The Business of Journal Publishing
Rebecca Marsh
Director of Editorial and Production
(….and R&D and Product Management)
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
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Brief background to Emerald
Serials today
Purchasing options
The economics of publishing
The publishing process
Adding value in the information chain
Selling and licensing content
Working with Consortia
Investment in R&D
Open access/alternative publishing models
Emerald company background
Established 40 years ago, privately held
190 staff, offices worldwide
Originally one title, Management Decision
Today 190+ academic and practitioner titles in
management, library and information science, engineering
and technology
Management is core output (170+ titles)
International
Serials today
Formats - Print
Serials today
Formats – Online (www.emeraldinsight.com)
Serials today
Electronic features
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Online Archive
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Range of search options
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E-mail alert service
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RSS feeds
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Access to abstracts from wider literature
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Reference linking and Citation linking
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Early publication of an online version
Different purchasing
options
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Journal Subscriptions
Database Subscriptions
Collections
Pay Per View
Usage Based Pricing
Open Access
Most customers value electronic version above print
version; however transition to electronic-only
delivery is hampered by VAT regulations and
fears about archiving
The economics of
publishing
The online medium has become the predominant
way in which we consume and distribute content
(particularly in an academic setting) =
• Demand for lower-priced content (due to budget
constraints and online behaviour)
• Demand for instant gratification
• Demand for delivery mechanisms that meet changing
behaviours
How does this affect the
business of publishing?
• Individual journal sales are declining and being
replaced by multi-journal or database deals
• Librarians are group purchasing, eg via CHEST
and other consortia
• Print journal sales are increasingly viewed as an
addition to the electronic version of a journal
• Users (rather than authors) increasingly associate
content with a database rather than with a
journal
• Student usage has overtaken faculty usage
(students have become a much more important
key target audience than 15 years ago)
• Consolidation in the industry
Publisher consolidation
Market Share:
Reed Elsevier
Thomson Scientific
Wolters Kluwer
Springer
Wiley
Blackwell
T&F Informa
(The Bookseller, 1 December 2006)
24.6%
8.5%
8.1%
7.4%
3.7%
3.7%
2.4%
Publisher differentiation
• For example….
“The world’s leading publisher of
management journals and databases”
Content is getting
cheaper due to…
• Improvements in technology and speed to
content
• Improved marketing to students
What do we do as
publishers
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Capture
Verify
Improve
Preserve
Organise
Disseminate
Adding value in the
information chain
• Managing the publication process, eg:
– Copy-editing, page make-up, XML and SGML mark
up, proofing
• Investments in developing and delivering new
methods of content distribution, eg mobile
learning and VLEs
• Developing journals
• Investments in supply and supporting research
• Investments in marketing
• Investments in new products
• Protecting the rights of authors
• Archiving in perpetuity
The publishing process
The
Journal
Editorial supply cycle and
journal management
structure
Author
Editor
Case studies
EAB and reviewers
Literature reviews
Solicits new papers
Researc
h
Theoretical
Applied research
Interviews
Handles review
process
Publisher
Production
The link between the
publisher and the editor
QA – sub-editing and
proof reading
Access via
library
Develops journal and
subject communities
Graphics
Hard copy
Convert to SGML for
online databases
Database
Promotes journal to
peers
Helps editors succeed
in their role and build a
first class journal
Attends conferences
and widens networks
Overall responsibility
for journal
Develops new areas of
coverage
Promotion and journal
brand management
Networks
Print production
Despatch
Added value from
publisher
Streamline and
efficiency gains
Users
Third
party
The Editor’s Role
• Providing appropriate content for the journal, which reflects
leading international research and the latest thinking in the
subject area.
• Maintaining and contributing to the strategic development of
the journal.
• Developing and maintaining a network of contacts which will
act as a source of papers.
• Appointing and reviewing the editorial advisory and review
boards.
• Devising and meeting the editorial content aims.
• Arranging and managing the peer review system, as
appropriate (double blind review).
Editorial Advisory Board
responsibility
• Advising the editor on matters of journal development
• Acting as a referee/reviewer of papers, especially if the journal
has no separate editorial review board
• Encouraging the submission of articles (written by self or
contacts)
• Providing occasional guest editorials/viewpoints/commentaries
• Writing book reviews
• Representing and promoting the journal at conferences and to
interested colleagues/contacts
• Feeding back helpful criticism/information to the editor to assist in
the development and direction of the journal
• Guest editing
The Peer Review Process
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Independent quality control mechanism
Ensures value, accuracy and academic integrity
Editor ensures journal meets stated editorial aims
There are a number of different types of review – open,
single blind and double blind - at least two reviewers
who are anonymous to the author and vice versa.
