Big News Forthcoming!

Check out the blog early next week concerning some big news. I can tell you it is an announcement of who will be our keynote speaker for the opening night of Pub U!

Keeping Track - Rights

The Rights Track is taking shape. Here is the latest update on the sessions:

Licensing Tips From a Pro - Carolyn Weidmayer, Director, Subsidiary & International Rights - Zondervan

Understanding International Markets (Panel) - Facilitator: Cindy Riggins - Riggins International Rights Services; Presenters: Hosung Maeing - KCBS Agency, Korea; Tessie DeVore, Executive VP - Strang (Spanish Markets); One additional speaker still to be determined

Financial Analysis of Subsidiary Rights - Trish Morrison, Executive Director, Licensing & Subsidiary Rights - Thomas Nelson

Acquiring Publishing Rights & Copyright Update - Brian Flagler, Flagler Law Group, LLC with a cameo appearance by a famous author/agent (ooooohhhh)

Selling Digital Rights/Developing a Digital Permissions Policy - TBD

Looks like it's coming together nicely! You can all expect to hear from Brian on this blog in the near future as he has promised me he would make a guest appearance. So be ready with your questions.

Keeping Track - Design

Torrey sent an e-mail this morning to update me on progress for his track's session presenters and let me tell you, he has really knocked the ball out of the park. We are still waiting on a couple of presenters to confirm their participation, but here are some that have confirmed.

Gabe Lyons (that's him in the pic): Co-Founder of Catalyst and founder of Q conferences. Former VP at InJoy.
David Baker: Design Consultant, speaker, author.
Rodrigo Corral: Designer, adjunct professor at The School of Visual Arts, New York.
Charles Brock: Principal & Creative Director of The DesignWorks Group.
Arvid Wallen: Creative Director @ NavPress
Michael Linder: VP of Sales and Chief Marketing Officer - Dickinson Press

Be sure and take a look at Rodrigo's website. And while your out there in cyber-land look at The DesignWorks Group's page too. Wow! This is sure to be a hit.

Keeping Track - Technology

Had a great conversation with Ben Todd yesterday. Ben's official title is Market Research Analyst for B & H Publishing Group. Ben has also volunteered to serve as the Track Leader for the Technology track this year and we are delighted to have him as a part of the faculty.

Ben has been busy traveling lately and has attended both the "Making Information Pay" conference hosted by the BISG as well as the "Tools of Change" conference that O'Reilly held last week (I have to say, I'm a little jealous).

Ben is working on putting together his sessions for the tech community and one area that he feels should be looked at is digital asset management and distribution as his own company is looking for ways to more fully integrate this into their overall strategy.

This got me thinking, how does your company manage its digital assets? I'm talking everything from bibliographic data (cover images, product numbering, etc) to content. Are you using a Digital Asset Distributor (DAD)? What about making digital content available, do you offer a "Search Inside" feature through Amazon or your own site? Do you offer downloadable content? E-books? Downloadable audio formats? If you haven't checked it out lately take a look at HarperCollins Digital Cafe and what they are doing with content. Now, tell us what your company is up to.

Price Update

The prices for Pub U are now available (click here). This is an increase over last year so I will proactively try and answer some of the questions that a price increase might raise.

Last year, during Pub U, one of the attendees was overheard saying, "ECPA must be making money hand over fist at this event." Were that it was so! The truth is, ECPA is budgeted to take a loss on this year's Pub U and in fact has never realized a positive net line for this event. "How can this be?" you might ask. That is a very fair question and one that needs answering.

Without blogging you down with too much detail, you would be amazed at the extremely high price of conference food and beverage (more than 1/2 of your reg fee this year will go to pay for your meals). Additionally, there are honorarium fees paid to some of the speakers whose livelihood is based on consultancy. We try our hardest to keep these costs as low as possible and many of our top rated speakers who normally make thousands of dollars for similar presentations, charge nothing or next to nothing (not to mention the incredible Track Leaders who completely volunteer their time). With nearly 50 sessions, small honorariums where necessary, can add up quick.

Additionally, because we are a relatively small industry as compared with some others, an event such as this one (average attendance has been about 300) doesn't have the scale to drive reg prices down any further. Of course, there are also the other conference fees associated with sound, lighting, staff travel and housing costs, etc.

This may all seem like a defensive posture to take, but it is really far from that. We want to be as open as possible with our member companies, after all this is your association. As compared with other similar conferences these rates are actually quite reasonable. This is always a tension we face around here in our planning meetings as we try to cover our expenses and still find a way for even the smallest publishing houses to participate in Pub U.

Well, that is enough explaining for now - at the end of the day I really believe you will walk away from Pub U feeling like you ripped us off! Our hope is that you will find no better value in a conference/educational experience than Pub U. And if for some reason you don't, please let us know!

