Professional book project management
Creating a book involves perhaps as many as 20 stages, and professional project management is invaluable to ensure it all goes smoothly, on time, and on budget.
Planning
So many book projects go awry because unforeseen things get in the way: the book printer turns out to be too busy to print your book on time; the indexer is on holiday; the editor needs more time. If your project has a fixed end-date (e.g. a book launch), don’t take chances. Make sure you get the right planning advice up front. In project management, surprises are usually unwanted!
Building a team
Larger projects might well need the input of several specialists: copy-editor, book designer, cover designer, picture researcher, indexer, lawyer (hopefully not!), blurb writer, and so on. Often you can find one person who can take on more than one role. Because Alistair has done all of these things (not the lawyer thing), he can often take on every aspect of what you need.
Quality assurance
Quality assurance in industry means ensuring that everything goes according to plan, and that there is a process in place to ensure that things cannot go wrong. QA is recognised under ISO 9001, and if you search online you can read about the principles behind it. Lexis is not registered under this scheme, but we embody all of its principles, adapted specifically for the book publishing world.
All the advice you need in one place.
All types of publishing projects undertaken
Every book project is different, even if they all share certain features. The only thing that all projects really need is the input of true experience.
Alistair specialises in providing an all-encompassing service for publishers, self-publishers, and organisations. He has been in the industry since 1984 and has worked on almost every conceivable project type.
