1 Cara S Kaufman | Managing Partner 18 May 2015Factors for societies to consider in decision to move from Self-publishing to contract publishing or how to improve the relationship with your publishing partner Cara S Kaufman | Managing Partner 18 May 2015

2 Trend… Ongoing trend To contract publisher More than 10 years agoTo self-publishing 15 March 2015 Kaufman Wills Fusting

3 Top 10 trends 1 Global players 2 Serials crisis 3 Open accessContent proliferation 5 Changing usage Ubiquitous technology Big is BIG 8 Financial pressure Best practices Product development 11 Feb 2015 Kaufman Wills Fusting Top 10 trends in scholarly publishing (aka reasons behind trend of societies transitioning to contract publishing)

4 Reasons to contract publish Reasons to self-publishContract publishing? Reasons to contract publish Reasons to self-publish 26 Feb 2011 Reduces financial risk and increases certainty Global institutional reach and revenues Sophisticated digital publishing platform Volume discounts on production and tech Frees up societies to focus on development Continuing financial success and prospects No desire to dismantle publishing infrastructure Retain greater self-determination No incentive to adapt to publisher’s ways Availability of quality service providers Kaufman-Wills Group

5 Cons Pros Compelling financial returnTime savings and re-focus Significant cost savings Digital publishing infrastructure Compelling financial return Journal-society integration lacking Lack of transparency Lack of flexibility; slow to implement 15 March 2015 Kaufman Wills Fusting

6 Pre-transition considerationsStrategic fit Compatibility of culture, mission, and vision Frequent, direct communication and meetings Conflicting or complementary titles? Legal advice to retain controls, reflect proposal Integration of journal with other society programs 15 March 2015 Kaufman Wills Fusting

7 Transition to contract publisherPositive Very satisfied even with short (2-4 month) transition Few editorial issues that did arise t were resolved quickly Truly collaborative relationship with publisher Neutral Overall, satisfied but not without challenges Normal amount of “bumps and angst” in adapting to new peer review system Work in sorting out consortia arrangements Some double paying of commissions on advertising Different ways of counting institutional subscriptions Negative Retention of institutional subscribers in fast transition Difficulty obtaining information even with responsive liaison Hard to sort out single sign on Lost some supplemental data, front matter in content migration Mapping society and publisher subscription models Problems with retaining level of search results with URL change Trouble configuring peer review system to comply with OA requirements 15 March 2015 Kaufman Wills Fusting

8 Society satisfaction Positive Neutral NegativeAbsolutely, realized goals Smooth-running journals Higher Impact Factor Very happy with publisher No concerns Revenues have increased Better global reach Streamlined copyediting and composition Improved electronic presence Free to focus on high-caliber content Neutral Our publisher is too small to be a priority for the publisher “We are a decoration rather than the main gift” as part of publisher’s library collection Mixed experience over years due to publisher purchase and staff turnover Still haven’t figured out the most efficient production workflow Negative Open communication with publisher has been challenging 15 March 2015 Kaufman Wills Fusting

9 Editor satisfaction Positive Neutral NegativeMajor improvement in Impact Factor Dedicated bibliometrics staff and custom reports Loves that everything’s being handled (including publisher-hired peer review assistance) Very happy with current publisher (multiple responses) Likes being able to do peer review on mobile device Neutral Mostly happy but hears complaints from authors about submission requirements being too restrictive (some society-related, but some system/ publisher-related) Some initial difficulties in understanding publisher reports (e.g., circulation, advertising), but now resolved. Negative None provided. 15 March 2015 Kaufman Wills Fusting

10 Frequent communication, including regular face-to-face meetings with key staff, is paramount to overcoming gaps and ensuring that the society’s publications are top of mind with the contract publisher. 15 March 2015 Kaufman Wills Fusting

11 Publisher projectionsPositive Very accurate institutional projections Spot on: rarely see deviations of more than 1% to 2% On target Decline in print more than offset by growth in digital revenues Major increase in archive sales Neutral Little more optimistic than realistic (but market has changed) Financial guarantee has smoothed out volatility Institutional projections fine, but not forthcoming with what it could do with personal subscriptions and advertising Hard to track institutional circulation changes due to packaging Negative Guaranteed royalty higher than earned royalty Over ambitious advertising projections Projected circulation has been too high Changeover in ad rep, decline in ads Nothing has been done in terms of marketing strategies, after big promises Lack of follow through related to staff turnover 15 March 2015 Kaufman Wills Fusting

