluded, however, there can be a difficult conversation with the author who requested its inclusion. A broader understanding within the industry as a whole of the issues surrounding digital rights is the only solution. The digital editor has a vital role to play alongside the IP specialists in this grand purpose, but also a very pragmatic role in working with the author to balance the importance of including third-party content with the economic realities of securing permissions, and to identify creative alternatives where necessary.  

‘Fair use’ is a concept that has always been core to those dealing in intellectual property, but the launch of the Google Books programme in 2005 (later split into the Google Library project and the Google Partner project) brought it centre stage for publishers. By digitising the full text of millions of books, many of them still in copyright, without the permission of the rights-holders, Google unleashed a furious debate on what constituted fair use and the relative merits of the rights-holders’ right to withhold permission versus the public good created by Google’s activities. In addition to the use of traditional content in digital products, editors also need to be aware of the issues associated with permission for non-traditional content such as data, software code, video, animations and user-generated content. Each of these has its own tradition of rights management, all are constantly evolving. The digital editor must be aware of the risks and responsibilities involved in the use of any third-party content, and seek legal advice when working with technology partners, e.g. in the creation of an app, to ensure that the intellectual property in the finished product is clearly assigned.

9.11 Social Publishing

The creation and consumption of digital content is not a one-to-one, unidirectional experience, but takes place in a rich ecosystem of social interaction and comment. Readers of books are also active participants in a range of social media platforms such as blogs, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and on book-specific sites such as GoodReads and as reviewers on Amazon. The digital editor needs to understand the dynamics of such activity and its potential for engagement and interaction in pursuit of increased sales, which inevitably means active participation. 

Achieving an authentic personal voice while representing and upholding the corporate line is a challenge for many people, and not just within publishing. Anonymity is not really an option for the digital editor who wants to establish trust as part of building relationships with authors and readers, to commission the best books and introduce them to new readers, so it is important that editors understand social media etiquette and master the art of communicating in this dual individual/corporate capacity (note that many editors choose to maintain separate personal accounts as well, but in this connected world it is increasingly hard to keep the two identities entirely distinct).  

Fan Fiction: One interesting social media phenomenon has been the growth of fan fiction, in which readers take central characters or other elements of a favourite author’s work and create their own stories around them. One successful example of this is the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy which started as fan fiction based in the ‘Twilight’ world created by Stephenie Meyer. The quality of such writing is obviously variable, and traditional publishers have tended to see this as an unwelcome development, dismissing fan fiction as derivative works which infringe copyright: in fact the complexity of the copyright issues surrounding the genre alone might be enough to deter publishers from engaging with it. 

Authors too are often opposed to the idea, especially as so much fan fiction is sexually explicit. Some however are happy to approve fan fiction if it follows certain ‘rules’, for example Neil Gaiman is quoted as saying that he’s happy with fan fiction as long as the authors credits the characters as his intellectual property and does not attempt to make money from it. Despite its pitfalls, the potential benefits of fan fiction are obvious: those who create it are invested and engaged in an author’s work, likely to be the first purchasers of any new book, as well as brand ambassadors who will create new fans. For the digital editor, the challenge is how to harness this passion to support rather than damage the author’s reputation. 

Personalisation: Another trend is that of personalisation, delivering content tailored in some way to the individual user’s preferences. There are three variations on this: 

Explicit curation: a concept familiar to anyone using tools like Pinterest or Flipboard to collect and share items of interest. RSS feeds allow individuals to select which content they wish to receive from blogs, magazines, etc., and tools such as Paper.li take this one step further, allowing anyone to become in effect a digital editor, compiling items of interest into a digital magazine which they ‘publish’. This form of personalisation works best for short-form content such as articles. Textbook publishers have been experimenting with custom publishing for years, both in print and digital formats: lecturers select chapters from a range of titles and the publisher creates a bespoke textbook specifically for use in that class. Note, however, that the content itself is not personalised, only the aggregation.

Explicit personalisation: in which users are invited to choose elements of the content. An early form of this interactive content in print was the ‘choose your own adventure’ books, in which readers turned to different pages depending on their chosen response to a situation, thereby creating their own ‘path’ through the text. This has been translated into hypertext fiction but remains a relatively niche genre. Another example based in print but migrating to digital content is personalised children’s books, where details about a child (such as name, age, favourite toy) are supplied by the purchaser and incorporated into a standard story. 

