By Dave Bailey, PPS Production Editor
Publishing has moved beyond printing a book and calling that the finish line. Publishing is now a multiservice industry. Suppose your company wants to publish a How-To Guide for App development using Python. Not only do you need to write the guide, you need to create, find, and organize images for the guide; edit the author’s writing; create a modern, appealing design; prepare the content in InDesign; proofread the page proofs; finalize the product; and coordinate the printing. But wait, you also want PowerPoint presentations of key instructional sections available online, an app development lab series, and an online question bank for students. (And exactly who’s going to write these?) The entire project should be 508 compliant—images will need alt-text and the final files should be accessible across digital content platforms. Oh, and you received a request for a Spanish version for the South American market. And all of this must be finished on a tight schedule. Phew!
While publishers, businesses, and organizations can handle some or all these tasks internally, even the biggest organizations struggle if several of these components are moving through at the same time. This is where publishing services vendors enter the scene. They can handle these tasks, even on a condensed schedule.
And the best part about publishing services vendors is how adaptable they are to client needs. They’re like the multifunction tool you keep in a drawer at home: maybe you just need your product translated into Japanese. Or maybe you just have a book idea and are not sure how to proceed. A publishing services vendor will meet with you and help bring your book idea to life.
Publishing services vendors also anticipate client needs or potential issues. You may not have thought about photo and figure permissions, but they have. You may not know you need alt-text for accessibility standards, but they do.
The best vendors are knowledgeable and capable of producing high-quality results at reasonable prices. They will work with you to discover what you need and remain communicative throughout the project (see this article from ComputerWorld about “10 things we want from our vendors”). The staff are also accountable for the work they do. These companies rely on their reputation to stay in business, so they are as invested as you in the final product.
Before you start your next publishing project, consider publishing services vendors: whether you need them for one service or twenty, or whether you are a big publishing house or an independent author, they are the multifunction tool anyone can use.