Navy Public Affairs GuideCruisebooks

NAVSO P-57280.16 Fall2014

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NAVSO P-57280.16 • Fall 2014 2 Page

The Cruisebook TraditionForming a Cruisebook CommitteeFinding a PublisherFunding the CruisebookAnatomy of a CruisebookCruisebook Production ConsiderationsCruisebook Production Timeline

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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The CruisebookTradition

In U.S. Navy tradition, official log books often were used by the crew as a departure point for an “unofficial” souvenir cruisebook of the voyage. Such early cruisebooks were produced and funded by the crew for the crew. In the later part of the nineteenth century these early cruisebooks “commemorated special events such as the Spanish-American War, The Great White Fleet’s world voyage or the presence of a dignitary traveling on an international cruise. A few were issued for U.S. naval vessels that served in World War I, but the practice was not widespread. It took the greatest Naval War in history, World War II, to establish the practice. During this period millions of Americans were involved with the U.S. Navy and the drama of sea warfare, especially in the Pacific campaigns. These Americans naturally wanted a souvenir (cruisebook) that recorded the action in which their ship or unit took part in World War II. One has but to look at the myriad advertisements in All Hands magazine during the years between 1945 and 1947, to recognize the Sailor’s need to have something tangible, something real to remember their time sailing in harm’s way."

“Although no government funds were expended directly on the books, the Navy did encourage Sailors to spend time producing them. Surely the Navy realized that these books not only promoted unit morale, but also maintained good public relations with relatives and taxpayers back home to whom the Navy would have to go for the funds to maintain a postwar Navy.”*

While cruisebooks have changed over the years, they remain an integral part of each Sailor’s Navy experience and legacy as well as an unofficial history of the ship’s mission and history. A ship’s cruisebook chronicles a deployment and become a historical record of service to be passed down to future generations. This guide is designed to help you produce your ship’s cruisebook accurately, on time and on budget.

“You cannot imagine the number of requests we get for previously published cruisebooks from personnel who are about to retire. While they don’t always recognize their importance during deployment, they do value them when looking back on their career. Being a true limited edition publication they, unfortunately, aren’t always readily available.”

-Cruisebook Publisher

*Cruisebooks of the United States Navy in World War II- A Bibliography, 1992 Dean L. Mawdsley, M.D.

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Cruisebook Committee

Member Checklist:

Forming the CruisebookCommittee

While not absolutely necessary, many commands start by pulling together a cruisebook committee comprised of the cruisebook officer, a supply officer, an MWR representative, the public affairs officer, representatives from each department/division and crew members who have expressed an interest in creating the cruisebook. Generally, the committee will be involved in determining requirements, selecting the publisher, overall design theme (look) of the cruisebook pages, sales to crew members, page design, proof approval and distribution of the completed cruisebook.

When requesting and selecting committee members, look for those who have experience with other cruisebooks or school yearbooks. Committee members with photography experience or skills with software such as Adobe InDesign or Photoshop can be a big plus designing and laying out the cruisebook. A smaller design subcommittee ensures consistency in the design and has proved to be more efficient overall. Be sure to find a few committee members with strong organizational and project management skills to keep track of all the details required to deliver the cruisebook on time and on budget. Lastly, don’t forget to find a few with sales and marketing skills to drive sales.

An alternative to the cruisebook committee doing the layout and design is to have cruisebook publisher do it. This can make for a more timely delivery of the book for crews that do not have personnel with design and layout skills or who are short-handed.

Department/division representatives and the Admin Department should review their department’s/division’s pages to ensure each crew member is properly identified and included in the proper division with his/her name spelled correctly prior to sending layouts to the publisher. The department/division representatives can assist with scheduling crew portraits for their departments/divisions.

Be aware that it is not uncommon for cruisebook committees to start strong and then wither away during the course of a deployment. Plan on only a few staying engaged from start to finish.

