SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION

CMNS 474-4

THE BUSINESS OF PUBLISHING

Course Description:

The publishing industry has undergone increasingly rapid change over the past 10-20 years. While technological change may have made it easier for new publishing companies to start up, the marketplace remains as tough as ever, maybe tougher. Undercapitalization, consolidation throughout the industry, persistently slim operating margins and rapid technological change have all conspired to make sound management practice in publishing more critical than ever.

This course will survey a range of business aspects of publishing, with a particular emphasis on book publishing. Throughout the course, students will be asked to immediately apply the concepts discussed in assignments and in a semester-long simulation leading to the development of a business plan.

Successful completion of the course should give students a good overview of how publishers mediate the contact between writers and readers through skillful management of capital and physical and intellectual properties.

Format:

The first class will serve as an introduction to the topic. The course outline will be reviewed and the publishing simulation will be introduced. For the rest of the semester, weekly classes will address the topics outlined below. In most weeks, students will be asked to complete individual and/or group assignments based on the material covered in class and in required readings.

Course text:

Woll, Thomas. 1998. Publishing for Profit: Successful Bottomline Management for Book Publishers. Tucson, AZ, Fisher Book Publishers. ISBN 1-55561-170-2.
Additional required readings will be made available in class or on reserve in the Belzberg Library.

Evaluation:

Seminar participation, including assignments: 30%
Mid-term project: 20%
Term project: 50%

Course Outline

1. Introduction
- Unique nature of cultural industries
- The business of publishing
- Establishing a position in the market
- Assessing opportunities and threats
- Review of course outline

2. Planning and Management
- Mission statement and vision
- Establishing cultural and economic objectives
- The publishing proposition
- Management concepts
- The business plan
- Measuring results: forecasts and indicators

3. Acquisitions and Intellectual Property
- Origins of copyright
- Trading of rights
- Author contracts
- International copyright conventions

4. Production Management
- Relations with suppliers: components of production
- Production timetable
- Production costs
- Process management

5. Profit and Loss
- The publishing program: building the list
- Developing a budget for an individual title, the P&L
- The breakeven point and forecasting

6. The Income Statement
- Introduction to financial statements
- Key components of the income statement
- Profitability
- Managing cash flow

7. The Balance Sheet
- Assets and liabilities
- Debt and equity financing
- Analyzing financial position

8. Channels to Market
- Readers and buyer behaviour
- Marketing
- Distribution
- Terms of trade

9. The Policy Environment
- Territoriality-based structural measures
- Grants and subsidies
- International agreements

10. The Canadian Book Market
- Characteristics of the Canadian book trade
- Performance and profitability of Canadian publishers
- International context

11. Non-traditional markets
- Corporate and special sales
- Sponsorship and partnering
- K-12 and post-secondary sales
- Export markets
- Alternate distribution models

12. Publishing technology
- Applications of technology in publishing
- Data management and sales tracking
- New media

The School expects that the grades awarded in this class will bear some reasonable relation to established university-wide practices with respect to both levels and distribution of grades. In addition, the School will follow policy T10.02 with respect to “Intellectual Honesty” and “Academic Discipline” (see the current Calendar, General Regulations section).