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Cara S. Kaufman, Partner, Kaufman-Wills Groupwww.kaufmanwills.com
CSE, 2010
JOURNAL RFPS
2 OVERVIEW
KWG’s professional experience with RFPs
Role of the consultant in the RFP process
Pros and cons of contract publishing
What publishers need to know to prepare proposals
How to streamline management of the RFP process
4SAMPLING OF RFPS
HANDLED BY KWG
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
American Anthropological Association
American Association of Anatomists
American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology
American Dairy Science Association
American Society of Nuclear Cardiology
American Society for Investigative Pathology
American Society for Mass Spectrometry
American Society for Reproductive Medicine
American Urological Association
International Anesthesia Research Society
Gerontological Society of America
Orthopaedic Research Society
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
7CONSULTANT’S ROLE IN
RFP
Prepare and distribute the RFP
Introduce structure and method to process
Help identify appropriate publishers
Gather information about publication
Prepare documents for approval
Develop and monitor timeline
Evaluate publisher proposals
Respond to publishers’ questions
Compare proposals
Prepare narrative, tables, and spreadsheets
Discuss with client/identify any outstanding issues
Questions, revised offers
Arrange for presentations
Set expectations for society
Moderate discussion following presentations
Inform publishers
Provide feedback
Assist in contract discussions
8QUALITATIVE AND
QUANTITATIVE ANALYSES
Subscriptions
Rates, marketing, inst subs, global sales, members
E-Publishing
Platform, features
Production
Specs, vendors, process, speed, color, archives
Editorial and author support Ms mgmt system, stipend, bibliometrics
Publisher profile
Location, size, portfolio
Financial elements
Royalty, signing bonus, member, edit allowance
Terms of agreement
Ownership, time
Innovation
New product development, demonstration of thought
Management and communication
Contacts, reporting, meetings
Business-to-business
Sales capabilities
SUMMARY COMPARISON OF OFFERS: APPLES TO APPLES
Publisher A Publisher B Publisher CSigning bonus $50,000 $100,000 $0Royalty projected $200,000 $150,000 $500,000Royalty guaranteed $170,000 $75,000 $0Editorial stipend $375,000 $400,000 $200,000Other $20,000 $40,000 $10,000Total projected $645,000 $690,000 $710,000Total guaranteed $615,000 $615,000 $210,000Less: member ($500,000) ($300,000) ($0)Net to societyGuaranteed
$145,000$115,000
$390,000$315,000
$710,000$210,000
9
DIVISION OF RESPONSIBILITIES
Association PublisherTo appoint, written contract with, an Editor-in-Chief responsible for
Publication’s editorial developmentSelection of Editorial BoardProviding sufficient high quality refereed content for in form acceptable to publisherSubstantive copyediting Obtaining necessary permissions, copyright transfer agreementsAdherence to agreed upon specifications such as frequency, page budget, color policy, type of contentApproving first-run advertising
Retaining services of Managing Editor to assist in peer-review processMaintaining association member listPaying publisher agreed subscription fee to cover expense of providing print and/or e-access for members Designating individual as primary business liaison with publisher
Providing editorial office with peer-review systemDesignating individual as primary production managerTechnical copyediting and proofreadingManufacture and distribution of print copiesElectronic production of online editionDesign (with approval of organization)Marketing and promotion of publication
Selling nonmember subscriptions, institutional licensesLicensing publication’s contentAdvertising and other business-to-business salesMember marketing supportPublicityRights and permissions
Designating individual as primary business liaisonPaying stipend to support costs of editorial office (honoraria, assistants, office expenses, etc.)Paying royalty, often excluding member subscription paymentsFinancial and operational reporting
11
SELF-PUBLISHING
Pros ConsControl over operationsDecision making on policies and practicesOverhead coverage InnovationFlexibilityLine expansionBrandingBuild knowledge baseSense of ownership
Risk: financialRisk: qualityStaff and overhead to carryWorkloadEconomies of scale/ critical mass Expertise, resourcesInefficiencies possibleBuck stops here
12
CONTRACT PUBLISHING
