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.

Repetition

Although repetition is a good thing when it comes to education and positive feedback, it is a bad thing when it come to work and productivity.

So let's do an exercise together. Is there something you find yourself doing over and over again at work? If not, keep reading so that you can help your neighbor or spouse; if yes, answer these questions with that task in mind.

1. What is the purpose of this task? (This is to ensure it's not just busy work and must be done.)
2. Are you the best person to do this task? (This assumes you are in the position to either delegate this to others and/or discuss a reassignment with your boss.)
3. Can any steps be automated? Can any steps be batched? 
4. Can parts of this task be shared or even left out, without decreasing its value?

Let me share two examples with you, to better illustrate what I'm getting at. Please note that for both these examples, they were determined to be of value and could not be reassigned.

Two jobs back, there was a report I had to run for my boss every two weeks, and she was a stickler for formatting. Since our database outputted ugly Excel reports, I would spend a lot of time centering, bolding, etc. After a few weeks, this drove me so crazy that I took the time to record a macro. Thereafter, Alt-A would do four formatting steps in one simple stroke. It took me a few tries to get the macro nice and tight, but it was well worth it.

Another example, at that same job, were the forms my staff had to fill out for each project. Ideally these forms would have been outputted from our database, with all the project data already there, but this unfortunately was not possible at that point. I therefore suggested a master Excel grid, with the shared project data on the first tab and carried over to the remaining tabs where new information was to be filled in. (Although many thought this was a great idea, they felt it would be too complicated and another approach was taken).

Neither of these examples require a degree in rocket science, nor is my approach the only solution to removing the inefficiency inherent in these repetitions.

So next time you find yourself repeating steps, stop and think it through--or even talk it through with your boss or peers--and then put that extra "found" time to good use.

Migrating to Digital Publishing? The Six Key Questions to Ask

(The following article first appeared in Publishing Perspectives.)

The publishing industry is not generally known for being agile or quick to change, yet it is facing one of its biggest times of change probably since the invention of the printing press. At the heart of this is the migration to digital.

Prior to this migration, a time-tested process and structure existed for getting books printed: from acquisition, to copyedit, to typesetting, to author review and proofreading, to print. Although hiccups occurred and no two companies had the exact same workflow, the foundations were the same and ensured quality products got released in expected timeframes.

With digital—whether it’s online or e-book, digital only or both print and digital—publishers are now faced with more questions than answers as to how to incorporate the new with the old. Below I provide a framework for those questions, using the traditional 6 Ws: why, who, what, when, which, and where.

Why?

Of the six questions, this is the easiest to answer. No publisher can afford to ignore the digital any longer:  the tipping point has come and gone; more and more e-books and e-readers are being sold weekly; and authors will begin demanding this, if they haven’t already. And traditional publishers need to offer all things digital to compete with the emerging “digital publishers.”

Who?

Even prior to the migration to digital, publishers would do one of two things to keep costs down: outsource as much as possible, keeping headcount down, or the reverse, which is hire talent to keep all services and costs internal. With digital, publishers have to make this decision anew. Should they invest in new talent from other industries (e.g., technology) or educating existing talent, those who are eager to learn and have a background in publishing and in their culture? Or should they turn to one of the many conversion and content solutions providers that exist in the market?

What?

What exactly is a digital product, or more specifically an e-book? Is it a replica of the print product or something that only starts from there and then adds interactive media? How much new content should be added to the digital product for consumers to choose that over the print product? Are they competing against each other and is there a way to bundle them? And what is actually a value-ad as opposed to bells-and-whistles that are more of a distracter and deterrent? Also, should publishers focus on frontlist alone or backlist too? How much of either or both?

And what should the price be for this digital product? If it’s a replica of the print, should it be cheaper given that there are no PPB (paper, printing, and binding) costs? Is this a reason to add new and/or interactive content to justify increased price points?

When?

Whatever the ultimate digital product, when should it be prepared and released? Should the publisher work in an xml-first environment and then from there publish across platforms, either simultaneously or at whatever schedule decided on? Is there a reason to do print first and then digital next? How long can a publisher hold off on releasing an e-book so as not to affect print sales?

Part of this question, and also continuation of the “who” and “what” question, is quality control. In the current process, we have production editors, copyeditors, and proofreaders, all with defined skills and quality checks they are responsible for. In this new digital workflow, publishers need to decide who is responsible for digital QC (internal vs external staff), what are they responsible for (proofreading the entire text to ensure conversion didn’t introduce errors or just flipping through pages on e-readers to ensure no major formatting problems were introduced), and when is this to be done (hopefully prior to release and not after complaints come in).

Which?

