Dealing with Disruption: Lessons from the Publishing Industry

Publishing today requires a presence in local and global markets, and successful publishers can be more effective in reaching both by employing current technology at all stages of the publishing process. Finding the most efficient and profitable business models has become more challenging (and more rewarding) by the same advancements in technology. Michael Ross provides a roadmap to the essential aspects of the international publishing industry, from how to develop content that can be easily adapted to other cultures, to establishing relationships and negotiating licensing and co-publishing contracts. With a discussion of the critical innovations in the industry and through case studies from all stages in the publishing process, the book provides insights into the maturing of digital publishing and the challenges and opportunities provided by new technologies. Many publishing models have emerged over the last 15 years, and technology has made the mechanics of publishing in general, and web publishing in particular, easier. Thus, the role of the professional publisher is being challenged, and issues of quality and trust are now competing with easy access to information. Publishing, in all forms, can be viewed as a conspicuous bellwether for any business that must make strategic and tactical adjustments quickly to innovate and grow. Ross applies principles from both consumer and educational publishing to explore publishing's ongoing 'sea change' and its implications for other industries. Preface Introduction Digital Publishing Comes of Age Life After Print The Print-to-Digital Continuum Tools to Change By Towards a Global Idiom Brand and Reputation Matters The Virtue in a Virtual Town Hall Luck Is Not a Strategy Making a Deal with Best Practices Consumption Models The Lion and the Mouse: The Professional vs the Amateur Epilogue Appendices "Michael Ross writes from long experience with ease and authority. His analysis of change in audiences, creative development, marketing channels and financial models in global publishing is insightful and succinct. His practical examples illustrate his argument with clarity. Michael's conclusion, that disruption challenges us by solving problems that the market - all of us - creates through the decisions we make, underpins his overarching philosophy: that no civilized society exists without the vigorous interchange of continuously minted fresh ideas." - Ian Grant, Chairman, Inpress Books Ltd; Partner, Creative Structure Ltd