Implicit personalisation: perhaps the most interesting from the digital editor’s perspective is the emerging analytics-driven form of personalisation, automatically derived from customer data and behaviour rather than explicit selection. This is a well-established principle: online retailers present shoppers with items likely to be of interest given their purchasing history, social media sites deliver targeted advertising to a user’s wall, content marketing systems are based around delivering context-sensitive, personalised content to potential customers to maximise the impact of the message.

However, it is still a relatively new idea within book content, which has traditionally been fixed, monolithic and where integrity to the author’s text is paramount. One interesting example of such implicit personalisation in educational publishing is adaptive learning, in which content is delivered to students at different levels and rates depending on their performance. One potential application for implicit personalisation in book content might be product placement, for example changing the brand of soft drink preferred by the hero depending on the profile of the reader, or on the targeted demographic selection paid for by an advertiser.

9.12 Monetisation

To be sustainable, publishers need to be able to monetise their digital content in some way. This means editors need to be aware of the issues around pricing, routes to market and business models for digital content. 

The traditional transaction model for an ebook is similar to that for a print book: the reader purchases a single copy for personal use from a retailer, or in some cases direct from the publisher. However, there are many other business models in use for digital content, including: 

• Single vs unlimited concurrency – ebooks sold to libraries might be sold on a single concurrency basis (i.e. only one active user at any one time), but more commonly are sold on an unlimited concurrency basis so that readers do not face a frustrating lock-out. In this case, the price for the book will depend on the size of the institution. 
• Ebook collections – predefined groups of ebooks in a particular subject area, most commonly purchased by libraries.
• À la carte collections – collections of titles put together by the librarian, usually subject to minimum spend.
• PDA (patron-driven acquisition) – in this library model, the library commits to a certain level of spend and then books are loaded into the library’s catalogue so that it appears to users that they are all available. Once an ebook has been accessed by users an agreed number of times, it is considered purchased and billed against the library’s credit. This means the library pays only for the books that are used, but it can be frustrating to users if the credit limit is reached and the unpurchased titles suddenly disappear from the catalogue. 
• Document delivery – this is a model most common to journals publishing, individual users can pay a small amount of money to access a particular article for a period of time or to download it.
• Individual subscription – another journals-based model which is becoming increasingly popular for books. It is offered by some publishers, for example Scholastic, but more commonly by third parties such as Scribd and Oyster. It is also familiar to users of audio books as the preferred model of Audible, now owned by Amazon. Its advantage is that it creates a steady revenue stream rather than unpredictable one-off transactions and allows for a rich customer relationship: many publishers however remain nervous that it cannibalises revenue and devalues products, as the per-book value can be very low.
• Freemium – the basic offering is free, but enhancements (e.g. additional users, extra functionality) are paid for. This is common in the apps ecosystem, with in-app purchases providing the main revenue stream for many developers, but it is currently little used by book publishers. Flat World Knowledge began with this model back in 2010 but has since developed a tiered pricing system (starting with basic online access and ranging upwards to include black-and-white or colour printed versions). Bloomsbury Academic makes its Open Access books freely available online but charges for print copies, a variation on the freemium theme. Otherwise the most prolific users of freemium in book publishing at present are self-published authors who give away books to build an audience, for example offering the first in a series for free.
  

The right business model will depend on the content, the market and the supply chain infrastructure (a small independent publisher, for example, may not be able to offer sophisticated subscription services from its own site). In many cases it will be appropriate to offer multiple business models simultaneously, in which case the pricing for each must be carefully considered.

