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

PERTINENT PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

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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

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CONSULTANTS AND RFPS

WHY DO ORGANIZATIONS USE CONSULTANTS FOR RFPS?

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Objectivity Time

Experience

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

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PROS AND CONS OF CONTRACT PUBLISHING

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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

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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

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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

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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

WHAT DO PUBLISHERS NEED TO KNOW TO PREPARE PROPOSALS?

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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

STREAMLINING THE RFP PROCESS

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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

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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

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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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Q&AThank you!