Book It!
Maximize Your Association’s
Book Publishing Program
Teresa Brinati
Society of American Archivists
Shaun Halloran
American Society of Civil Engineers
Joe Vallina
American Nurses Association
Content Is King
Teresa Brinati | Director of Publishing
Society of American Archivists | tbrinati@archivists.org
Background
 Society of American Archivists
 Founded in 1936
 Office in Chicago
 6,100 members
 Budget of $2.5 million (book sales contribute 15%)
 11 FTEs (including 2 in Publications) & 1 PTE
 3 paid member appointments (PT offsite) —
Publications Editor (books), Journal Editor,
Listserv Moderator
What’s an Archivist?

Archivists are professionals who acquire,
manage, and preserve permanently valuable
records — e.g., correspondence, reports,
minutes, photographs, films, sound recordings,
email, websites, digital images — of people,
businesses, and government. These records are
kept in archives because they have continuing
value to the creating agency and to other
potential users, like researchers and the public.
Audience / Customer Profile
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Members
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Individual practitioners
Educators
Students and new
professionals
Seasoned pros
Allied pros
Nonmembers
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University bookstores
“Accidental” archivists
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Master’s degree or PhD
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Library & Info Science
Archives Administration
History
Other Humanities
IT
Scope of Publishing Program
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Books (3 to 5 per year)
Modules, Case Studies,
Samplers (5 to 10 per year)
Semi-annual Journal
(76 years old)
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Bimonthly Magazine
(45 years old)
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Biweekly e-Newsletter
Content-rich Website
Social Media
(Blog, FB, Twitter, LinkedIn)
Guiding Principle: Foster a
Culture of Publishing
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Cultivate infrastructure, content,
authors
Integrate content across publishing
outlets and organizational departments
Perpetuate the program
Celebrate authorship and service
SELLabrate products
Cultivate Quality
in your infrastructure, process, output, and volunteers
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Publications Board
Proposal Review &
Acceptance/Rejection
Editorial Process
Design & Production
Marketing & Sales
Overall Publishing Experience
Cultivate Contributions
Origins:
 Members
 Component groups
 Annual Meeting
sessions
 Requests for
proposals
 Over-the-transom
Types:
 Theoretical writings about
the field
 Research
 Standards and best
practice
 Practical, how-to manuals
 Perspectives
 Case studies
 Other . . .
“Holistic” Approach
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Books
(40,000‒70,000 words)
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Modules
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Journal article
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(5,000 words)
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Book Reviews
Magazine article
(750‒1,500 words)
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Multiplatform
publishing
(10,000‒20,000 words)
(length varies)
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Case Study
(2,500 words)
Print
eBooks
Web
Integrate Across Departments
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Publishing
Education
Annual Meeting
Perpetuate the Species!
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Hold a forum for prospective
authors during Annual Meeting
or host a webinar
Layout “steps” for contributing
content so new voices are
welcomed and repeat
contributors nurtured
Post guidelines for publishing
assorted content
Fostering the Culture
Authors as Evangelists . . .
 Testimonials
 Blog posts and magazine articles
 Board service
 External Reviewer
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Celebrate!
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Send handwritten thank you
notes and involve executive
director and president
Invite all authors from
preceding year to tribute
during Annual Meeting
Awards for writing
Book Signings & Signed Books
Host a book
signing event
during your
Annual Meeting
o Showcase a
variety of
authors in a
convivial
atmosphere
o Make sure to
have “decoys”
o
o
Signed books are a way
to connect authors with
program and readership
o
Market books beyond
launch
Engage Members
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Organize an exclusive reading
group event featuring an advance
copy of a forthcoming book chapter
(or journal article or magazine
piece).
Hold a contest around a book’s
topic. Give the book as the prize.
Be whimsical. Sponsor a haiku
contest! Give “book bucks” or book
coupons as the prize.