9.13 The New Competition

Big players such as Amazon, Apple and Google have had an enormous influence on publishing and particularly on pricing over recent years. None of these companies or their smaller competitors depends on the sale of content to be profitable. Amazon in particular has a strategy of pricing content low to attract users into its ecosystem. Some publishers have argued that this has ‘devalued’ their content, creating unrealistic expectations amongst consumers and eroding margins unsustainably, particularly when coupled with the collapse of traditional practices such as ‘windowing’, when the profitable, high-priced hardback was released months ahead of the paperback and ebook editions, enabling the publisher to recoup costs up front. The dominance of Amazon (Hachette announced in 2014 that 85% of its ebook sales in the UK were through the Kindle Store) creates an uneasy power balance, and the high-profile spats between Amazon and the Big Five publishers have sent shockwaves through the industry in recent years.  

At the opposite end of the spectrum to these vast companies are a huge number of start-ups each promising to become the “next big thing” in publishing, all eager to partner with publishers to build their offerings. These range from new sales models to social platforms. Assessing the relative merits and potential of each is a time-consuming business, but if they fail to engage with these fast-moving start-ups, publishers risk being left behind as their market moves on. For the start-ups, building a critical mass is essential if they are to demonstrate their viability before their funding runs out: they move quickly and are comfortable with experimentation, a very different culture to traditional publishing. 

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Skills Builder 4: Use industry sources and websites to identify a recent start-up in the publishing space. Imagine that you are a digital editor approached by this start-up for potential partnership. What key information would you require? How might you decide whether to engage or not? What are the risks and how would you manage them? 

See Sample Answer.

Depending on the type of business you chose, you might have considered: financial standing and backers, experience of team and their understanding of both technology and the market, the quality of the product/service, how it compares with competitors, who else (if anyone) is already signed up, the fit with your own strategic direction and content type, and the proposed business model – is it sustainable for both parties?

9.14 Self-Publishing

One of the biggest stories in publishing recently has been the rise of self-publishing. Formerly dismissed by traditional publishers as ‘vanity publishing’, the scale and success of self-publishing from 2012 onwards looks set to transform the industry. 

Tools such as Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing programme (for ebooks) and CreateSpace (for print), IngramSpark (print and digital), Wattpad (digital and print) together with widely accessible desktop publishing tools and a growing pool of freelance editorial and design talent from years of redundancies at traditional publishers, have meant that anyone can access the necessary tools and skills to create a professional-looking book. 

The implications for digital editors are diverse: some traditional publishers simply ignore self-publishing as an irrelevance, some have seen the self-publishing ecosystem as a source of proven, marketable talent to woo, others such as Pearson with its acquisition of Author Solutions, have experimented with its potential as a new revenue-generating service model.

9.15 Editorial Tools and Services

In a world in which it is becoming ever harder to charge for digital content itself, editors are exploring new ways of serving authors and readers with tools and services based around that content. This is not entirely new: Nature Publishing Group have offered language editing services to academics whose first language is not English for several years. But increasingly publishers are identifying ways of leveraging their content and creating new tools to support and enhance it, to diversify revenue streams and to maintain their central position in the content delivery ecosystem.

9.16 Trends and Opportunities

Finally, we take a look at some of the opportunities for the digital editor. Read Hugh Howie’s blog ‘Don’t Anyone Put Me In Charge’ (http://www.hughhowey.com/dont-anyone-put-me-in-charge/), which lists his 13 recommendations for traditional publishers written back in 2014.

Do you agree with this list? Do you think his suggestions are still practical? What additional ideas might you suggest? Pull together your thoughts on what the most interesting or significant trend is and what its implications might be for the future of the editor.

One distinct area of growth is the audiobook market. Watch this video of Prof. Angus Phillips in conversation with Richard Lennon, Publishing Director at Penguin Random House Audio. (https://www.oxfordpublish.org/podcasts/item/angus_phillips_in_conversation_with_richard_lennon/). 

What types of fiction and nonfiction content works in the audiobook formats?

9.17 Chapter Summary

In this chapter you have explored the evolving role of the editor in the creation and consumption of digital content. You have also identified some of the legal, social, technological and commercial issues the digital editor must take into consideration when developing digital products.

