How to Outsource your E-Publishing Requirements

Mobility has now become the biggest selling feature of the current era. Wherever you go, you will find some mobile application coming to your aid and helping you overcome the problem. E-publications, or e-pubs, are now the most accessible sources of information available. Outsourcing e-pubs services can be beneficial for any company, regardless of the field.

There are several companies that offer a wide range of services around e-publishing. If your company is opting to outsource for your e-publishing needs, the following are some ideas of how you go about it, while achieving promising and satisfying results.

Outsourcing E-Publishing

  • The first and foremost step in Outsourcing e-publishing is to send the manuscript and the work specifications to the outsourcing company. This is also called the pre-press service. 
  • The immediate next step in outsourcing your e-publishing is job discussion. Here, the company and the client meet for a discussion around the feasibility of the work, the complications involved, and any other specific areas. A report is created that gives a detailed description of how the work will be carried out, what the time limit might be, what criteria need to be considered and any desired outcomes of the project.
  • The manuscript is then sent to the copy editor, who proofs and edits the publication. In this stage of the process, the copy editor studies the manuscript and it’s subject to get a full understanding of the material. The copy editor checks for grammatical and spelling errors and gives final consent on figures and diagrams. 
  • In case of errors, the manuscript is handled by a Quality Control (QC) department that will be notified. The QC will make the necessary corrections and then send the manuscript back to the Copy Editor. 
  • Every revision of the e-publishing process is noted and documented and the cycle continues until the copy editor gives his consent for the e-publication and the final draft is sent to the author of the manuscript for final approval. 
  • The publisher’s specifications and requirements are documented in a style sheet; these are also recorded. The next step is to implement the manuscript as an e-publication, with final approval from the author.
  • The style sheet requirement and the editor’s work on the manuscript are placed side by side, and the layout specialist adds in more specifications to give the e-publication a better look. 
  • Pictures and graphics – if any – are handed to the scanning department who ensure quality scanning so as to avoid any blurred and imperfect images in the e-publication. 
  • The final touches are given, touching up resolution, correcting colour, increasing sharpness of the image, before again being sent to the author for the final consent. 
  • The texts and the contents are then added as they were guarded; in the darker areas? 
  • The data entered is cross-checked once more for accuracy and verified by the editor.
  • Once approved by the author and the layout specialist, the pictures are placed into the e-publication.
  • Once these steps are completed, the printed e-publications are finally handed over to the proofreaders, who check for minor errors and make the manuscript complete and full for e-publishing.

Conclusion

These are the steps involved in outsourcing your e-publishing projects. As it passes from one sequence to another, from the development of the manuscript to the formation of the e-publication that will be displayed online, the publication is cross-checked for errors continually. If these steps are followed carefully, then a new entrant emerges amid the hundreds and thousands of other e-publications available online.
If these steps are taken up stealthily then outsourcing your e-publications can be easily carried out, and save a great amount of money and time. Outsourcing your e-publications will definitely deliver better results, while you are able to stay focussed on the core business of your company.