Previous experience working on cruisebooks or yearbooks Photography experience Skilled in Adobe InDesign, Photoshop or other design and layout software Project management skills and experience Sales and marketing skills Detail oriented Organized “Go to” type Writing experience

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Some questions to ask before requesting a

formal proposal include:

A cruisebook production

proposal should

address the following

information:

Finding APublisher

It is important that the cruisebook committee select an experienced publishing company committed to supporting the committee throughout the entire process. Your publisher’s representative should be able to discuss in detail any of the topics covered in this guide and be willing to guide your committee along the way, before, during and after deployment.

Do you have a dedicated cruisebook representative? When do I need to commit to a certain number of copies? What if the deployment is cancelled or delayed? What if we decide not to produce a cruisebook?

Requesting Proposals

The request for proposal should include your requirements – those things you must have. For example, one LHD’s requirements included:

• 600 copies• 200 full-color pages• An upgraded cover• Shipping direct to Sailors’ homes included in price• Contract portrait photographer (bonus if the photographer could ride the ship during its transit)• Website sales to crew, families and friends• Shipboard sales software

Ships also may need the publisher to complete the layout and design of the cruisebook or to provide a laptop, appropriate design software and training for the cruisebook committee.

Number of copies and numberof pages projected

Type of hardcover includedand options available

Paper type and weight(100 pound is recommended)

Binding type(Smythe is recommended)

Endsheet options Proofing options Estimated timeline Layout & design services

Delivery options(direct to ship, direct mail to crew members)

Crew portrait & other photographyservices offered

Online sales services offered References and contact information Cost for various copy and page counts Deposit/payment details Rights to use photos and layouts for

other purposes(for example, in the event of a crew member's death or to digitize and post after five years)

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Checklist:

Funding YourCruisebook

Cruisebooks may be funded by individual sales to the crew, by MWR, or a combination of both. The final price of each cruisebook is determined by the number of pages, the number of copies ordered and any additions such cover imprinting or the publisher mailing the books directly to crew members. The price per copy will vary depending on the number of copies ordered, with the price per copy decreasing as the number ordered increases.

When requesting proposals from publishers, request prices for a range of numbers of copies ordered. You should not have to commit to a certain number of copies until you submit pages for printing, which provides additional time for sales.

To establish the cruisebook sales price, you need to plan to sell a target number of copies or the per copy costs from the publisher may change. If you do not reach your target, you will either need to go back to each purchaser for additional payment or have MWR cover the difference. Your publisher should be able assist you in determining the number of copies to order.

Start selling the cruisebook as soon as you’ve signed the contract with the publisher, which may be before the deployment starts. Have a sales table available when crew portraits are taken, during MWR events underway and when MWR is selling tickets for liberty activities. Let the crew know that extra copies will not be available after production starts. If you wait until after the deployment ends, you likely will not meet your sales goal. While MWR may decide to purchase a few for ship’s use, purchasing extra cruisebooks to sell after printing historically has been a poor use of MWR funds.

If you chose a publisher who offers online sales of your cruisebook, you should make the link available to friends and family members for external sales. If selling the book in this manner, the price should be higher than the price for the crew since MWR will not subsidize those sales. Also, a command can choose to set the price for external sales at a higher rate to help offset some of the production costs of the book.

Determine if MWR will subsidize any of the costs, and if so, how much Establish a sales price based on estimated number of copies Create a sales spreadsheet (your publisher should provide one) Determine if you will mail directly to a Sailor’s home address and the

additional charge to do so Determine if you will offer cover imprinting and the additional charge to do so Determine if your publisher can provide an online sales link for family and

friends and if cruisebooks sold through it will count towards your sales goal Determine if you will require full payment up front or a deposit and a final

payment upon delivery

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Anatomy of aCruisebook

Cruisebooks have four components: the cover, endsheets, content pages and the binding. The look of the finished cruisebook is determined by the cover, endsheet and content page choices the cruisebook staff makes. Publishers should include these details in their proposals.