You should now be able to:

• identify the key issues involved in commissioning a new digital product 
• choose the most suitable business model for a digital product
• evaluate the significance of trends that impact on the editor’s role

References and Further Reading

Cocks, C. (2021) Born-Digital Publications: A Conversation between a Librarian and a Publisher [blog] https://networks.h-net.org/node/1883/discussions/7569685/born-digital-publications-conversation-between-librarian-and

Giannella, V., (2021) From publisher to world-leading learning platform: the digital transformation of O’Reilly Media. [blog] 10 October Media, Message, Content and Code Available at: https://www.m2c2.media/2021/10/10/from-publisher-to-world-leading-learning-platform-the-transformative-path-of-oreilly-media-and-the-future-of-professional-publishing/

Hall, F. 2013. The Business of Digital Publishing. Oxford: Routledge.

Humphreys, S., (2016) The top 5 things an editor needs [blog] 31 March Book Machine https://bookmachine.org/2016/03/31/the-top-5-skills-and-editor-needs/

Jones, A. 2018. This Book Means Business: London: Practical Inspiration.

Phillips. A., (2020) Angus Phillips and Richard Lennon in conversations (on Audiobooks) [video] Oxford Brookes University https://www.oxfordpublish.org/podcasts/item/angus_phillips_in_conversation_with_richard_lennon/

Smart, R., and Missingham, S., (2014) Managing Change in Publishing [audio podcasts] Oxford Brookes University https://www.oxfordpublish.org/podcasts/item/managing_change_in_publishing/

Stewart, J. et al. (2013) ‘The role of academic publishers in shaping the development of Web 2.0 services for scholarly communication’, New Media & Society, 15(3), pp. 413–432. doi: 10.1177/1461444812465141.

Websites

https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/discover/bloomsbury-academic/open-access/ 
https://www.createspace.com/ 
https://www.ebsco.com/products/ebooks 
https://www.ingramspark.com/ 
https://www.mebooks.co/ 
https://www.overdrive.com/ 
https://pressbooks.com/

Skills Builder 2 – Sample Answer

• facsimile of an original edition (e.g. from the British Library)
• PDF ebook (e.g. from Project Gutenberg)
• Amazon Kindle edition (e.g. from Amazon)
• reflowable EPUB ebook (e.g. from Google Books)
• fixed layout EPUB ebook (e.g. from HarperCollins)
• interactive iBook edition (e.g. from iTunes)
• digital audio download (e.g. from Audible)
• various film/cartoon versions (e.g. on YouTube)
• story app (e.g. from Google Play)
• game app (e.g. from iTunes store)

Skills Builder 4 – Sample Answer

You might have included the following new cost lines: software development, editorial curation/updates, and budget for future upgrades, maintenance, hosting, and user support

You might also have considered the following financial/business model issues: 

• How will the project be funded, and what (if any) are the expectations for revenue/return? If no revenues, what is the intended benefit and how will this be measured?
• If revenues are required, what is the market and how do customers currently purchase similar products?
• Most of these cost lines are ongoing: will the funding/revenues from the project make it sustainable for the expected lifetime? 
• What IS the expected lifetime of the online product, and what are the exit plans once this is complete (pass to another body, e.g. commercial publisher or academic institution, withdraw the service, archive snapshot, etc.)?
• How should the publisher quantify the risks of hardware and/or software obsolescence, and how can they plan to mitigate these risks as far as possible?
• Should the project retain its original text for citation purposes or should the text evolve and grow organically over time? What will the implications be for citation/version control? 
• Who is best suited to carry out the various tasks – editorial, technical etc.? Students might be free/cheap labour but when and how should they be supplemented with professionals such as designers, coders, data managers, copy-editors, etc.?
• What is the opportunity cost – i.e. what projects will NOT be done if time/resources are spent on this one? Does this project truly represent the best use of available resources?
• How scalable is the project – can part of the build be repurposed for other products? How can such investment be shown in the P&L? 
• If the current ‘champion’ leaves, what is the succession plan, and will additional fees be necessary? N.B. Digital projects are not currently recognised by tenure committees, so many academics are wary of taking time away from traditional research.

10.1 Chapter Aim

• To determine the strategic role of the editor in managing and adapting content for different markets.

10.2. Introduction

Chapter 6 examined the role of the editor in commissioning content for both individual products and titles in a series. This chapter will examine the commissioning of a list and the skills needed to manage and develop existing products. The importance of brand recognition and partnerships with other publishers will also be evaluated.

