ECPA

Editorial & Content Development: Track 2

Track Manager:

David Lambert, Senior Fiction Editor, Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster

Sessions:

A	Editing & Acquisitions in the 21^st Century Panel Discussion with Ken Peterson, Sandra Vander Zicht, and Terry Glaspey Too many Christian editors, on both the acquisitions and developmental sides, are still doing “old school” editing and acquisitions. But the world of publishing is changing rapidly, and our publishing houses need to change or be left behind. We'll investigate the world of blogs, and how to make use of them. We'll look at the importance of acquiring not just books but authors and content, and how to find, evaluate, add value to, and deliver content in a variety of formats. What technological changes (such as print on demand) are already here, and what additional changes can we expect in the next decade? Learning isn't mandatory, but then neither is survival. And those who survive may be those who are willing to move out of our comfort zones and move into the twenty-first century.
B	Financial Management for Editors Kent Wilson, Executive Publisher, NavPress Basic finances of publishing for editors. Learning to understand the basic financial underpinning of a publishing operation, and how an editor's decisions can affect a publisher's financial health, positively and negatively. We'll discuss backlist vs. frontlist, subsidiary rights, print-on-demand, size of print run, contract management and negotiation, the role of agents, pricing, cost of sales, return on investment, marketing budgets, and why an awareness of these things can help an editor not only do his job better, but also help him nudge the publishing house in directions that interest him.
C	The Changing World of Fiction Publishing David Lambert, Senior Fiction Editor, Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster Carol Johnson, Vice President/Editorial, Bethany House Publishers, a Division of Baker Publishing Group We've seen great changes in the world of Christian fiction in the past twenty years-what changes can we expect in the next five? What's the difference between CBA and ABA fiction--content, market, format, etc.? Is there anything Christian publishers of fiction should be doing differently? Should we be doing more to train, guide, and edit our authors? Are commercial fiction and literary fiction mutually exclusive, and are they in competition? Is there a place in the Christian publishing world for literary fiction?
D	Technological Tools An investigation of the technological innovations (as well as a look ahead to those we can expect in the near future) that enable editors not just to do our jobs more cost-effectively and efficiently but also to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing publishing world. We'll look at use of the web, project management tools, and software for online editing, as well as ways to use technology to extend our reach and influence. Technological tools available to us now can change not only how we do our daily work but how we conceive of our jobs and relate to authors/coworkers, and ultimately the very products we release.