Cover

Most publishers include either a traditional “leatherette” hard cover with foil applied or a printed color photo cover with a glossy laminate applied as standard choices. Options including embossed (raised) elements of text or other designs, metal inlays, more than one color foil applied and photos applied to leather materials are often available for an additional cost. Embossing or metal inlays may require an additional charge for a custom-made brass die if the ship doesn’t already have one. The die should be returned to you for future use.

Endsheets

Endsheets are the heavy paper stock glued to the cover and contents, holding them together. Publishers generally have a selection of paper stock various colors available. Endsheets with a design printed on them, foil stamping or embossing usually cost more. White paper endsheets should cost a bit less.

Leatherette with metal inlay

Photo cover with glossy laminate

Embossed metal inlay text and photo

Custom brass die

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Binding

Binding is the process of securing the content pages to the cover and endsheets. There are three methods of binding a cruisebook- Smythe sewn, side sewn and glue only. Smythe sewn binding sews through the fold by machine to join multiple signatures to form a text block. This is the preferred method and will produce a book that lays flat when open and will stand the test of time. Side sewn binding sews all of the individual pages through at once along the binding edge and is often used for books that are not designed to be around years from now. The glue-only method is often used by many on-demand printers and is the least preferred method. It is commonly used for paperback best sellers.

Printing Method

Publishers will print your book (depending on how many copies you need) either on a sheet fed press or a digital press. There will not be a difference in the quality. The digital press is a more economical option for smaller quantities.

Smythe sewn Side sewn Glue only

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Cruisebook ProductionConsiderations

A good starting point is to look through previous cruisebooks from your ship and from other ships in the same class to gather ideas. You should look for an after action report or passdown from the last cruisebook officer on your ship. Your TYCOM public affairs office also is a good resource.

Page-By-Page Diagram

One of the first things to do in the production process is to create a page-by-page diagram of your cruisebook to serve as a guide to the design team. It will change as the deployment progresses and will be a great point of reference to track your progress.

Crew Portraits

The largest portion of any cruisebook are the divisional pages featuring the crew portraits. Some publishers will provide a professional photographer to take the portraits. Regardless of who will design and layout the book, having the publisher take each Sailor’s portrait, identify each photo and organize them is a huge time saver and results a more polished cruisebook. If the publisher provides the photographer, crew members may be able to purchase portrait packages.

Schedule portraits while in port during the month prior to departure or during the ship’s initial transit. Schedule a make-up session about halfway through the deployment so you may include stragglers and crew members who reported during the deployment.

CVN: 400-420 Pages, 5,000+ Copies

LHD: 200-216 Pages, 600-700-800 Copies

CG, DDG, LSD, LPD: 96-112 Pages, 200-250-300 copies

FFG: 72 Pages, 100-125-150 Copies

General guidelines on the number of pages and copies by ship class:

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Photography

The most important part of any cruisebook will always be the photos of the crew’s day-to-day activities. Have a plan in place to shoot and collect the photos of events and of each division working over the course of the deployment. Do not wait until months after a port call or exercise to ask for photos. Photographs should be retained in high resolution (300 dpi at a minimum) on a designated computer and backed up regularly. Cell phone photographs or those taken at less than 300 dpi are generally not acceptable for printing in a cruisebook.

Designate a few photographers to photograph each event (MCs may be able to assist with this) to ensure you have enough photos to choose from for event pages. You’ll also need photos of each division at work for each division’s section to complement the crew portraits. Schedule these photos early in the deployment so you have them when you’re ready to layout out the crew portraits.

Page Layout & Design

Completing the page layouts is the most time consuming task and creates most cruisebooks delays. Even experienced designers can take several hours to complete a single page layout. There are two models for completing the layout and design of your cruisebook pages – in house and publisher. Doing layout and design in house makes sense if you have publishing software such as Adobe InDesign or Photoshop at the command and personnel experienced with the software with time available to work on the cruisebook. Designing pages in house gives the cruisebook committee more control and the ability to be creative with the layouts. Having the publisher do the layouts provides less flexibility and control, because the publisher will offer a selection of basic designs with a limited ability to customize. The publisher’s professional designer will prepare the layouts for your review using your photos. However, using the publisher’s layout and design services results in timely delivery and a professional product for crews without mass communication specialists or other personnel with design experience.