Haiku Winner
Hey, handsome stranger
Saw your pic in the archives
Too bad you’re dead now
–Rebecca Goldman
THANK YOU!
Teresa Brinati
Director of Publishing | Society of American Archivists
tbrinati@archivists.org | 312.606.0722
LinkedIn: Teresa Brinati
Demystifying XML
Production
Shaun Halloran
Senior Manager, Production
American Society of Civil Engineers
About ASCE
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Founded in 1852
140,000 members
2 offices in Washington, DC metro area
250 employees; 30 in Publications Dept.
ASCE Library online contains:
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300 E-books
370 Proceedings (42,000 articles)
65,000 Journal articles
What is XML?
XML = eXtensible Markup Language
 Set of tags used to identify content
within a document
 Allows users to enforce rules within a
document (order of sections, number
of elements, etc.)
 Brings order to chaos (in theory)
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What does XML do?
Captures the content of a document
and identifies it
 Separates content from style
 Ensures all necessary content is
present
 Allows outside parsers to validate the
integrity of the document
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Human Readable vs.
Machine Readable
Word
XML
Benefits of XML Production
Source content can be reused for
multiple outputs (print, online, etc.)
 Built-in metadata
 Consistent output
 Files are portable – all major vendors
are capable of working with XML
 Easy conversion to other formats
(epub, HTML, etc.)
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Types of XML Production
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XML First:
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Manuscript is converted to XML early in
production, typically just before or just after
copyediting
All composition work performed on one
master file
XML Out:
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XML is derived from the final product
Users continue to work with the tools they
are already familiar with
XML First vs. XML Out
XML First requires more training and
commitment, but is more efficient
given the right tools
 XML Out is a lower barrier to entry,
but forces users to maintain multiple
master files (which could lead to
problems)
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Which is Right for You?
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I have a highly
regimented
workflow and
good vendor
support:
XML First
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I have highly
stylized content
and limited
support options:
XML Out
Additional Considerations
Journals and traditional books
respond well to an XML First workflow
 Highly stylized books may work better
in an XML Out workflow
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Because XML separates content from
style, certain books may be difficult to
work with in an XML First scenario
Terminology
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DTD = Document Type Definition
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CSS = Cascading Style Sheets
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Defines what can and cannot exist
within a document
Transforms the XML into stylized,
human-readable output
Schematron
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Performs external XML validation
Select a DTD
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Numerous DTDs available:
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JATS/BITS/NLM/NCBI
DocBook
And lots more…
Ensure that your compositor has
experience with your selection
 Your online vendor may not support
the DTD you prefer (and may require
the use of a specific DTD)
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Tools You’ll Need
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XML Editor
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Composition software
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Oxygen, XMLSpy (individual)
PTC Arbortext (corporate)
InDesign (individual, poor math support)
3B2 (corporate, steep learning curve)
Optional:
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MathML Editor (MathType, MathFlow)
Content Management System
Learn From the Past…
Many organizations moved journals to
an electronic/XML workflow first
 There are more similarities between
journal and book production than you
might expect
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Similar tagging model when using
related DTDs (e.g., JATS and BITS)
 Copyediting/composition is universal
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…But Don’t Live in It
Do not replicate your existing
workflow verbatim
 Take advantage of electronic
efficiencies (you can save some
serious money!)
