Programme overview
Introduction:
Book publishing management, covering the editorial process, rights licensing and distribution, is a 5-day course for publishing managers, acquisitions and managing editors, production leads and rights staff in publishing houses, government and university presses and translation programmes, ending with a Title List Publishing Plan for a case press. Presses lose readers and revenue when manuscripts stall in editing, formats carry wrong ISBN data, translation rights go unsold and cover prices ignore distributor discounts. Nominees already manage titles at work and apply each day to case catalogues, contracts and production files. CoreConcept Training Center delivers this book publishing management course.
Course Objectives:
- Assess a press catalogue against its mandate, publishing model and title-level profit and loss to decide which titles to acquire, reprint or retire
- Run an acquisition and editorial workflow from proposal review and author agreement to structural edit, copyedit and proofreading sign-off
- Specify Arabic and bilingual typesetting, print, e-book and audiobook production with a cost comparison for each format
- Allocate an ISBN to each format and maintain ONIX for Books metadata that retailers and libraries can ingest
- Negotiate translation and other subsidiary rights licences and prepare a rights catalogue for book fair meetings
- Set cover prices and distribution terms that cover unit cost, distributor discount and returns
Target Audience:
- Managers responsible for the publishing list, budget and editorial board of a publishing house or press
- Acquisitions and managing editors responsible for commissioning manuscripts and running the editorial schedule
- Production leads responsible for typesetting, printing and digital and audio formats
- Rights and licensing staff responsible for selling and buying translation and subsidiary rights
- Sales and distribution leads responsible for channels, pricing and metadata feeds to retailers and libraries
Course Outline:
Day 1: Publishing Value Chain, Business Models and List Assessment
- Book Publishing Value Chain From Manuscript to Reader
- Traditional, Hybrid and Self-Publishing Model Comparison
- Press Mandate Statement for Government and University Publishers
- Title Profit and Loss Sheet by Format
- Backlist and Frontlist Audit of a Current Catalogue
Day 2: Acquisition, Editorial Workflow and Arabic Typesetting
- Acquisition Proposal Form and Editorial Board Review Criteria
- Author Publishing Agreement Terms, Advances and Royalty Schedules
- Structural Edit, Copyedit and Proofreading Stage Gates
- House Style Sheet for Arabic and Bilingual Manuscripts
- Arabic Typesetting Rules for Fonts, Ligatures and Justification
Day 3: Print, E-Book and Audiobook Production With ISBN and ONIX Metadata
- Print Specification Sheet for Paper, Binding and Print Runs
- Print-on-Demand Versus Offset Run Unit Cost Comparison
- EPUB 3 Reflowable and Fixed-Layout Right-to-Left E-Book Builds
- Audiobook Production Workflow From Narrator Casting to Mastering
- ISBN Allocation per Format and ONIX for Books Records
Day 4: Foreign Rights, Translation Licensing, Book Fairs and Pricing
- Subsidiary Rights Inventory for Translation, Audio and Adaptation
- Translation Licence Term Sheet With Territory and Licence Period
- Book Fair Rights Catalogue and Meeting Agenda Preparation
- Distributor and Wholesaler Agreements With Discount and Returns Terms
- Cover Price Setting From Unit Cost and Retailer Discount
Day 5: Case Study Work on the Title List Publishing Plan
- Case Press Brief and Seasonal Title List Selection
- Editorial and Production Schedule for the Case List
- Format, ISBN and ONIX Metadata Plan for Case Titles
- Foreign Rights and Translation Licensing Targets for the List
- Title List Publishing Plan Completion and Panel Review
Skills You Will Gain:
- Publishing List Strategy
- Manuscript Acquisition
- Editorial Workflow Control
- Arabic Typesetting Specification
- Multi-Format Book Production
- Bibliographic Metadata Management
- Translation Rights Licensing
- Book Pricing and Channel Terms
Why Attend This Course:
- Deliver a Title List Publishing Plan to the publishing director or editorial board with schedules, formats, rights targets and prices for each title
- Decide which manuscripts to acquire, which formats to produce and which translation licences to buy or sell for a given list
- Avoid stalled manuscripts, misallocated ISBNs, unsold rights and cover prices that fail to recover unit cost after distributor discount
- Share the style sheet, print specification, rights term sheet and pricing template with editors, production staff and rights colleagues
Conclusion:
Back at work, the participant presents the Title List Publishing Plan to the publishing director, the editorial board or the head of a translation programme. The plan supports decisions on which titles to commission, which formats each title receives, which translation and audio rights to license and at what cover price and discount each title is sold. After the first season of titles is released, the unit should compare schedules, unit costs, metadata errors, rights income and sell-through against the plan and adjust the templates and terms accordingly.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
What should participants prepare before the book publishing management course?
Participants should already manage titles, contracts or production files in a publishing house, press or translation programme. Bringing an anonymised title list, an author agreement or a rights catalogue lets them apply the case work to their own list.
How does book publishing management differ from an academic journal publishing course?
Book publishing management covers trade, scholarly and translated books across acquisition, typesetting, formats, rights and sales channels. Academic journal courses focus on writing research articles, peer review and journal selection, which this course does not address.
Why does each format need its own ISBN in book publishing management?
Each format is a separate product for ordering and sales tracking, so print, e-book and audiobook editions each take a distinct ISBN, while a simple reprint keeps its existing number. ONIX for Books records then describe and link the formats for retailers.
What do participants take back from the book publishing management course?
Participants take back a Title List Publishing Plan for a case press, with an editorial and production schedule, a format and metadata plan, translation licensing targets and a pricing sheet, plus a style sheet and print specification template.