12 Service quality Positive Neutral NegativeProfessional level of copyediting No difference; not a single complaint More confidence in on time publication Good customer service No issues with printing or fulfillment Faster and more efficient Accessible experts in all publishing areas Neutral Copyediting was poor, addressed, and has improved (multiple responses) Mixed experience with publisher reps “The society’s job is to make the journal great. It is the publisher’s job to sell a great journal.” Always room for improvement Negative Quality of copyediting has declined since it moved offshore Different versions of website for individuals and institutions Rapid publish-ahead-of print is lacking Bundling reduces transparency; publisher says that subscriber information is proprietary 15 March 2015 Kaufman Wills Fusting

13 Outsource or retain services?Peer review system Peer review administration Copyediting Composition Print, online, mobile Sales and marketing CME management and system Financial management Typically or sometimes outsourced to publisher Copyright Editorial direction and policies Review of page proofs Advertising approval Rate consultation/approval Always or almost always retained by society 15 March 2015 Kaufman Wills Fusting

14 Editorial developmentPositive Time freed up to focus for first time on editorial development Preparing first strategic plan With publisher, can now take more systematic, holistic view Now that’s all we focus on Publisher provides detailed citation and usage analyses Neutral Do not want publisher help with editorial Separation of church and state Publisher has offered some suggestions, but nothing that has made a noticeable positive difference Negative One negative is not being able to publish more gratis papers 15 March 2015 Kaufman Wills Fusting

15 Publisher innovation Positive“Strategic aims, helping us work more efficiently, new projects, doing exciting new things – the publisher is super at that” (several similar responses) New initiatives and features easier to implement Neutral Dealing with third party might extend implementation time because you have to bring along publisher and they may have to bring along their management Harder to implement projects if not budgeted for in advance Negative Some things we come up with do not see the light of day, fall through the cracks, perhaps because of publisher’s other business demands Have to educate every new person that comes on publisher’s team 15 March 2015 Kaufman Wills Fusting

16 Publisher resources Positive Gem of a liaison Asset of future thinkingSupport for social media Supplement sales follow through Investment in IT sophisticated online presence Global exhibits and inst sales Experience with multitude of challenges Neutral Don’t know who subscribers are because publisher sells in bundles (and doesn’t share subscription list) Negative “Dumped” member services back on society after handling it for years, citing monetary losses Time spent trying to get authors to do what publisher wants with manuscript submissions instead of having publisher help authors more 15 March 2015 Kaufman Wills Fusting

17 Matters of control PositivePublisher familiar with this concern and very mindful Replaced loss of control with trust and confidence Doesn’t feel like journals are being run by a separate company Haven’t given up control, have gained focus Trade-off definitely worth it Neutral Used to have hands in everything, took some getting used to Biggest issue has been making sure things happen as they should and following up in specific situations Have to fit into system especially with small journal Negative Haven’t been able to edit global “canned” marketing campaign Staff turnover can seem sometimes like starting the transition all over again Difficult to get financial reports We don’t know how many issues are being printed every month 15 March 2015 Kaufman Wills Fusting

18 Considered return to self-publishing?Never consider but wrote contract in way that would support possible return to self-publishing No, purposely began publishing journals with larger publisher—never looked back No Consider it periodically, but always decide to stay with large publisher (multiple responses) Did briefly consider, but realized don’t have expertise and hard to transition institutional subscriptions Little flexibility to make immediate decisions, prefer another online platform, but financial incentives too great to leave Yes, but 15 March 2015 Kaufman Wills Fusting

19 Society functions (an example)PRE-transition POST-transition 15 March 2015 Executive Membership Meetings Education Publications Editorial Production Marketing Finance Lobbying IT Executive Membership Meetings Education Publications Editorial Lobbying Finance IT Kaufman Wills Fusting

20 Journal structure Director Manager if retain other functionsManuscript submission assistance Peer review administration Unanimous support for point person to oversee publisher relationship Director Managing Editor Coordinator Assistant Managing Editor Manager if retain other functions Such as copyediting 15 March 2015 Kaufman Wills Fusting

21 KWF relevant experience30 years in scholarly publishing 15 years working for society and commercial publishers 15 years consulting to society publishers Self- and contract published Transitions to and from contract publishing Publishing audits, comparative evaluations RFPs—new and renewals Contract negotiations Trends and strategic planning 15 March 2015 Kaufman Wills Fusting

22 15 March 2015 Kaufman Wills Fusting Thank you