This chapter is designed to equal approximately 5 hours of independent study and as you work through the chapter you will find skills builder exercises that will help you to develop what you have learned in a practical sense.

10.3 List Building

An editor is usually responsible for a list of titles which will have its own profitability. What is a list?  Some key factors define a list, which is:

• Not just  a series
• Part of an overall strategy
• Targeted at specific readers
• Has a common link
• Has a clear identity

Access https://bookmachine.org/2019/04/05/commissioning-the-insiders-guide-to-building-strong-lists/  and make a checklist of some key points for an editor to consider when developing a list.

There are various ways of starting or developing a list, as follows:

1. From scratch. E.g. you are a fiction editor and are given a brief to develop a new list in the area of non-fiction, an area in which you have not published before

2. Purchased from others. E.g. the purchase of companies with lists such Continuum Publishers by Bloomsbury as discussed in chapter 7. Sometimes a company decides to sell whole or parts of specific lists as demonstrated in the purchase of the Grove Dictionary of Art and Music from Palgrave Macmillan by Oxford University Press.

3. Extensions of existing list. E.g. HarperCollins Children's books decided to extend their range by joining up with the trusted “Babybrand” products (see http://www.babybrands.com.au/) and to start a new list for 0–3 year olds and have access to new retail non-bookshop outlets such as Mothercare, which already stocked Babybrand products.

Sometimes a list can emerge from a collection of existing products. For example, Vintage publishers tapped into a trend of “bibliotherapy” books to make readers “feel better” about themselves. They grouped together existing literary titles and “serious” non-fiction. An editor’s role would be to curate existing content and work closely with the marketing department to re-promote discoverability of existing content.

Lists can be organised around authors, brands or topics. For example, the publisher Jessica Kingsley was one of the first to publish widely in the area of autism and mental disorder and her lists are topic led. The lists published by Penguin publishers are often brand led, such as Penguin Classics. Nigella Lawson is a very successful cookery writer whose books form a large part of the revenue of the Chatto and Windus Food and Drink lists. Access some of her books – what do you notice about the covers of her titles? The author brand is clearly evident throughout, with photographs of the author prominently featured on almost all of the titles.

An editor’s role is to both develop and shape a list, moving it into different directions if necessary. An example of a very successful list is Palgrave Macmillan Study Skills which was originally formed by taking standalone titles from different lists within the company by such as How to Study English Literature and adding new products from different subject areas, as well as commissioning a future bestselling author in Stella Cottrell.

10.4 Managing the Backlist

One of the key responsibilities of editors is to supervise existing titles when published. They remain the first point of contact for authors’ queries and would be expected to monitor the following:

• Sales 
• Stock levels
• Market
• Competition

For some market sectors, the latter two factors are critical if the longevity of sales is expected and decisions need to be made about new editions and also the re-promotion of products.  One thing to keep in mind when commissioning new titles is the impact on the backlist.  Physical bookshops have finite shelf space, and there is an implicit competition between the established backlist and any newly published title.  An editor needs to consider, is there space in the market for yet another book on this topic?  Will the new title cannibalise sales of an existing one?

10.5 Case Study: Very Short Introductions (VSIs)

Oxford University Press has achieved great success with the VSI series, originally launched in 1995. 

See: http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/category/academic/series/general/vsi.do. 

 Key features are:

• A general introduction series for the intelligent reader 
• Important and interesting subjects
• Short: 35,000 words
• Thought-provoking and authoritative
• Engaging and accessible
• Attractive design
• Eminent authors
• No standard approach or structure: a balanced treatment is encouraged
  

Over 400 titles are published with around 35–40 new additions per year. 

Many unsolicited proposals are sent each year, but in practice editors will have “hit lists” of titles which they will then try to match with appropriate authors.

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Skills Builder 1: 

Mark the five titles which you think are in the top 20 bestsellers for this series in the UK. Mark the five titles which are in the bottom 20.

Philosophy of Science
Jung
Deserts
Anthropology
Antisemitism
Spanish Literature
Freud
Dinosaurs
Postmodernism
Fossils

See Sample Answer.