Pros ConsMinimal financial riskKnown cash flow from guaranteed payments: editorial allowance and guaranteed royaltiesContinue to own copyright, title, member and other subscriber listsOrganization freed to focus on journal content and other educational effortsBenefit from publisher’s economies of scale in marketing, sales and productionInternational reachAccess to new technologiesAccess to information on trends in the marketNo negotiations with vendors for printing, online, and other servicesAggregation for institutional sales
Must share operating profits with publisherMust pay (usually highly discounted) member subscriptions feesContributions to publisher’s overheads, not organization’s ownConcerns about brandingLess attention to publication than if self-publishedLess control over journalLess flexibility; must agree to most policies and procedures of publisherCannot choose people working on journal (although may have impeachment power)Small fish in big pond?Little control over service providers working with publisher
13
14
TYPICAL REASONS FOR TRANSITIONING TO
CONTRACT PUBLISHING Lack resources
Infrastructure
Knowledgeable staff
Online capability
International reach
Institutional sales
Pressure from leadership
Begins as an exercise
Financial
Want to show that they can do better
Want to show that they can’t do better
Worried
Revenue trends
Print to e-only transition
Consortia sales
Global reach
Open Access
E-publishing investment
Want information
Learn from process
Acquire ideas
16 RFP ELEMENTS
Introduction
Society objectives
Deliverables and due dates
Editorial
Editorial mission
Types of content
Peer review
Bibliometrics
Size and scope of
journal/s
Society requirements
Information available
Society/ consultant
preference
Production
Frequency
Number of issues, supplements
Print and online text , society pages
E-platforms
E-features
Marketing/sales
Members
Authors
Subscribers
Industry sales
Communication
Reporting
Consultation
Philosophy
Financials
Transition
17COMMON PUBLISHER
QUESTIONS
Journal’s current revenues / costs
Journal’s current and recent circulation by segment
Current consortia or multi-site sales, pricing
Stance on
Print versus e-only
OA
Industry sponsorship
Editorial budget, personnel
Number/percentage of
Author fees waived
OA fees paid
Talk or meet with editor/society?
Editor’s vision?
What’s most important to society?
Seriously considering changing?
18INSTRUCTIONS TO
PUBLISHERS
Address all the questions posed in the RFP
Order?
Include a brief, easy-to-read summary
Clearly state components of offer
Cover all functional areas
Print and electronic
Single Word or PDF document
Excel file with projections if requested
Remind publisher
to customize
proposal
20THE PROCESS AT-A-
GLANCE
RFP2-4 weeks
• Publishers selected
• Data gathered• RFP prepared• RFP
distributed• Q&A from
publishers
Proposals4-6 weeks
• Proposals received
• Proposals analyzed
• Review with client
• Finalists selected
• Q&A with remaining publishers
Presentations4-6 weeks
• Follow-up• Decision• Inform other
publishers• Contract
negotiations• Transition
21WHAT HAPPENS AFTER
PUBLISHER RECEIVES RFP?
Read RFP
Ask questions
Do their homework
Prepare rough numbers
Decide whether to submit proposal?
Gather information
Brainstorm
Prepare projections
Determine offer
Write proposal
EVALUATING PROPOSALS
22
Points of differentiation
Publisher knowledge
Publisher resources
Editorial support
Publisher personnel
Publisher capabilities
The financial offer
Publisher reputation
23EVALUATING
PRESENTATIONS
The publishing company Do you believe that the publisher’s mission is aligned with
your mission?
Will the publisher’s presence in the field be helpful to the journal?
Are the publishers’ office locations around the world well situated?
The people Are the individuals with whom you will be working
knowledgeable?
Did the presenters work as a team?
Can you envision yourself working with them?
Do you think they would be communicative and responsive?
Pointers we give
societies to help
them evaluate
publishers during
presentations
24
CONTINUED…
Editorial and production
Will the publisher uphold your high quality standards?
Is their vision for the journal aligned with yours?
Is the publisher’s e-platform state-of-the-art?
Is publisher’s preferred manuscript management system ok?
Marketing and sales
Did the publisher provide a convincing plan to build awareness, usage, subscriptions, and industry sales?
Is the publisher expert in global institutional sales?
Are you satisfied with how the journal would be treated vis-à-vis the publisher’s other titles?
The Financial Offer
Will you receive complete and regular financial reporting of revenues and costs?
Is the financial offer easy to understand?
Are appropriate rights retained during and after the agreement period?
Are there changes you would like to negotiate?
Can they deliver?
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