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Choosing a publishing partner: advice for societies and associations
Author(s) -
WARE Mark
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
learned publishing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.06
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1741-4857
pISSN - 0953-1513
DOI - 10.1087/095315108x248329
Subject(s) - publishing , general partnership , advice (programming) , competition (biology) , service (business) , public relations , term (time) , plan (archaeology) , political science , sociology , business , marketing , law , computer science , history , programming language , ecology , physics , archaeology , quantum mechanics , biology
For societies and associations seeking a publishing partner, the healthy competition between publishers means that the deals on offer have never been better. The problem for the society is distinguishing a good short‐term deal (say, an attractive financial offer) from the partnership that will actually be in the better long‐term interests of the journal. This article, based on the author's experience as a publisher‐turned‐consultant advising societies, offers a framework for selecting a partner based on a careful analysis of what the society needs from its publisher in the long term. Underlying the performance of the best publisher partners are a good understanding of the needs of societies and their journals; a strong service orientation; and an ability to plan strategically for each journal on the basis of facts and data.