The whole publishing industry output is based around a series of workflows. Individuals or teams work together consistently to achieve the desires goals of a project. Most publishers want to achieve enhanced productivity with effective content workflows. Like most businesses, the key to achieve great return on investment would be having a procedure in place that is cost-effective in the way it functions.

So the question does arise: how good is your digital publishing workflow? Let’s look at some ways that can be used to achieve just that.

1. Detailed Analysis – Before any changes can be made, it’s extremely important to take stake of some of the problems that are already present in your business practices. There are important questions that each publisher has to ask during the analysis stage.
2. Are individuals and teams working in tandem with each other?
3. Is communication and information flowing in a manner consistent with any other professional publishing enterprise?
4. How many times is a piece of content (e.g.: – book) having to be reviewed?
5. How constantly are resources being pulled from their primary objective to correct a mistake?

By committing to an analysis that answers these problems, the publisher will be prepared to commit to changes that will alter their business operations for the better and achieve better returns.

• Simplify Processes – One of the greatest fallacies that most publishers commit and especially independent publications is that they tend to make their everyday operations seem muddled and chaotic, which leads to greater inefficiencies within the business organization. For example, take the relationship between the author and the publisher. When the author sees their edited work months after acquisition, many are compelled to edit and revise to the point where the originally accepted work is no longer recognizable. However, not allowing an author to make some changes at manuscript review means he or she will make them at first-pass pages, causing multiple page rounds, increased costs, longer schedules, and undo stress for the author (and your staff). A lot of the publishing companies are investing in workflow automation systems that will bridge the gap between the author and the publisher, where the author can just log in and are able to make changes on the fly while not ruining the process.
• Know Your Assets – In the publishing domain, every piece of content becomes an asset. Whether they’re text, scientific images, videos, graphs, and/or illustrations, publishers need to gain the most revenue out of them. Publishing service providers are developing digital asset management solutions where all publishing assets are stored, categorized and ready to be traded or sold on the open market. It essentially creates a one-stop-shop for publishers to connect with various clients all across the world and gain revenue and a superior ROI in the process.
• Real-time View – In the digital era, it’s all about being in the moment or being live. This is why several publishers have invested in cloud-publishing platforms. This allows publishers to have a real-time view of the publishing process and able to make constructive changes as needed. It boosts efficiency, improves turnaround time and streamlines the production cycle. This leads to better operational processes thanks to an enhanced cost-effective approach on the part of the publishers.

In the years to come, publishers will constantly need to manage their workflow systems to keep track of the technology changes. With the rise of new media and other forms of content, the challenges will only continue to rise as well as the solutions needed to solve them.

Sources

• http://pageplannersolutions.no/how-good-is-your-publishing-workflow/
• http://pageplannersolutions.no/improve-your-publishing-efficiency-a-guide-for-assessing-your-workflow/
• https://publishingperspectives.com/2011/08/avoid-surprises-publishing-workflow/
• http://apexcovantage.com/blog/maximize-publishing-workflows-without-shocking-your-culture/
• http://www.getmagicbox.com/cloud-based-digital-publishing-platforms-changing-game-k-12-publishers/
• Image Credit: Freepik/Pexels