Keeping Track - Design

Another first for Pub U - a track designed (ha, didn't intend the pun but its a good one) for the Design community. Torrey Sharp, Principal & Business Director over at The Design Works Group in the sprawling metropolis of Sisters, OR (former home of Multnomah Publishers) is leading this track. I have to say that Torrey is tremendously keyed into what we are doing with Pub U and I am excited about the leads that he is working on for presenters. Here are some of his ideas for session topics:

• How to Set Up an In-House Design Team, Establish a Design Culture and Communicate With Designers
• The Calling, Value, Necessity and Responsibility We Have To Create Excellent Product
• Real Life Example of a Functioning Design/Editorial Team of a Prestigious Publisher
• Issues and Challenges We Face: How to Set the Benchmark High, Learning to Risk, Q & A

These are not titles, but merely ideas for topics. What are your thoughts, if you are a part of this community, what are your thoughts?

Additionally, do you feel that the design of a book is as important as the content in the book? Do you think Christian publishers are on par with their general trade counterparts in this area?

Stay tuned to this track, there is some potential for some top secret information regarding a special Pub U premier that relates specifically to this community that you will not want to miss.

Keeping Track - Publicity

Well, here ya go, some publicity for the Publicity Track! This is a brand new segment of Pub U for us and were this a horse race it would be the fastest one out of the gate. Leading the track are Pamela McClure and Jana Muntsinger of McClure/Muntsinger Public Relations.

Jana and Pamela have lined up a strong schedule of presenters that are sure to pack the house with interested attendees. Check this out:

• The Art & Necessity of Relationship Building with Media - Kelly Hughes of DeChant Hughes & Associates


• General Market Media Panel - Jeff Sheler, U.S. News & World Report; Richard Ostling, Formerly with the Associated Press; Patrick Reardon, The Chicago Tribune


• Branding Basics & Case Studies for Publicists - Dan Balow, Oasis Audio
• A Guide to Internet Publicity and Blogging - Steve O'Keefe, Patron Saint PR
  
• Religious Media Panel - Lynn Garrett, Publishers Weekly; Mark Galli, Christianity Today; Jane Struck, Today's Christian Woman; Ed Grinnan, Guideposts

Wow - incredible! Pamela and Jana really know their stuff and we are excited that they are leading this track, if you have anything at all to do with the PR functions in your house, you won't want to miss this one.

Now, here is your project: Begin thinking about how your company talks to the media. Do you have a multi-faceted approach to connecting with multiple types of media or are you only talking to one crowd, the same, tired crowd as always? Also, begin writing down questions you might have for these presenters between now and November, because I can almost guarantee you will seldom have a chance like this one to have this much experience in one room.

We'd Like to Hear From You - Who Would You Like To Hear From?

We are kicking around various ideas for our opening night keynote speaker, but thought it would be valuable to hear your opinions. If you could have one person there to speak to those in attendance (keeping in mind that there will be people from all publishing disciplines), who would you like to hear? Let us know by leaving a comment.

Keeping Track - Rights

This year's Rights Track Leader is Brian Flagler. Brian is the Principal at Flagler Law Group, LLC. and in addition to his second year heading up the Rights Track, Brian has helped ECPA to establish the ECPA Legal Hotline and is also helping us to develop a special media insurance program for ECPA members.

Brian has a tremendous grasp on issues related to the Rights community and has developed some ideas for potential session topics. He would like some feedback from those involved in this community as he seeks to better develop these ideas and works to secure his presenters. So here you go:

• Licensing Tips From a Pro: How Do I Do This Job?


• Selling Digital Rights


• Understanding Foreign Language Markets


• Financial Analysis of Subsidiary Rights


• Acquiring Publishing Rights


• Developing A Digital Permissions Policy

Brian has some more developed ideas behind each of these bullets, but we are interested to hear how these sound to you and if we are headed in the "right" direction?

What's New!

Just had lunch with Michele Miller (at a great little Chinese restaurant in North Scottsdale), what a pleasure! Michele is really going to deliver some stellar material during Pub U. Here is the best part, not only will she be drilling down into the Marketing community track, she will also be speaking during one of our general sessions...you are really in for a treat! Thanks Michele for working with us, we are very excited to have you on board.

Keeping Track - Sales

This year's Track Leader for the Sales community is Scott Blume. Scott is the COO for Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Harrison House Publishers. Scott is currently serving on the ECPA Board of Directors as well as our Membership Committee, so much thanks to Scott for taking more time to invest in this industry. At this year's Management Conference morning devotional, Scott challenged us all to get out our "boats" and to trust the Lord in greater measure (Note to Scott - be careful what you say, you might get pegged to lead a track at Pub U :-)

Anyhow, Scott is hard at work thinking about what topics will best be targeted for this community. Here are some thoughts he has had thus far:

- Preparation for the visit - The Key to the presentation
- What are these numbers saying to me? Reading sales reports
- Follow up - Communicating Expectations
- It's Your Sales Team - Managing sales reps both in-house and Out of House

So let us know what you think. Are we on the right track (pun intended)? What topics/ideas would you have for the Sales Track?

Keeping Track - Marketing

I have known Wayne Hastings for close to ten years now. Wayne was a VP with The Parable Group when I first began managing one of their stores. One thing I have always admired about Wayne is his ability to articulate difficult business concepts in ways that ordinary people can grasp. In fact, Wayne is an accomplished author and speaker in his own right. So, when I asked Wayne if he would be interested in helping with Pub U this year I knew he would bring some great ideas to the table.