Which formats will e-books be made available in and which e-readers will they be targeting? Currently you can probably focus on a few (Kindle, Nook, and Sony) but many more are emerging.  Which will you continue to focus on or will you try to be accessible to all?

Where?

First off, where should digital and other content be stored? Hopefully a CMS (content management system) of some sort exists and can act as both an archive and an enabler of updates and reprints. If one does not exist, an archive of some sort—whether on a network drive, in the cloud, or via a third-party provider—is vital.

And where are these digital products sold through? Does the publisher have an e-commerce branch of their website with the technical support needed to sell their own e-books? Do they not want to bother and instead use distributors? Someone will need to ensure that the proper formats, metadata, and uploads are prepared for each of these distributors and updated as necessary.

As the above demonstrates, there is a lot for the publisher to consider before it can migrate to digital but to be done right, these questions and others need to be thought through before investments are made.

Improved Workflows: Schedules and Systems (Parts 2 and 3)

Since I was asked to write about this for Publishing Perspectives (original article can be found here), I am copying the remaining two parts below for your convenience.

Step Two: Schedules

Before you go down the “speed to market” route, here are a few things to consider:

1. Is this actually good for the business? In other words, will this help you sell more books? I remember a Director of Marketing telling me that books released before six months weren’t given enough time for “sell-through” and therefore the timing wasn’t good for business.
2. Do you have the resources to shorten schedules? There’s an inverse relationship between speed and cost/quality. So if you want it faster, and still want to maintain quality, you’ll have to pay more and/or bring on more resources — which also means more money. Is this worth it?
    
So instead of aiming for shorter schedules because asked to and/or someone thinks it will improve profits, sit down with all departments involved and discuss the following:
3. How long does each department need for their part of the process? Add a small buffer since things will get delayed and/or mistakes may happen. Discuss all the different types of products/workflows.
4. How long do the authors need — realistically — to do their part? Again, add a small buffer since most authors have a “day job” and getting back to you is not their priority.
5. Are there any conferences or other events where books or bound galleys will mean appreciable sales?

Take all the above and create standard turnarounds for each product type and a system whereby rush schedules need sign-off by people in the position to decide whether the rush makes business sense or not.

Step Three: Systems

Although some companies will have more to invest than others in systems, the following tools are the minimum needed for a proper functioning workflow:

1. File management system: Whether on a network drive, in the cloud, or outsourced, every company needs a clearly defined naming convention and place to save all documents and files. Imagine not owning your content and having to track it down every time something is up for reprint? Imagine not knowing where the latest version of an important form is located — or which version to use?
2. Title Management System: At the minimum, project details and schedule should be shared. If a company cannot invest in a large system, Excel, Project, or Access can be used. If there is money to invest, there are systems that can be bought or built that can provide much more functionality.
3. Content Management System: In this day and age of digital and repurposing of content, it is vital to have a repository for this content. Authors can be allowed to write directly into the CMS, searches can be run to see what you already own on any given topic, and cross-media publishing and updates can be done more easily.

There is obviously more to a good workflow than just the above, but these are the common denominators I’ve seen and which are still necessary even when dealing with new media.

Improved Workflows: Aligning Expectations (Part 1 of 3)

Although there is no one workflow that will fit all products and purposes, I have decided to write about the three problems that, in my experience, happen across products and companies. There are far more than three things necessary for an efficient, streamlined workflow, but these three will give you a head start. You can contact me for more.

Let's start at the beginning: aligning expectations. For a project to be completed on time, on budget, and as expected (e.g., high quality), it is imperative that everyone involved be aware of its parameters, deadlines, components, etc. from the get-go. Surprises may be pleasant in your personal life (or not), but they are a disaster when it comes to getting work done.

Below are a few suggestions to avoid these nasty surprises:

• Contracts: All department heads should own the boilerplate language that affects their function and any variations or change to the boilerplate must require their sign-off. It is not enough to ask their approval as you pass them in the hall or supposedly by phone--it must be documented and clearly signed-off.
• Author Guidelines: Create easy to read, brief author guidelines outlining the entire publishing process and send these to the authors with their contracts and a cover pages summarizing the highlights. Stress what he'll need to do, when, and in what format. The editor should follow-up to ensure the author has at least read the summary and understands what is expected.
• Product and Workflow Type: In this day and age when most publishers have a combination of print only, print to digital, digital only and many other variations, it is important that everyone know exactly which of these categories any given project falls under so that they can plan and execute appropriately.
• Communication Alert System: Even when expectations are aligned up front, changes sometimes occur; it is therefore important to have a system in place whereby these changes get communicated to all appropriate parties. If you have a workflow management system that can automate this, great; if not, create e-mail distribution lists and clear guidelines as to who sends out which alert.

Part 2 will deal with schedules, the next "pain point" in many workflows.