Certificate of Publishing – Commercial Non-Fiction

Unit 1 – What to Publish in Commercial Non-Fiction

• Introduction to non -fiction
• General perceptions of non-fiction
• Defining non-fiction and commercial non-fiction
• Strong voice
• Narrative
• Non-fiction types
• Non-fiction genres
• Deciding what to publish
• Factors that influence the decision of what to publish
• Reader interest and expectations
• Perceived need
• Cost and profit-making potential

Unit 2 – Planning a New Publication: Developing a Non-Fiction Book Proposal

• Book proposals in self-publishing
• Why self-publishers need a book proposal
• Publisher/business perspective
• Author perspective
• Reader/audience perspective
• Questions to ask and answer in the book proposal
• The publication process
• Editing and proofreading
• Designing the document and preparing artwork
• Consistency of language
• Illustrations or visuals
• Black and white drawings
• Coloured drawings
• Black and white photographs
• Typesetting
• Type faces and sizes
• Standard book sizes
• Number of pages, or extent

Unit 3 – Financial Management and Costing a Publication

• Costs involved with self-publishing a non-fiction book
• Print vs Ebook
• Print publishing
• Making the business case for a print book: market analysis
• Estimating the initial print run
• Poor production
• Timing
• Trends
• What does a publication cost?
• Creation costs
• How can content be obtained for free?
• Production costs
• Marketing costs
• Distribution costs
• How royalties work
• Additional income

Unit 4 – Managing Resources and Expectations

• Publishing – publishing can be a resource-intensive business with high labour costs.
• Print vs. Ebook publishing
• The best of both worlds: print on demand and just-in-time printing
• Publishing in print
• How many to print
• The type of binding, cover and paper
• Commercial potential and financial management
• Publishing an Ebook
• Analysing the market
• Small publishers
• Developing a business plan
• Why have a business plan?
• The planning processes
• A checklist for your business plan
• Is small business for you? – personal considerations
• Are you the right type?
• Can you afford to start?
• What business do you plan on being in
• Market research and promotion
• What market will you be serving?
• Who are your competitors?
• How to develop a business plan
• Identifying assistance
• The importance of business planning
• What does a business plan look like?
• Primary objectives
• Business description
• Swot analysis
• Marketing strategies

Unit 5 – Risk Management

• Process of identifying, then assessing and managing risk
• Financial risks
• Poor cash flow
• Unrealistic income targets
• Not meeting a deadline
• Unbalanced relationship between activities
• Scalability and risk management
• Production
• Print on demand
• Just-in-time
• Copyright
• Case study – Australian law
• Income from writing
• Copyright licensing payments
• Lending rights
• Specific non-fiction risks
• Slander, defamation, false light, fact checking
• Perspective and time shift, societal shift
• Legal risks
• Protecting intellectual property
• DRM (digital rights management)
• IRM (information rights management)
• Electronic books and magazines
• IRM or information rights management

Unit 6 – Managing Writers and Illustrators in the Freelance Market

• Types of freelancers
• Editors
• Developmental editors
• Ghost writers
• Publishers, writers, and illustrators
• The support role of the publishing staff
• Photographers
• Photo libraries
• Copyright-free material
• Why would an author choose to write a book?
• Lending rights
• Sub licensing through publishers
• Sub licensing apart from publishers
• Promoting your business
• Promoting yourself as a consultant or public speaker
• Specialist professionals and consultants

Unit 7 – Managing Production, Distribution, and Author Promotion

• Sales agencies, pr, and conferences
• Establishing an author platform
• Visibility
• Established credibility
• Expertise and authority
• Target audience reach
• Networking
• Social media
• Media releases
• Interviews
• Endorsements
• Timing of production and distribution
• Quality control
• Quality control during production and distribution
• Managing the marketing process
• Selecting target markets
• Total market approach
• Developing the market mix
• Managing the market effort
• Publicity and public relations
• Managing distribution
• Distribution channels and retail outlets
• Direct sales