I know that he has been hard at work, identifying his sessions and presenters and to-date has some good stuff for you marketing types. He has experts coming to present on marketing to churches and marketing to women. In fact, Mark and I will be having lunch with one of his presenters next week right here in the Valley of the Sun (she lives in north Scottsdale).

Michele Miller (blog) is a faculty member of the Wizard Academy which is based in Austin, TX. What is interesting is that at one point, we were hopeful that Michele would present at our Management Conference which was held near Austin. Wayne was completely unaware of this and serendipitously (a word I picked up from my good friend Kelly Gallagher), pegged Michele for Pub U. Maybe she is supposed to be there?! Maybe you are too?!

Anyhow, we all know that the core consumer of Christian books are women. Does your company do anything to market to women? Have you done your homework? In Michele's latest blog entry, she talks about a colleague of hers who has gone to new heights to understand what women go through while pregnant. Interesting! I would have to say that I have a tremendous amount of respect already for my wife after living through two pregnancies myself (barely).

Yesterday I talked with one of our publishers who told me that his company is narrowing their focus to be more of a niche publisher. It made since to me because their product is niche oriented. I would think in order to do this effectively they will need to understand the psychographics and not just the demographics of the audience they are hoping to reach. What are you doing to "get inside your customer's head"?

Publishing University - An Education For Life

I am closing in on my official one-year anniversary with ECPA, which means that this is also the first Pub U that I will have coordinated the content portion from beginning to end. Last year was sort of a baptism by fire, if you know what I mean. I spent much of my time trying to understand the focus of the event as well as to grasp the direction in which it was headed.

One of the things I learned early on is that the name Publishing University can be a bit misleading to some. In fact, just the other day I was talking with an industry vet who has 30 years experience with one particular publisher. As we were discussing this year's event, he commented that he has never attended Pub U because he thought it was geared for the person just coming into the industry.

I can see where he is coming from. Though it is not curriculum-based or syllabi-driven, Pub U is focused on providing an educational experience for the attendee, no matter their level of experience. It seems we all have something we can learn and our goal with Pub U is to bring together the individual communities so that each person can bring their own knowledge of the industry and then everyone else will benefit from shared knowledge. You know the saying, "A high tide floats all boats."

Additionally, it is our hope that because of the outstanding Track Leaders we have lined up that they will help to pull together some of the best talent within each publishing discipline to present information that will educate and inform anyone, from the rookie to the most seasoned professional.

So how about you? Have you been to Pub U before? What are your thoughts? Are there ways we could improve (there always are)? What do you like most (or least)?

To Blog or not to Blog??

In an effort to focus more on community specific content and networking opportunities, Pub U is cutting back on the number of general session speakers (from six to three) this year.

The first in our lineup is Joe Wikert. Joe is the VP and Executive Publisher for the Trade Division of John Wiley & Sons.

I first ran across Joe through his blog and was fascinated by his grasp on technology trends in publishing (and in general). Appropriately enough, after twisting Joe's arm (he was tremendously gracious) to present for you, Joe decided that he wants to speak on the topic of blogging.

For a peak at a presentation Joe did earlier in the year, visit the ASIDIC (Association of Information & Dissemination Centers) website and view Joe's powerpoint from the Spring meeting in Orlando to get a taste of where he is coming from.

What about your company, does it have a corporate blogging policy? Do you blog? Do you think authors should blog?

Faculty

Joining us again as Dean Emeritus of Pub U is Robert Baensch. With a broad knowledge and a tremendous wealth of experience in the publishing world, Robert helps to oversee (actually, he really rolls up his sleeves and dives into the details of this) the content development process. Visit his website.

Following are our Track Leaders:

Rights - Brian Flagler, Flagler Law Group, LLC
Design - Torry Sharp, The Design Works Group
Marketing - Wayne Hastings, Thomas Nelson
Sales - Scott Blume, Harrison House Publishers
Technology - Ben Todd, B&H Publishing Group
Publicity - Pamela McClure & Jana Muntsinger, McClure/Muntsinger Public Relations
Finance & Administration - TBA
Editorial - TBA
Production - TBA
Pub 101 - TBA

Welcome to the ECPA Pub U Blog!

No one wants to read a blog about...a blog, so this will be a short introduction. Visit this site frequently (or plug us in to your feed reader) to stay on top of the latest developments relating to this year's Publishing University.

In a way this will be a testing ground for ideas that will eventually materialize into content for each of the nine (as in numero nueve) tracks this year. Each track is centered around a publishing discipline, or community as we like to call them, they are (in no particular order, so please don't get your feelings hurt):

Rights
Marketing
Sales
Publicity
Technology
Production
Design
Finance/Administration
Editorial

And, we also have the ever popular industry overview for those coming into our universe - Pub 101.

That is it by way of an intro. Feel free to use this site to provide feedback to ECPA and those involved in developing the content for this year's event - we truly believe this will be the best one yet!

Oh, BTW - registration is not yet available, but for more information visit http://www.ecpa.org/PubU2007/index.php.