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Improving the Copyediting Workflow: How Can Technology Help?

Copyediting is one of the main ways in which book and journal publishers add value to author manuscripts. References are checked, errors caught, and internal consistency ensured. The manuscript is made readable and is structured for presentation. At the same time, the copyediting function is one of the most expensive and time-consuming parts of the publishing workflow, and has recently come under increasing scrutiny from publishers seeking cheaper and faster ways of delivering content to market. The challenge is to seamlessly integrate the copyediting function into an electronic workflow without undermining the value that a knowledgeable and experienced editor adds to the manuscripts they work on. Over the last decade, a variety of tools, ranging from Microsoft Word macros to entire SGML/XML editing environments, have been deployed, using a variety of in-house and commercial expertise.

This seminar explores the impact of technology on the copyediting function in the digital age. It features two case-studies from scholarly publishers who have reinvented their copyediting workflows, placed in context by a technical expert who will survey the latest developments in editing software. The case studies presented will cover both book and journal publications. At Columbia University Press, Michael Haskell (working with Scott Beebe and other colleagues) has enhanced what was a Microsoft Word-based workflow to improve the production of the organization’s award-winning books. At the University of Chicago Press, John Muenning and his colleagues have been pioneers in successfully-implementing an SGML/XML workflow for academic journals in a wide range of scientific, humanities, and social sciences disciplines. Questions and panel discussion will be encouraged.

Join us if you want to:

— Benchmark your own copyediting workflow against successful publishers who have reinvented theirs.

— Assess your organization’s technology needs, and learn the pros and cons of different options.

— Understand which copyediting tasks can be simplified through the application of technology, and which cannot.

— Learn about the strategic issues involved in balancing in-house staffing with outsourced services.

— Get practical tips for keeping copyediting projects on time, on budget, and under control.

The Society for Scholarly Publishing in collaboration with the Association of American University Presses presents another great web-based seminar on a hot topic. With web seminars, you don’t have to leave your office to learn. All you need is a telephone and a computer with Internet access. You can submit questions to the speakers using your computer, and there will be plenty of time for questions and discussion. Registration is per-computer rather than per-site, but you can invite as many staff as you like to participate using a single speakerphone and projector. Why not use the seminar as the basis for your own brainstorming session? All participants receive a recording of the seminar after the event, so you are free to review the presentations again and again.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

Full of practical suggestions and honest assessments, this seminar will be invaluable to production editors, managing editors, and senior management at small to medium-sized publishers of scholarly content. Under a new collaboration, both SSP and AAUP members are entitled to special “member-only” rates.