What goes on behind the scenes? 8. Printing the book

What happens once the final manuscript goes to the Printer?

As part of a new mini-series covering what happens behind the scenes, 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. You can catch up with the previous articles here and I'm interested to hear if this confirms your expectations or surprises you.

Last time, I explained what happens when the book goes into production. This covers how we prepare the final files to be printed, but then what? What happens at the printer?

• Decide how many we're printing - If you read 2. Preparing for the Editorial Board, you might remember we ask Production to produce a unit cost for the book depending on the format, length, number of copies, and finishes. This with a suggested print run is signed off by the editorial board when the book is commissioned. We revisit these costs and numbers a couple of months before publication: our Inventory and Demand Planning team liaise internationally with our sales teams and retailers to understand how many copies will be ordered initially. Depending on interest, the number planned may be increased or reduced.
• Decide the type of printing - For the initial print run, and books that sell high numbers regularly, we use lithograph printing. This is the best quality and is done at scale so we house copies in our various warehouses.
• Book a space at the printer - Using all the information about the book, we book a space at the printer some weeks beforehand. They know the format (size), extent (number of pages), any cover finishes, and if there's colour. And most importantly, how many copies to print.
• Send the files to the printer - Once ready, we send the final files to the printer and over 1-2 weeks they produce the final book. Some publishers will have advance copies available before the book officially publishes, but we don't do this at Pearson. Our production and printing processes are as short and streamlined as possible, whilst maintaining high-quality editorial input, of course, so no book is available until the main run.
• Publish the eBook - For eBooks, the process is fairly similar. We wait until the files are available then it splits: the book is physically printed and the eBook is digitally published. The files go to our eBook vendor, who transforms them into ePub files over 3 - 4 weeks. The speed depends on the complexity of the book, but we aim to have the eBook published at approximately the same time as the physical book.

As ever, this is the process for my list at Pearson 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 when the book is published with marketing and promotion?

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 about a particular topic, and the webinars are free to attend. You can also view the on-demand videos of previous sessions on the Book Club website.

May's Business Book of the Month is Inside the Leaders’ Club by Michael Skapinker and his masterclass is "What does leadership look like after Covid?" To attend the webinar on Tuesday 23 May 2023 at 2 pm (UK time) please register at https://pearson.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xZ9mbQvUTv-1PfAROsjoMA.

We are in increasingly uncertain times where senior executives are looking for high-level and practical business advice from experts and peers on what works - what doesn't and how to navigate the challenges of modern corporate life.

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This book offers leadership advice through the insights of our world-class speakers and practical advice through the shared experiences and expertise of the senior executives who are members of the FT Forums - expertly curated, analysed and presented by senior FT editors.

'If you’re currently in charge, read this. If you think you’d be better than the person currently in charge, read this.' Tony Danker, CBI Director General

"I defy anyone to read this without learning a lot about themselves, their organisations and how to make both better." Lucy Kellaway, FT columnist, co-founder of Now Teach and author of Re-educated

Just Published / Noteworthy books

We have now republished all of our bestselling Rules titles by Richard Templar. There are now 11 available: The Rules of Everything, The Rules of Work, The Rules of Management, The Rules of Life, The Rules of People, The Rules to Break, The Rules of Love, The Rules of Parenting, The Rules of Wealth, The Rules of Thinking, and The Rules of Living Well.

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You can also keep up to date by following the Richard Templar Facebook page.

What am I reading?

To celebrate the coronation, I'm reading The Palace Papers by Tina Brown. I've not read much about the current monarchy and nothing by this author but she is deft at covering events thematically rather than chronologically without you feeling confused or whiplashed.?

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].