• Reviewers asked to provide constructive criticism based
on a number of principles appropriate to the journal
• Most publishers have invested in online submission and
peer review systems, eg ManuscriptCentral, Editorial
Manager, Allen Track, Espere, Bench>Press
Developing editorial
quality
• Editorial objectives and subject coverage
• Position of journal in relation to subject field and
competitors
• Submission rates and copy flow
• Acceptance/rejection rates
• Referee ratings and perception of EAB
• Citation ranking and impact factor analysis
• Other journal rankings
• Usage
• Editor performance
• Production quality and design
Publishing rules –
copyright and plagiarism
• Copyright protects the interests of those who create and
invest in creativity.
• Authors’ moral rights
– the right of attribution
– Object to derogatory treatment (including adaptation
and alteration)
– Not have a work falsely attributed
• Emerald does not restrict authors’ rights to re-use their
work – we are ROMEO Green.
• Emerald has a comprehensive Copyright Policy and Author’s
Charter.
• Emerald has invested in protecting authors from plagiarism
through Ithenticate software
Publishing ethics
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Fabrication of data
Unethical research
Politically controlled research
Authorship disputes (eg limited to those who
have made a significant contribution)
Dual publication – led to Plagiarism Policy and
Ithenticate
Confidentiality – editors/reviewers
Disclosure of conflicts of interest
ETC
Process of launching a
new journal
• What are the reasons for publishing a new
journal?
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Portfolio expansion
Subject coverage
Transferred ‘Society’ journals
Acquired journals
New revenue?
Publisher strategy
New journal considerations
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What is your rationale for launch?
Is there a gap in the current journals market?
How do you see the subject field evolving over the next 5-10 years?
Will the journal have international applicability and reach?
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What is the proposed editorial scope and coverage of the
journal?
What are the key topics that the journal will cover?
What will make it stand out from the competition?
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How will you attract submissions to the proposed journal?
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Who will be the journal’s target audience, both in terms of
authors and users?
Sales & Marketing
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Local sales agents are also appointed where appropriate.
Sales are carried out on an account (customer) level across the Sales &
Marketing Area.
Specific sales activities are managed by each of the different teams in Sales &
Marketing.
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Field Sales
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Marketing
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Customer Retention
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Customer Operations
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Customer Support
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Customer visits, direct sales, account management, training
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Direct mail, e-mail marketing, lead generation, brand awareness
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Account management, renewals reminders, remote training / usage development
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Invoicing, subscription enquiries, subscription agent enquiries
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Setting up online access, technical enquires
At Emerald the Sales & Marketing Teams are now based in regions: America; Europe;
Asia and Africa; China and India
Licensing electronic
content
Terms of an agreement include:
• Who is licensed to use the content, eg short
course participants, distance learners etc
• Licensee permissions, eg to make back-up copies,
mirrored storage, number of copies permitted for
research purposes at the institution, content
made available to other libraries, use in course
packs, conformance to copyright law
• Publisher obligations, eg to inform licensee of any
specified changes to content, provision of usage
data, ensure adequate capacity on the Publisher
server
Working with consortia
Each agreement is different, but will generally fall
into one of the following 3 categories:
• An established consortia group with an officially
appointed representative or coordinator
• A group of customers who work with a third party
(often a subscription agent) to negotiate on their
behalf
• A group of libraries within a region that a
publisher recommends work together
Benefits for consortia
group
• Preferential pricing guaranteed over a
fixed term
• Flexible pricing and product options
• Tailored technical support and training
Benefits to the
publisher
• Secured revenue
• Increase awareness / dissemination
• Closer relationship with key purchasing
groups
Investment in Research
& Development
• Research into new product development
(excluding journals)
• Attract new product ideas/enhancements each
year and refine to a list of 10-12 feasible
developments
• 2-4 new products or services for the company to
trial each year
• Failure of some products needs to be tolerated
and afforded
Open access/alternative
publishing models
• Author pays models (Oxford Open, Open Choice etc)
• Institutional repositories (research funding bodies
mandating open access – NIH asking for deposit within 12
months, Wellcome – requiring deposit within 6 months,
RCUK – requiring deposit as soon as possible, subject to
copyright restrictions)
• We support independence and demand-regulated market
orientation, rather than supply regulated or government
funded/controlled
• Publishing needs organising and funding, capital, people
and infrastructure, research and development
• Emerald Asset
Implications for
Publishers
• Demonstrate added value in the
information chain
• Demonstrate value for money, eg dollar a
download
• Become actively involved in the debate
• Review copyright assignment forms, eg
allow authors to self-archive
Thank You
Any Questions?
Rebecca Marsh
rmarsh@emeraldinsight.com