Publishing
Guidelines
II. Planning a Publication
1.
Stages in a publishing project
Stages in a Publishing Project: The Brief
click for larger image
2. Defining
a publication
1. IUCN produces many different types of “publication”,
e.g. books, newsletters, meeting reports, manuals,
progress and assessment reports, reports to donors,
etc. For the purposes of these guidelines, an “IUCN
publication” is defined as any document that:
-
Bears the IUCN logo, the IUCN name
and an ISBN or ISSN number (this might not necessarily
be attributed by IUCN, for example in the case of
a co-publication)
-
Is intended for sale by IUCN or
any other publisher or distributor with which IUCN
has an agreement
-
Is prepared with contributions
(both textual or financial) from IUCN, that bears
the IUCN logo or name, and that is produced as an
official document for external circulation or sale
2. These criteria apply to publications prepared
by the IUCN Secretariat and Commissions.
3. Broadly speaking, IUCN publications can be split
into three levels of publication, as follows:
Category 1:
This category includes most publications produced
by IUCN. These publications are professionally designed
and are produced in line with the IUCN Publishing Guidelines,
Style Manual and IUCN Visual Identity Manual. These publications are
sold, distributed and/or advertised through the Online Publications catalogue and the printed catalogue.
Category 2:
This category includes publications produced in collaboration
with external publishers and other organizations.
These publications are professionally designed but
may not necessarily conform to the IUCN Visual Identity.
These may also be sold, distributed and/or advertised
through the Online Publications catalogue and the printed catalogue.
Category 3:
This category includes high quality “coffee
table” publications, often produced in collaboration
with external publishers. The publications are commercially
produced, have high print-runs and are often, though
not exclusively, sold through commercial publishing
outlets.
4. More specialized knowledge products
are specifically excluded from the definitions above
and include articles, papers and/or submissions to
journals; reports intended for internal circulation;
reports required by external funders as fulfilment
of a contract; project proposals; newsletters and
information leaflets
3.
Before you publish
Before beginning any publishing project, there are
a number of questions that are worth asking that will
help you to determine whether or not a publication
is the best means by which to further your objectives.
They will also help you to define your message(s).
These include:
-
What is the purpose of the publication?
Define the goal and objectives of your publication.
This will determine the audience. It will also help
to clarify the input from everyone involved in the
document.
-
Which Key Results Area (KRA) or
IUCN policy priorities does this publication support?
-
How wide is the audience(s) for
this publication? Is there more than one target
audience? The more you know about the audience(s),
the better able you will be to reach out to them
through the publication.
-
What is/are the message(s) you
would like the publication to convey to the readers?
How important are these message(s) and will they
help to further IUCN’s Mission? Your messages
will need to be tailored to your target audience(s).
-
What media will work best for your
audience, electronic, paper, both? Are there any
other more effective means of delivering this same
message? Determine whether the publication needs
to look serious, friendly, or glossy. This will
help to determine the design elements that will
go into creating it, such as artwork, photography,
type of paper, etc.
-
What are your limitations? Limitations
include available funds, time, other commitments,
etc.
-
How do you want it distributed?
Think about how the publication will get into the
right hands and reach the intended audience.
-
Is this publication intended for
sale?
-
How will this publication be funded?
For example, do you already have funds for this
project? Do you have to raise funds?
-
How will you evaluate the success
of your publication? Begin to define indicators
against which you can measure this and give thought
to how you plan to measure them. (See section on
Evaluating your project.)
4.
The objective(s)
1. Before beginning your publication,
decide exactly what it is you are trying to achieve:
what are your objectives.
2. Your objectives can include a variety of different
goals. You need to decide what you are seeking to
do, for example are you seeking:
-
to influence policy and decision
making
-
to report back on the findings/progress/conclusions
of a project
-
to target specific conferences
and meetings
-
to promote best practice
-
to publish fresh scientific evidence
-
to produce guidelines or a training
tool
-
to inform on policy
-
to report the results of a meeting
3. The objective(s) will determine your target audience(s).
Your target audience(s) can, in turn, determine what
message is used to communicate your objectives.
5.
Defining the target audience
1. Once you have defined your objective(s), you will
need to decide whom you wish to communicate it to:
who is your audience.
2. IUCN’s audience, as outlined in the Positioning
Statement (2005), is defined as follows:
-
at local, regional, and global
levels
-
policy makers and opinion leaders
-
from government, NGO, civil society,
international organizations, and the private sector
(especially finance, extractive, agriculture, fishing,
forestry and tourism)
-
in environment and non-environment
domains
-
with Union members and donors
3. You will need to tailor the messages
used to communicate your objective(s) specifically
to needs of the different target audiences.
