This is the definitive course for anyone who wants to learn how to build profitable lists.

If you’re a new editor with responsibility for commissioning and list-building in educational, academic, or professional publishing, this unique programme will give you the best start possible.

This is an intensive residential event, which is hugely rewarding for those who take part. During it, you’ll learn how to:

• evaluate markets and develop lists
• find and keep valuable authors
• understand financial costings
• get publishing proposals accepted
• negotiate author contracts that work
• plan for profit and return on investment.

The aim is to help you develop an effective list that meets overall company strategy and management goals.

You’ll find out how to create a market-led proposal, and how to plan publication working closely with colleagues in other functions, especially in sales and marketing. You’ll also get a clearer understanding of financial management and how costings work, as well as ways of managing yourself and your time constraints to better effect.

The detailed case study has been revised and updated for 2007/8. It will give you the chance to draw up a publishing proposal based on a realistic company model and to work with people from different publishing backgrounds.

Programme

Day one

• Publishing into the 21st Century
• The role of the commissioning editor
• Market research and competitive advantage
• Working with authors

Day two

• Finance: costings, margin and profit
• Planning and investing in digital products
• Putting together a spreadsheet
• Case study - briefing and conceptualisation

Day three

• Case study work
• Essential features of an author's contract
• The marketing / editorial interface
• Evaluating and managing lists

Day four

• Routes to market - a bookseller's view
• Case study presentations
• Feedback and conclusions

Who will benefit from this course?
Development Editors, Assistant or Commissioning Editors, Research Editors, Production or Managing Editors.

Your course director
Richard Balkwill has more than 25 years' experience in educational and children's reference publishing, latterly as a publishing director at Heinemann. He is now an independent consultant running CopyTrain, a writing, training and copyright service for publishers. He is also the author of The Multilingual Dictionary of Copyright, Rights and Contracts. Richard will be joined on the course by eight experts on specific topics, including Kay Symons, Gill Davies and Brenda Stones.

We also offer Journals Management, Developing and Managing Digital Products and, for more experienced commissioning editors, Managing Publishing Strategy.

Note that most of our open courses can also be run as in company events.

Send details of this course to a colleague.

Dates: 22-25 September/24-27 November 2008

Price: £1779+VAT (a number of discounts are available, including an early booking discount if you confirm your booking at least eight weeks ahead of the start date).

Venue and accommodation: The course takes place at Milton Hill Training Centre, just south of Oxford - ten minutes by taxi from Didcot Parkway station. Set in 53 acres of parkland, this Management Development Centre has a high standard of accommodation, food and training facilities, plus wheelchair access.

Make a provisional booking on Commissioning and List Management