1. 1. The Business of Book Publishing MAUDE RABIU GWADABE mrgwadabe.mac@buk.edu.ng R00M B1-182, FIRST FLOOR, DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION, BAYERO UNIVERSITY KANO MAC 2212: INTRODUCTION TO BOOK PUBLISHING
2. 2. Business Satisfying customers needs at a profit. The business of Book Publishing therefore is the process of developing, designing, producing, distributing and marketing books to consumers across different platforms at affordable prices at a profit to the publisher.
3. 3. Types of Books Educational: For primary and secondary school pupils Academic/Professional: Students and teachers of tertiary institutions and practitioners Trade: Fiction and non-fiction books for the general market Children: for pre-school and extra-curricular texts for school kids
4. 4. Educational Books Textbooks Workbooks Supplementary books Exam Aids
5. 5. Academic/Professional Books Textbooks (Core) Textbooks (Supplementary) Monographs Handbooks Study Skills/Students Reference Professional
6. 6. Trade Books Fiction Non-fiction
7. 7. Childrens Books Educational Storybooks Craft books, etc.
8. 8. Types of Book Publishing Corporate Publishing: Publisher takes all financial responsibilities and pays royalty to author. Vanity/Subsidy Publishing: Author pays publisher to produce the book while publisher retains ownership. Self-Publishing: Author takes all financial responsibilities and gets all profits or losses.
9. 9. Corporate Publishing
10. 10. Corporate Publishing Publisher takes all financial risks and pays authors. Authors get huge financial rewards. Only a tiny percentage of authors get published Authors lack editorial control. Books are not promoted if they arent bestsellers
11. 11. Vanity Publishing Coined by Johnathon Clifford in 1960. Publisher deceptively charges authors to produce their books. Totally bad for authors with no redeeming virtue save the vanity of seeing their names in print.
12. 12. Self Publishing
13. 13. The Nigerian Book Industry Arabic English Hausa
14. 14. The Process of Book Publishing
15. 15. Organization of Book Publishing Book publishing companies are organized to reflect the publishing process. Full-pledged companies have many departments while smaller companies carry out similar processes with a smaller number of departments. These are: Editorial, Contracts, Finance, Design, Production, Publicity, Online, Marketing, Sales Rights, International Publishing & Licensing, Human Resources.
16. 16. Editorial (Acquiring & Publishing) In charge of the overall publishing process Commissioning editor finds new writers through literary events, book fairs, newspapers, magazines and blogs, etc. Editors work with authors to restructure the book Copy-editors check for repetitions, contradictions, clarity, consistency, spelling, grammar, facts and libel. Editors liaise with design, production, sales, and publicity teams.
17. 17. Contracts (Drafting & Negotiation) Ensures the company achieves the best possible terms on which to publish Works closely with editorial but a thorough knowledge of all processes helps
18. 18. Finance (Financial well-being of the company) Performs routine accounting functions Ensures budgets and project appraisals are realistic Oversees financial controls and performance
19. 19. Design (Physical look of the book) Responsible for book size, cover design, typeface, font size, etc. Works closely with the editors and authors. Also commissions freelance illustrators and organize photo shoots for covers.
20. 20. Production (Physically transforms manuscript into book) Functions include costing, typesetting, selecting and buying paper, organizing the printing and binding of the book, as well as its delivery to the warehouse. Ensures all these functions happen in time to meet the publication date of the book.
21. 21. Publicity (Media exposure for books & authors) Works closely with the print, broadcast and online media to generate free coverage for books and authors. Establishes contacts within the media, meeting journalists and pitching ideas to them. Spends a great deal of time with authors accompanying them to interviews and events.
22. 22. Online (Online marketing) Updates company, author, character, series & campaign websites. Coordinates microsites and various internet, mobile and digital activities. Discovering internet trends and utilizing them to promote books.
23. 23. Marketing (Consumer engagement) Advertising across various platforms Works with editorial, publicity, and sales on the positioning & packaging of books Creating pitches and finding new ideas of reaching book readers.
24. 24. Sales (Selling to Wholesalers and Retailers) Sells books anywhere there are people who might read them; bookshops, supermarkets, schools, institutions, etc.
25. 25. Rights (maximizes financial returns) Selling translation, merchandizing, serial, or film rights, etc.
26. 26. International Publishing & Licensing (Selling International Rights) Works with international publishers to publish the books in as many languages as possible.
27. 27. Human Resources (Nurturing Employees) Recruiting & developing employees Performance management & employment relations