6.
The project brief
See Annex
1 for a Project proposal form
1. When planning a publishing project it is important
to have a project brief / project proposal. This is
the document where you set out
2. The project brief can serve a number of purposes,
these include:
-
keeping the project manager (you)
focussed
-
defining who is involved in the
project and their respective roles, including writers,
peer reviewers, designers, printers, etc.
-
setting the time-frame and the
chronology of stages in the project
3. The project brief can also be used to:
-
fundraise and justify a project
to a donor
-
begin advance promotion of your
publication prior to completion (e.g. for a launch,
in advance of an event, etc.)
4. The following information must be included in
the brief:
-
What is the title or provisional
title of the publication?
-
Who are the authors? Provide full
names of authors, or editors if the publication
is a collection of articles/chapters
-
Is this an IUCN publication or
is it a co-publication with another organization
or commercial publisher?
-
What are the objectives of the
publication? Is it a training manual, to promote
best practice, the findings of a project, etc?
-
Who is/are the target audience(s)?
What is the message?
-
What do you hope to achieve by
producing this publication? Are their short term
objectives, long term objectives? (Include a brief
synopsis in this section with conclusions, if relevant.)
-
How do you plan to evaluate the
success of your publication against its stated objectives?
What indicators will you use and how will you measure
them?
-
Who is the audience?
-
What medium will be most suitable
to convey the message to the audience? Print, PDF,
on the web, etc?
-
What items must be included in
the final product? For example, photographs, illustrations,
maps, etc?
-
What is the proposed language?
-
Are translations planned (and financed)?
-
What is the timetable for the project
and are there any external time constraints? Is
the publication for a meeting, is there a planned
launch, are there donor-imposed deadlines, etc?
-
What is the planned print-run?
This will depend on the size of the audience, the
mailing list, etc.
-
How will you promote your product/publication?
How will you ensure that your audience knows about
it?
-
How do you plan to distribute your
product/publication? Is there funding for this?
-
What is the budget for your publication?
How do you plan to fund it? Do you already have
funding for it or do you need to fundraise?
5. Keep the project brief short, no more than 3-4
pages and remember to distribute it to all those involved
in the project, e.g. the writer, designer, printer,
Publications Services.
7.
Choosing the medium
1. Once you have defined your message, your target
audience and the category of publication required,
you will need to decide on the best medium through
which to communicate your message to achieve the desired
result.
2. In the past, only one medium existed for publishing:
paper. Today, advances in technology and changes in
how information is accessed mean that various formats
are available for publishing and distribution.
3. In the project planning phase, the best methods
of dissemination to the target audience should be
identified and agreed. This can be limited to print
alone or include print, digital dissemination on the
Internet and e-books.
4. All media present different opportunities for
reaching your target audiences. Below are some of
the main considerations when planning your project:
-
Accessibility: what format/formats
will the target audience find the most useful, e.g.
toolkit, CD-Rom
-
Impact: which media will be most
effective in making your audience act, e.g. a change
in governmental policy, a change in conservation
practice at a local level
-
Reach: which medium/media will
reach the highest percentage of your target audience
5. Additional factors to be taken into consideration
at the planning stage and which may influence your
choice of media include:
-
funding
-
distribution costs
-
timetable/deadline
-
donor requirements
6. Note that in the case of electronic
publications, these are not usually distributed to individual
target audiences but rather posted on a website. This
type of distribution is “passive”, i.e.
recipients must locate the publications themselves.
To actively draw attention to the presence of a publication,
you can send out electronic alerts to members of your
target audiences.
7. Members of the IUCN Secretariat, Commissions or any other body publishing an IUCN publication are required to deposit with the IUCN Headquarters Library a digital version and three print copies of any publication produced. Copies should also be deposited with the Acting Head of Publishing (deborah.murith@iucn.org)
8.
Costing and funding your publication
See Annex
2 for details of a Publication budget
1. As with all projects, it will be necessary to
establish a budget for your publishing project. The
budget can serve different purposes:
-
It can be used to fundraise for
your project.
-
If the funds have already been
allocated, it can assist you to see whether you
need to raise more funds, or alternatively whether
you need to modify your project so that it comes
within the allocated budget.
-
It can help you to focus your expenditure
and evaluate where over- or under-spending has occurred.
This will help you to budget for future similar
projects.
2. Publishing projects cost money. Publishing
incurs some obvious or “visible” costs,
e.g. cost of printing, as well as certain less evident
or “hidden” costs, e.g. staff time or project
management costs.
