Preamble: A lot of the things I am going to say are not (with respect) big publisher or small publisher issues these are for every publishers. One of the advantages Anko does have is that we speak to literally everyone from literally one/two person man to some of the largest trade publishers such as Workman Publishing and its many imprints. And what we can say is that 'crapness' of information' its organisation and form are not just (contrary to popular belief) exclusive to the smaller publishers it is just the larger publishers tend to have more resource to cover it up. What I hope to give you today is just some general guidance on what to think about and perhaps some of the more common pitfalls to avoid in either choosing or building your own system to manage your publishing information.
Notes: 1) Often people try and just copy existing spreadsheet, word doc; databases etc. etc. which may have been in existence for many years without really thinking about if they were actually working. This is often because they haven't always thought about what it is they actually doing and some of the possibilities that newer technology may afford them in reevaluating workflow and simply the way that information moves around the building. 7) {Notes: Not just the obvious money out of the building but you are potentially doing something which touches every area of the publishing process and therefore your business so every one key needs to be involved this will eat time. Time that you need to spend getting books out of the door.}
Notes: 1) Whichever route you go down this will save you money {Notes: Start at the higher level looking at the core information. Then think about how commonsense would tell you the information is linked together. Then think about what functionality you need to make the most of that information and then think about in what forms, times etc you need that information elsewhere (i.e reporting).
Notes: Advantages: 1) This means of course that you must know exactly what you want Disadvantages: 1) They are unlikely to help you with publishing choices time and time again we see this. If you don’t know your own business then they certainly won’t.
Notes: 1)Some of the heaviest costs and time implications of any route relate to the condition of the information. 2) If you don’t then however you hire almost certainly won’t 3) So many times it is squeezed in amongst everything else 4) Very common to see the staff either not told at all or poorly consulted. They have to understand the benefits because in the short term it is just a lot more unpaid work for them. 5) Learning this and the art of compromise will save you a fortune 6) Exaggerating to make a point - a bit like decorating your house may seem simple and like a good idea when you start out but quickly can become a swamp.
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