All New PUBLISHING UNIVERSITY: November 4-6, 2007
Publishing 101: Pre-Conference Track
Nov 4th, 10 am to 4:00 pm
Track Leader: Steve Board, former owner of Harold Shaw Publishers
This pre-conference track will be held on Sunday, November 4, from 10 am to 4 pm prior to the kick-off of Pub U. The Pub U opening session is scheduled for 6 pm that evening. Combination registration for Pub 101 and Pub U is available.
All Christian publishing companies find themselves filling entry-level openings with people who are new to the field. These employees certainly need to learn the specific job for which they’ve been hired, but to do these jobs effectively they must also acquire a working knowledge of all aspects of publishing. With the pace of publishing picking up with every passing month, few companies can commit the necessary in-house time and resources to this task. Publishing 101 offers a unique opportunity for newer employees to be exposed to all facets of the business, through the guidance and insight of experienced industry experts. This will be the start of a lifetime of learning about publishing, enabling employees to do their jobs better because they understand how their tasks fit with those of colleagues in other departments. Can interdepartmental teamwork, mutual respect, and increased efficiency be far behind? Publishing 101 also serves as an unparalleled educational opportunity for those who may wish to pursue a career in Christian publishing.
Sessions:
Content Development: Understanding the Editorial Department
Lyn Cryderman, former publisher at Zondervan and managing editor at Christianity Today
Content is king, and the editorial department bears primary responsibility for bringing in high-quality, saleable content. How do editors go about acquiring the right content? Where do book-ideas come from? How do editors find their authors? Does anything good come from “the slush pile”? Who makes the final decision on what to publish, and how do they arrive at these decisions? What happens after these decisions are made? This session will help fill in the answers.
Marketing and Sales: Knowing the Sales Channels, Your Customers, and Where They Shop
John Johnson, National Sales Director, Tyndale House Publishers
With Christian publishers now contributing to the general marketplace some of the best marketed and best selling books, we have become increasingly sophisticated in marketing and selling. This session will cover the principles of classic marketing and the role of marketing/sales data now available to publishers, as well as the difference between marketing and sales methods employed by general publishers and those employed by Christian publishers.
Product Packaging: Design and Production
Cindy Kiple, Art Director, InterVarsity Press and Anne Gerth, Director of Production and Distribution, InterVarsity Press
A book with outstanding content is far more likely to appear in stores and catalogs if it bears a striking cover. Selecting the right cover could not be more important, and this session will help attendees see how this is done. Attendees will also learn the inner workings of a production department, as an excellent book that has a first-rate cover but is poorly produced will suffer in the marketplace.
The Economics of Publishing: Finance for Non-Financial Staff
Steve Board, former owner of Harold Shaw Publishers
This session will be a basic introduction to financial terms and reports (income statements and balance sheets), new-title strategies, and basic publishing expenses as royalties, printing, and marketing. After calculating the financial return on a proposed book, attendees will review together a sample book proforma and answer the question, “Would you publish this book?”
Nov 4th, 10 am to 4:00 pm
Track Leader: Steve Board, former owner of Harold Shaw Publishers
This pre-conference track will be held on Sunday, November 4, from 10 am to 4 pm prior to the kick-off of Pub U. The Pub U opening session is scheduled for 6 pm that evening. Combination registration for Pub 101 and Pub U is available.
All Christian publishing companies find themselves filling entry-level openings with people who are new to the field. These employees certainly need to learn the specific job for which they’ve been hired, but to do these jobs effectively they must also acquire a working knowledge of all aspects of publishing. With the pace of publishing picking up with every passing month, few companies can commit the necessary in-house time and resources to this task. Publishing 101 offers a unique opportunity for newer employees to be exposed to all facets of the business, through the guidance and insight of experienced industry experts. This will be the start of a lifetime of learning about publishing, enabling employees to do their jobs better because they understand how their tasks fit with those of colleagues in other departments. Can interdepartmental teamwork, mutual respect, and increased efficiency be far behind? Publishing 101 also serves as an unparalleled educational opportunity for those who may wish to pursue a career in Christian publishing.
Sessions:
Content Development: Understanding the Editorial Department
Lyn Cryderman, former publisher at Zondervan and managing editor at Christianity Today
Content is king, and the editorial department bears primary responsibility for bringing in high-quality, saleable content. How do editors go about acquiring the right content? Where do book-ideas come from? How do editors find their authors? Does anything good come from “the slush pile”? Who makes the final decision on what to publish, and how do they arrive at these decisions? What happens after these decisions are made? This session will help fill in the answers.
Marketing and Sales: Knowing the Sales Channels, Your Customers, and Where They Shop
John Johnson, National Sales Director, Tyndale House Publishers
With Christian publishers now contributing to the general marketplace some of the best marketed and best selling books, we have become increasingly sophisticated in marketing and selling. This session will cover the principles of classic marketing and the role of marketing/sales data now available to publishers, as well as the difference between marketing and sales methods employed by general publishers and those employed by Christian publishers.
Product Packaging: Design and Production
Cindy Kiple, Art Director, InterVarsity Press and Anne Gerth, Director of Production and Distribution, InterVarsity Press
A book with outstanding content is far more likely to appear in stores and catalogs if it bears a striking cover. Selecting the right cover could not be more important, and this session will help attendees see how this is done. Attendees will also learn the inner workings of a production department, as an excellent book that has a first-rate cover but is poorly produced will suffer in the marketplace.
The Economics of Publishing: Finance for Non-Financial Staff
Steve Board, former owner of Harold Shaw Publishers
This session will be a basic introduction to financial terms and reports (income statements and balance sheets), new-title strategies, and basic publishing expenses as royalties, printing, and marketing. After calculating the financial return on a proposed book, attendees will review together a sample book proforma and answer the question, “Would you publish this book?”
 Steve Board |
 Cindy Kiple |
 Anne Gerth |
 John Johnson |
 Lyn Cryderman |