Publishing A (Introduction) Online Course

• Learn how the industry works,
• Learn the creative and artistic skills of the trade
• Learn how to market your work
• Develop an understanding of the ethical issues and laws relating to the field.

Use this course as a step toward self publishing, furthering your opportunities working for publishers, or starting your own business. You will also have a chance to undertake a stimulating publishing project and implement the skills you have learned. Continuing on with the courses Publishing II and III will round out your knowledge of this complex and entertaining industry.

Course Aims:

• Define the scope and nature of publishing today.
• Describe some of the processes that are commonly used to perform work tasks in the publishing industry.
• Identify a viable process to follow for desktop publishing of a small publication for printing on paper.
• Identify a viable process to follow for desktop publishing of a small publication in an electronic format (eg. E book or web site).
• Evaluate different types of illustration for ease and relevance for use in different publishing situations.
• Determine photography appropriate for inclusion in a publication.
• Determine research required appropriate to the needs of a publication.
• Determine a marketing strategy appropriate to the needs of a publication.
• Identify the impact of legal and ethical issues on a publisher.
• Plan the production and marketing of a publication.

There are 10 Lessons in this course:

1. The Publishing World

• • What is publishing?
  • The publishing world
  • The publisher
  • Production manager
  • Editor
  • Designer
  • Marketing staff

2. Publishing Procedures and Techniques

• • Overview of the publishing process
  • The Production schedule
  • Page design
  • Page layout –consistency, variety, simplicity, direction, white/blank space, headings, graphics, balance/propagation, contrast, etc.
  • Establishing the skeleton of a document
  • Pull quotes and side bars
  • Typography –fonts, other settings
  • Public Lending Rights

3. Desktop Publishing

• • Word Processing
  • Alternative publishing methods
  • Printing on a Computer Printer
  • Supplying a “Master” to a commercial printer
  • Publishing electronically (e.g. Internet or CD)

4. Desktop Publishing

• • Software options
  • Use of colour
  • Black and white
  • Use of graphics,
  • Putting it together, etc.

5. Illustration: Graphics

• • Line illustrations
  • Cartoons, photos etc.
  • Freehand work
  • Computer graphics, etc.

6. Illustration: Photography

• • Photographic Equipment & Materials
  • Composition
  • Development of Photographic Style
  • Portraiture
  • Posing for Photographs
  • Planning a Photo Session
  • Studio Photography
  • Fault Finding, etc.

7. Researching

• • Types of Research (Exploratory, Experimental etc)
  • Primary & Secondary Data sources,
  • Planning a survey,
  • Conducting an interview.

8. Marketing in Publishing

• • Understanding marketing & publicity
  • What makes a publication succeed or fail,
  • Launches
  • Press releases, etc.

9. Publishing: Ethics & The Law

• • Public attitudes
  • Accuracy of writing
  • Bias
  • Monopolies
  • Media ownership concerns, etc.

10. Publishing Project