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Building a Publishing Program OverseasCompared to simply selling your already existing products in the international market, creating an entire publishing program in another country brings with it a higher level of sales - and risks. At this year's Global Learning Initiative Michael Ross, Senior Vice President at Encyclopaedia Britannica, spoke about the process he used to get a commitment from the Egyptian government to fund the development and distribution of a series of reference products. He offered participants the lessons he learned from his international business experience. The first step is coming up with the content and funding sources. Ross explained that in order to receive culture-based funding, the product should have educational content and cultural landmarks. It needs to be about more than just making money, so it fulfills educational and cultural needs along with political agendas. Another basic requirement is finding a local partner with government and publishing connections as well as individual resources. Ross stressed the importance of having an advocate for the cause, to take it on as their personal mission and help provide publicity for it. The key advocate for his project was the President of Egypt's wife, Susanna Mubarak, who felt passionately about the proposed deal. Ross also emphasized the importance of developing the relationship before the transaction, to minimize risk. After finding a champion the next step is getting a good distributor. The distributor for this project was Anas El-Fekky, Sub-Minister of Culture in Egypt. Ross said there are unique aspects of distributing in overseas publishing programs, such as the fact that the distribution is often automatic - built into the original plan - and the bulk of the print run is immediately consumed. This way, each party knows exactly how many to print and sell, and can always re-print if necessary. For the actual production process, employing local editorial and design benefits both sides, lowering costs and supplying work for the locals. Ross suggested using best of breed printing to create a high quality product that establishes itself on the world stage. Finally, Ross warned about issues involved in the negotiation of the copyright. If the products can remain viable outside the original territory, it makes sense to retain the rights. But some products, such as their Encyclopedia of Modern Egypt, have a limited life span and travel in limited channels. Other key components of the process include:
Questions, ideas, or in need of more information? Please contact Stacey Pusey at 302-295-8349. |
Download Ross's entire presentation in Powerpoint format here. |
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© 2011 The Association of Educational
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