After the layouts are completed, you should receive a proof of the book (either a digital or hard copy) for final approval. Remember, it is in the command’s and the publisher’s best interests to get your cruisebook to you as soon as possible after deployment.

Proofing Your Cruisebook

You should have a process to ensure the cruisebook is reviewed by your committee and command leadership prior to submitting to the printer and again after the printer sends proofs back to the command. These options may include an online proof, a hardcopy proof, or both. It is important to return these proofs with any corrections as soon as possible after receipt to stay on schedule for delivery. In today’s digital world, once the final proof is approved, the cruisebook should be printed in about three to four weeks.

Cruisebook Sales

Quotes from your publisher will include pricing for varying numbers of copies. Basically, the more cruisebooks you order, the lower the per copy cost of each. The price of the cruisebook should be set early in the deployment by your committee. To receive the best per book price, it is important to sell cruisebooks to the crew during deployment. While you should not have to contract for a certain number of books until you submit your final, approved proof, it is to your advantage to sell as many cruisebooks as possible thereby lowering the cost of each book. Waiting until after deployment is not recommended.

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Cruisebook Delivery and Distribution

Ideally the cruisebook will be completed two to three months after deployment and will ship via trucking company as a bulk shipment to the ship. Your publisher may offer the option of

mailing books directly to personnel. This is a worthwhile option to consider as it will save a considerable amount of time and work in making sure everyone who purchased a book gets their book. It is especially valuable for your shipmates who expect to transfer before the cruisebooks arrive. Your publisher should have a plan in place to address any issues such as returned or undelivered books, etc.

Be sure to order a few extra copies for the ship’s library, the ship’s annual command operations report and to send to Navy History and Heritage Command as directed in OPNAV

Instruction 5070.1C, of August 21, 2003. “All ships, stations and Marine Corps units to make available copies of published cruisebooks . . . to the Navy Department.” NHHC uses maintains the most extensive collection of cruisebooks in the world which have been used to help NCIS solve cold cases, support claims to the VA, aid reunion groups in their outreach efforts, support book author research and to fill in information that is otherwise inaccessible such as photos of the North Sea mine barrage (learn more at: http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-s/sc356.htm).

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Cruisebook ProductionTimeline

Pull together your key personnel (committee or individuals) Determine your requirements including who will complete page layouts Create a request for proposals and send to three to five publishers Meet with publisher representatives to discuss proposal details and options Decide on a publisher

Schedule dates for crew portraits by publisher(usually 2 consecutive days right before deployment or during initial transit)

Schedule training for cruisebook key personnel with the publisher Decide on overall design theme Create page-by-page diagram of cruisebook Start collecting photos of work ups, pre-deployment onload, etc. Determine what deployment day photos are needed and who will take them

(TYCOM PAO? Publisher? A family member?) Start selling cruisebooks to the crew

Continue collecting photos as events occur Write and edit text for various sections of cruisebook Refine the page-by-page spreadsheet to reflect actual schedule Have command review completed layouts As you complete layouts, submit photos and layouts to publisher Decide on a cover design Schedule photographer for homecoming

Submit final photos and completed layouts to publisher View and approve page and cover proofs Request total cost invoice from publisher for payment after delivery Submit sales spreadsheet to publisher for mailing and/or cover imprint info Provide publisher with delivery address (not an FPO) Distribute cruisebooks

Following these guidelines will help you to deliver the cruisebook to the crew approximately two months after deployment. Normal turnaround is six weeks after all photos and layouts are submitted to the publisher. Therefore, to stay on schedule, the majority of the work must be done while deployed. Waiting until you return will delay your book and make the job much more difficult.

3-6 Months Before

Deployment

2-3 Months Before

Deployment

Deployment

Post Deployment