Don't Change for the Sake of Change

Change is an interesting thing. It is often talked about and there are books, courses, and probably songs dedicated to it. Most people fear it and even go to extremes to avoid it, yet many, once forced to accept it, often go overboard and change too much. That is change for the sake of change instead of to improve a broken process.

Publishing is all about change, and many would say,  has been since its inception. Many publishers resisted the change to digital but now that this is no longer possible, I feel that they're throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

Yes, workflow and process need to change to accommodate this new era of publishing, and even thinking has to change. But before you discard all your resources, human or otherwise, take the time to reevaluate which can be adopted and which need to be upgraded. Some publishing systems still work: editorial still need to acquire good content; production editorial, the project managers of the publishing world, still needed to ensure quality content is produced--in whatever format--on time and on budget; and marketing, sales, publicity, etc. still need to work towards higher sales. Manufacturing is still needed regardless of the size of the print run, and if they have downtime, why not allow for employee development and cross-training? Unless you choose to have e-book producers in-house, there's no reason Manufacturing/Production staff cannot work with e-books and/or learn how to--and they already know your other systems and mission.

If current employees are not able or willing to learn new skills, or you choose to produce/convert files in-house, then additional resources are needed. But before you make them a standalone department, stop and think if this makes the most sense process and morale-wise. Process-wise, the less handovers the better since each handover is an opportunity for delay, errors, and redundancy. Morale-wise, why separate e- and p-production staff instead of having them work together to incorporate best practices and an efficient process?

Change is a catalyst and can be used to inspire innovation...or to just keep making the same mistakes but in different ways. And speed is not an excuse. If you have to catch-up on a system and/or get something to market sooner, hire a contractor or consultant to fill the short-term need and take your time to think through the long-term change. Haste makes waste...and some changes are too costly to undo or redo.