 Converting to an XML production
workflow is an excellent excuse to
streamline multiple processes
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Don’t Get Nervous
You don’t need to be a tagging expert
to manage an XML production
workflow (but knowledge is power)
 Rely on colleagues and the
community for initial support
 Don’t believe everything your vendors
tell you
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Small Organizations:
Start Small
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Develop an archive of XML content
using an XML-Out workflow
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Convert existing titles first to test procedures
without delaying content
Use parsing tools to validate the XML
content and provide feedback to editors
and vendors
Experiment with new style sheets to
transform your archive into new products
Larger Organizations:
Proceed with Caution
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Test your new workflow on a single
live title
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Plan for twice as much time as you think
you’ll need
Establish a transition schedule to
move all production to an XML
workflow, and stick to it
 Devote time to participate in the larger
XML community
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Resources
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Journal Article Tag Suite:
http://jats.nlm.nih.gov/index.html
Book Interchange Tag Suite:
http://jats.nlm.nih.gov/extensions/bits/
JATS List:
http://www.mulberrytech.com/JATS/JATSList/index.html
Validation Tools:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/pub/validation/
Contact Information
Shaun Halloran
Senior Manager, Production
ASCE
P: 703-295-6215
E: shalloran@asce.org
LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/shaun-halloran/7a/209/243/
The Business of
Association Books
Let’s make some money!
Joe Vallina, MSM
Publisher, American Nurses Assn.
About the American Nurses Assn.
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ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high
standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic
and general welfare of nurses in the workplace,
projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by
lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health
care issues affecting nurses and the general public.
120,000 members
Publishing is the #3 revenue driver for the organization
Pubs staff comprises
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Publisher
Editor/Project Mgr.
Sales Specialist
Fulfillment/CSR specialist
The golden rule: Just because you’re
a nonprofit doesn’t mean you can
lose money.
Serve the mission! If you cost your
organization $$$ you are not serving
the mission, you’re hurting it!
 Remember that an association
publishing house should not be a
board member vanity press
 Use analysis to make sound business
decisions on which books to publish
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You are not there to publish pet
projects, you’re there to earn
revenue to support the mission.
Many times, publishers are pressured to
produce books that are never going to
make money, because an important
donor or board member or CEO has a
pet project. RESIST THIS!
But how?
The Business Case:
Analysis is your friend
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The business case should outline
Business concept/executive summary
 Environmental trends/competitor
analysis
 Marketing analysis
 Cost/profit analysis
 Timing/schedule
 Potential obstacles to implementation
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The Business Concept/Executive
Summary
This component should be your
“elevator pitch” for the book
 If you can’t describe the book in a
couple of paragraphs, you may have a
subject that is too broad to appeal to a
targeted audience
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Environmental trends/competitor
analysis
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How many books on the subject are out there?
Ideally, you want a few, but not too many as to
have a saturated market
Search for and list all competing titles, and
outline at least the following:
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Title
Publisher (could you partner?)
Authors (better known than yours?)
Date published (this tells you where in the book’s life
cycle it sits)
Price (this helps you determine the price point for your
own book)
Marketing analysis
Outline all of your avenues to market
the book here
 What unique ways can you use to
market?
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Book signings
 Author speaking engagements
 Ads (online/print/other)
 Blasts
 Social Media
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Cost/profit Analysis
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This is the most important consideration:
Will the book be reasonably expected to
make money?
Project your total expenses and
determine a break-even point (use excel
or another program)
Given the size of your target audience,
what is a reasonable penetration target?
Does this meet your goal? Be brutally
honest here.
Timing
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Outline a rough timeline for the project
This doesn’t have to be down to the day,
you are just looking for a rough guide at
this point
Potential obstacles to implementation
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Make a list of all the things you could
reasonably expect to go wrong and
delay or derail the project
Note that if this list becomes too long it is
a red flag that the project might not be
ready for prime time
Tailor your recommendations using
the business case tool
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Explore all the different production
options to reduce expenses and make
the project work financially
Not all projects will succeed, but you will
cover your bases and increase your
success rate dramatically if you do
critical business analysis for EVERY
project
Never forget that publishing, even
nonprofit publishing, is a business
The big takeaway
Remember: You don’t have to make a
lot of money on every project* if you are
supporting the mission; but losing
money on any project hurts the mission!
*You should make a lot of money on
every project!
Good luck and thank you!
Joe Vallina, MSM
301-628-5118
JoeVallina@gmail.com
Joseph.Vallina@ana.org
Twitter: @JoeVallina
Linkedin: Joe Vallina, MSM