3. Although it is difficult to estimate in advance
exactly what a publication will cost to produce, it
is nonetheless possible to establish certain benchmark
figures. There are two principal ways to do this:
-
Historically, by looking at the
costs of similar completed projects
-
By seeking estimates from suppliers
4. Below is a checklist of the items that you will
need to include in your budget:
“Visible items”
-
Consultant’s fees (if a consultant
is being commissioned to write/compile the content),
including expenses (travel, etc.)
-
Copyright fees, i.e. for using
information on which a third party owns copyright
-
Photographic fees for use of images
from other sources, e.g. photo libraries
-
Peer review, i.e. sending text
out for peer review, costs of any meetings that
may be required to discuss issues
-
Editing costs, e.g. of an external
editor
-
Design and layout costs including,
author’s corrections, treatment of photographs,
proofs, diskettes
-
Printing costs including films,
proofs, run-on, CD-Roms
-
Electronic production costs including
scanning, conversion of data to digital formats
-
Mailing, distribution, shipping
(including stock for SMI)
-
Promotion costs including production
and mailing of promotional items (flyers)
-
Costs for translation including
production and distribution (if applicable)
-
Staff and management time
-
Communications, including e-mail,
fax, phone
-
Overheads
-
Diskettes, stationery
-
Evaluation costs, including costs
of surveys (printing and mailing), facilitators
to conduct the surveys if required, analysis of
results
5. In addition, there are a number of items which,
if unchecked, can lead to significant increases in
the costs of producing a publication. These include:
6. Once you have completed a publishing
project, a comparison should be made between your projected
costs and your actual costs. This will assist you to
evaluate where there has been over- or under-spending.
It will also assist you to estimate costs of future
publishing projects.
9.
Outsourcing and external contractors
1. Once your budget has been agreed, you will be
able to make an informed decision about the type of
publication to produce. You will also know how much
funding you have available for each stage of production.
2. In order to complete a publishing project, it
will be necessary to contract certain services to
outside suppliers.
3. Publishing projects are carried out in a sequence
of different stages and require input from a variety
of different suppliers including:
-
writers
-
editors
-
copy-editors
-
translators
-
designers & typesetters
-
printers
-
distributors
Choosing your supplier
4. It is important to choose a supplier that works
in line with IUCN’s Mission and goals and follows
environmentally and ethically sound business practices.
5. The following criteria will help you make your
final choice of supplier:
-
Does the supplier have all the
necessary skills/equipment?
-
Will your chosen supplier be able
to meet the deadline?
-
Is the price really commensurate
with the service on offer, i.e. a very cheap printer
may not necessarily offer the best service?
-
Does the supplier have experience
of and knowledge of the subject matter with which
they are dealing (particularly important in the
case of writers, editors and translators)?
-
Is the supplier acquainted with
IUCN and its work/Mission?
-
Does the supplier have a proven
track record (it is often useful to ask for previous
examples of work)?
-
Is the supplier close by and available
to meet regularly?
-
Do you feel comfortable with the
supplier?
6. In the interests of sound financial management
and for purposes of comparison, it is always advisable
to seek estimates/offers from at least three suppliers.
Your local procurement regulations should be consulted
for specific local requirements.
Working with your chosen supplier
7. Once you have chosen your suppliers, it is important
that you work closely with them and manage them appropriately.
In particular, you should:
-
Ensure that all financial and contractual
agreements are clearly agreed from the outset, e.g.
fees, deadlines, etc.
-
Ensure that you provide guidance
to your chosen supplier as necessary and be available
for consultation as needed.
-
Always provide feedback to your
supplier upon completion of a project, particularly
if you are working with a supplier for the first
time.
10.
Scheduling your publication
1. Publishing takes time. Because the publishing
process involves a sequence of events some of which
can take place simultaneously (e.g. writing and identifying
distribution), and some of which are dependent on
previous stages being completed (e.g. design and printing),
time management is critical.
2. Time management is particularly important when
a publication is being produced for a specific event,
e.g. for a conference, for a launch, etc.
3. Below are a few key items to consider when planning
a publication:
-
Set realistic deadlines, be aware
of your own commitments and those of other members
of the project team, e.g. travel, other projects
requiring time.
-
Set aside sufficient time for the
peer review process and for solving any issues that
may come to light as a result of the process.
-
Allow plenty of time for editing,
design and printing. Do not cut corners on any of
these processes, i.e. do not decide that because
writing or review have taken longer than foreseen,
you will shorten the time allocated to design and
editing.
-
Build in extra time wherever possible
to allow for unforeseen events, e.g. breakdown at
the printer.
-
Foresee plenty of time for shipping,
particularly if a publication is planned for an
event (conference, book launch, etc.). Remember,
it is always advisable to have copies in hand a
few days before an event.
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