VSI online was launched in September 2013 at: http://www.veryshortintroductions.com with the following features:

• Institutional sales only

• Sales modules (e.g. Politics, Law, History available, or whole online service)

• Fully searchable

• Links to other OUP content

• Available on mobile devices

• Static Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), great for reading lists – lecturers can use these references year after year

• Lecturers can easily share chapters, titles, abstracts etc. with students and colleagues as there is are integrated e-mail and social bookmarking tools

• Updated monthly with all the new VSIs (3 or 4 each month)

An awareness of the digital possibilities of VSI content is expected when managing this list and as the VSIs have been translated in over 45 languages, an editor would also be expected to consider rights potential when commissioning new titles, as discussed in chapter 5.

The editor of VSIs will therefore be expected to be actively commissioning new titles whilst overseeing the backlist management of many titles and new editions.

What factors would need to be considered when commissioning new editions of titles in the VSI series?

• Age of book: still relevant to the market?

• Content: what additions could be made to justify a new edition?

• Sales: history of, current and projected sales. Is it worth it?

• Contract status: do you have the rights to publish a new edition?

• Authors: are they able and willing to provide new content?

• Competition: assessing their features and benefits which need to be utilised in the new edition

OUP have identified that a lot of competing titles exist, such as:

• All That Matters (Hodder)

• How to Read (Granta)

• Introducing … (Icon)

• Dummies (Wiley)

• Beginners Guides (Oneworld)

• Teach Yourself (Hodder)

• Pocket Essentials (Oldcastle Books)

The VSI began as a collection of individual titles, became a series and now is an established list within OUP’s publishing programme, with its own brand identity.

The importance of brand identity and relationships with other partners will be discussed in the next section.

10.6 Working with Brands and Partners

Editors need to constantly assess the relevance of the content they have commissioned and be proactive with ideas for repurposing it. This will involve liaising with all company colleagues, particularly in the marketing and publicity departments, as well as outside bodies. For example, the crime novels of author Tony Parsons were adapted for an “immersive website”, as described at:

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/tony-parsons-immersive-website-launches.html. The editor’s role remains keynote the use of the words “additional content” and “content marketing”. The title of “brands director” would encompass aspects of editorial, marketing and digital, whilst working with outside agencies.

Editors working with the author J. K. Rowling on Harry Potter are constantly looking for new ways to exploit the content of the books and this could include contributing to ideas for the illustrated editions, published by Bloomsbury Publishers in 2015. Warner Bros Film Company announced the formation of a global franchise team for Harry Potter and the digital rights for J. K. Rowling is licensed to the https://www.wizardingworld.com/ site, which is not only a promotional tool and online shop for her eBooks and digital audio books but also a place where new content can be developed.

The idea of partnerships between publishers and other organisations is not just confined to the digital sphere. Macmillan Publishers successfully co-published a new edition of the Complete Works of Shakespeare with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) – for further details see: https://www.macmillanihe.com/page/rsc-shakespeare-first-folio/. 

Advantages to the publishers included the association with the prestigious RSC brand and access to photographs from their archives, as well as the use of their customer mailing list to promote the product. For the RSC, the production of the works by an international publisher with sales outlets throughout the world, as well as the use of an editorial and production team with experience in producing reference titles, proved to be a very profitable partnership. 

It is common in academic publishing to forge partnerships with other organisations such as that between Rowman & Littlefield and the think tank Policy Network, as described at: https://www.rowmaninternational.com/our-books/partnerships/policy-network

10.7 Strategic Development

As an editor within a company, you will be required to commission titles which suit the size and profile of your company. You will also need to be aware of the resources which are available to develop new content. For example, if your company is small and you would like to commission a bestselling novelist with a successful track record you may be unable to compete with, in terms of sales and marketing support, or offer the same amount of royalties, as a larger company. You may also be expected to adapt to changes in the market, move your company in a new direction where you have not previously published in a particular area, or take on responsibility for not only new lists but also new companies. 

