What goes on behind the scenes? 2. Preparing for the Editorial board

What am I doing to prepare your book for the editorial board?

As part of a new mini-series which started with 1. The Proposal Stage, I thought it might be useful and perhaps enlightening if I share what's going on at Pearson at each stage of the book publishing process. What am I doing, thinking, or working on, when commissioning or publishing books, in case it either confirms your expectations or surprises you.?

I've done the first stage, book ideas and proposals, so what happens to prepare the book for the editorial board? Before the book can go to the board, there's a lot of work I need to do to prepare and present the project. Now some of this will sound a little dull, and system-based but I thought it would be worth sharing:

Create the project on our internal system - In order to 'get going', I create a new project for the book. This gives the project a code which we use to refer to it internally. Incidentally, this is before it gets an ISBN (which happens only after approval). As part of that process, for new books, I also need to create a new 'product family' for this book to sit in as the first book or first edition. For new editions, they go into the previous product family but under the relevant edition number.

Create a budget - using the information provided so far or estimated by me and the author, I create a budget sheet using the estimated page count, number and type of artwork, and copyediting and proofreading levels. This gives a total figure we use for the 'plant costs'.

Request a costing - based on the page count, the format size, and some provisional print runs, I ask Production to provide a UMC (unit manufacturing cost) which becomes part of the budget sheet and is part of the editorial paperwork.

Request a sales forecast - I'll share the working documents with my marketing colleagues for their thoughts and hopefully confirmation. I'll usually provide my thoughts on price, print run, and promotion as a way to frame the project but I'm looking for them to confirm or question this. They provide a sales forecast for the first year showing the breakdown of how it might sell across different accounts. This document again is part of the editorial board paperwork.

Create a Profit and Loss statement - using the plant costs, UMC, estimated royalties, and print run suggested by marketing, I create a profit and loss statement showing the book's expected earnings over 3-5 years. This financial projection is part of the editorial board paperwork.

Project paperwork - as well as the author documents and the financial information, I create a Word document so the board can understand the book, why we're publishing it, and our expectations. It includes bibliographic information like the title, the imprint, if it's in a series, the page count, and the publication date. There's a list of keywords, what the reader will learn, why they might buy it over other books, and 4-5 learner outcomes breaking down what the book will help them to do. There'll be jacket copy, a table of contents, a short biography for the author, information about the target market and any evidence I've found to support that this is a topic that interested people, information about competitor books and sales.

Book a slot at the editorial board and upload the paperwork - these are usually fortnightly on a Thursday morning, and the completed paperwork needs to be filed the Friday before to give decision-makers time to review everything. The paperwork includes the proposal, the author marketing questionnaire, my pitch or summary document, the budget sheet, the financial projections, and the sales forecast. A new edition would need previous sales data too.

I hope this goes to explain why I put so much work into the proposal stage with authors. It's not simply a case of presenting their proposal document to the board - there's a lot of other documentation I need to create and so I must be very confident it will be approved, otherwise, it wouldn't be a good use of my time.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank the wider team at Pearson for making things happen. Although I'm the face of Pearson for authors initially, you can see that many people are involved in helping create, cost and sense-check the project, even at this stage. So it's by no means a solo effort.

I hope this all isn't too dull but does this meet your expectations as an author? Does it chime with what you’ve experienced? Do you have any thoughts on the above? Let me know!?Next week, what happens at the editorial board.

The Pearson Business Book Club

The Pearson Business Book Club is open to all who would like to learn more about our business books or learn something about a particular topic, and the webinars are completely free to attend. You can also view the on-demand videos of previous sessions on the Book Club website.

February's Business Book of the Month is The Financial Times Guide to High Impact Negotiation by Prof. Dr. Kasia Jagodzinska , and her masterclass is "The strategy and psychology of how to negotiate successfully". To attend the webinar on Tuesday 28 February 2023 at 2 pm (UK time) please register at https://www.pearson.com/en-gb/book-club.html, where you can also download a sample chapter of the book, and find the video on demand after the session.

The Financial Times Guide to High Impact Negotiation by Prof. Dr. Kasia Jagodzinska will help you strategically prepare for negotiations so you can reach successful, long-lasting agreements. A negotiator who has a clear understanding of the objective and a step-by-step guide on how to reach that objective gets better results. Most negotiators fail because they allow emotions, lack of clarity and strategic confusion to cloud the negotiation process.

Covering negotiation from preparation to execution of the negotiated terms, this book bridges tactical preparation with self-management. You’ll be guided through how to prepare strategically using the Negotiation Matrix, how to secure executable high-stake agreements while securing the longevity of the business relationship, and how to develop a negotiation mindset so you’re better prepared for future negotiations.

Prof. Dr. Kasia Jagodzinska serves as a Senior Adviser to the United Nations on matters concerning multiparty negotiations. Her repertoire of experience also includes working as a Professor at several universities in Switzerland, France, Italy and Poland. She is the Founder of Negotiation Booster and an International Consultant for the Schranner Negotiation Institute. She brings a wealth of international business experience from the EU, the US and the Middle East, which she combines with an academic career.

“Better than any other I’ve seen, this book identifies the psychological factors underlying each of the major stages of the negotiation process and describes how to harness them for success.” Dr. Robert Cialdini , Author of Influence and Pre-Suasion

Just Published / Noteworthy books

Logistics and Supply Chain Management 6e by Professor Martin Christopher

Supply chains and the logistics activities that drive them are critical to business success.

Logistics and Supply Chain Management has the most up-to-date practical tools to manage the people and processes that allow businesses to gain and maintain competitive advantage through their supply chains. You’ll discover how effective development and management of supply chain networks will help businesses cut costs and enhance customer value.

The sixth edition of this bestselling book has been completely updated: as well as additional examples and case studies throughout, there are two new chapters covering The Digital Supply Chain and Sourcing and supply management.

“Since the first edition was published thirty years ago, this book has become one of the leading texts on logistics and supply chain management, providing guidance both to students and practitioners.?The author provides valuable insights into how performance in these vital business processes can be improved and sustained.” Yossi Sheffi , Eliza Gray II Professor of Engineering Systems, MIT, USA

What am I reading?

I've mentioned Gretchen Rubin a couple of times in this newsletter and her book, The Four Tendencies is fantastic. It's a simple elegant framework on understanding how to motivate yourself and others, and it really works. I now understand I'm an Upholder and can see other people's types. It's definitely making a difference in how I communicate with others, and it's really stuck with me.

And here's a fiction book that I think makes a lovely gift, either for readers or those looking for inspiration. Dear Reader: The Comfort and Joy of Books by Cathy Rentzenbrink. I’d not read anything by the author but think I heard about this in a review somewhere and grabbed a copy. It’s a lovely memoir in books, covering the themes of her life, and has so many thoughtful recommendations of books to read.

Finally

Do you have any ideas or suggestions for future newsletters? Did I strike a chord with anything in this newsletter? Is there a business book you've enjoyed recently that you'd recommend? Add a comment or email me at [email protected].