Chapter 7 demonstrated that, as the successful UK publishers of Harry Potter, Bloomsbury Publishers were in the fortunate position of having cash reserves to invest in new products. They moved the company in a new direction and founded Bloomsbury Academic Publishers in which they continue to regularly acquire new companies such as Continuum Publishers to enhance their profile and increase their financial assets. From an editorial point of view, the acquisition of Continuum Publishers will bring both new content and new authors to the company, to encourage “synergies” and a larger and more wide-ranging profile in key subject areas. The acquisition also means that a potential competitor will be eliminated. As an editor from the newly acquired company there may be opportunities for you to widen your existing commissioning remit.

10.8 Risk Management of Lists

Assess the following decisions and decide whether they are likely to be: low-, medium- or high-risk propositions.

1. Leading educational publisher launches a series of “trade” study guides for the 11–14 age group, aimed at the “worried parent” market

2. Small reference publisher acquires a new contemporary fiction list

3. Medium-sized non-fiction publisher publishes TV tie-in publications in cooking and gardening

4. Large STM (Scientific, Technical and Medical) publisher starts up journals list in the areas of Biology and Chemistry

Let’s go through these one by one:

1     Medium risk. The educational publisher is “leading” so likely to have some resources and may be able to adapt existing content for a study guide market. But note, the company may not have a trade presence with booksellers and this market is very competitive.

2     High risk. This small publisher has no experience and this is one of the most competitive areas of publishing

3     Low risk. The key here is “TV tie-in” which would hopefully ensure a captive market, although the pressures of working to tight deadlines in a medium-sized company could be difficult.

4     Medium. Initially looks low risk as the publisher has expertise in the new subject area and likely to have existing authors, but journals publishing has a different business model to books and is dominated by several big companies.

10.9 Chapter Summary

In this chapter you have examined the strategic role of the editor in managing and adapting new and existing content for different markets. The commissioning of a list and the importance of brand recognition and partnerships with other publishers has also been evaluated.

You should now be able to:

• Understand the concept of list building

• Demonstrate an understanding of editorial strategy within a company context

10.10 Course Conclusion

This course has introduced the role of the commissioning editor in contemporary publishing, within a range of market sectors. We have explored the strategic role of the editor in the publishing process and acquired the knowledge and skills required for the development of new projects in both print and digital form. This course has taken a look at the editorial process in a digital environment, both in terms of content delivery and workflow. Topics covered include the application of market research, working with authors and agents, and the management and exploitation of intellectual property. The financial responsibilities of the editor have been presented and the necessity of business acumen demonstrated.  The development of new products, with particular emphasis on list building and adding value to a company, have been key subjects for study. You should now be able to:

• Define and critically evaluate the dynamic nature of publishing and its impact on editorial management.

• Describe and evaluate the editor’s role in the production (conception and development) and reception of new products.

• Critically assess the strategic role of the editor in contemporary publishing.

• Demonstrate a conceptual and strategic understanding of the editorial processes within the publishing industry.

• Engage with and critically evaluate the impact of digital issues and their impact on the production of intellectual property.

• Critically assess the relevance of social, economic and regulatory frameworks, with special attention on the market and competitors to the development of a publisher’s intellectual property.

Further Reading and Resources

Books:

Atrill, P. and McLaney, E. 2012. Accounting and Finance for Non Specialists, 8th edition. London: Pearson.
Clark, G. and Phillips, A. 2020. Inside Book Publishing, 5th edition. Oxford: Routledge.
Jones, H. and Benson, C. 2016. Publishing Law, 5th Edition. Oxford: Routledge.

Websites: 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/696695.stm
http://www.investegate.co.uk/article.aspx?id=200003310703412585I
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/landing.jsp?catId=cat440138a&rootCatGameStyle=books
http://cpibooks.com/uk/
https://www.ingramcontent.com/publishers/print

Skills Builder 1 – Sample Answer

Top 20 – Jung, Postmodernism, Philosophy of Science, Freud, Anthropology
Bottom 20 – Deserts, Dinosaurs, Spanish Literature, Fossils, Antisemitism

Some subjects appeal to students and general readers (e.g. could be topical and in the news) and some subjects are better served by other books in different formats. For example, with Dinosaurs and Fossils – there are a lot of “introductions” to these topics, many with four-colour illustrations, and consumers will probably choose the books which are better illustrated (unlike Jung, where pictures do not really make a difference)

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