Introduction

It takes diverse expertise to produce a consistent, quality publication. In addition to the author, there are typically many other people involved in textbook production. It's true that in an era of speedy self-publishing, certainly not all of these roles are required. However, involving as many people in these key roles as possible per project will result in a consistent publication. In the longer term, it will also mean a consistent imprint, especially if you're working with a core team that understands your brand and follows your style guide.

Publishing Roles

You may have in-house expertise in the areas listed below. If not, you may need to identify outside services.

Copyeditor: Ensures the textbook makes sense and has a consistent structure and voice.
Developmental Editor: Provides consultation on content structure and flow at the early stages.
Graphic Designer: Designs cover and potentially other content, including illustrations and infographics.
Instructional Designer: Identifies consistent design elements for best student learning and textbook consistency. Similar to developmental editor.
Librarian: Ensures copyright, open license, public domain and other compliance.
Marketer: Provides marketing plan and support to promote the book.
Printer: Provides print copies.
Project Manager: Ensures the success of the project by managing people, timelines and processes to get the book to print. (For more details, see the unit on Project Management.)
Proofreader: Reviews the textbook for grammatical, spelling and typographical errors and makes corrections.
Typesetter: Creates consistent appearance of the textbook’s text, layout and spacing

Adapted from Defining Your Role in Authoring Open Textbooks by Open Textbook Network (CC BY)

Guiding Questions

Which of these roles to you consider priorities for your project or imprint?
Do you have in-house expertise in these roles? If not, can you identify and recruit people in these roles?
If need to hire people in these roles, have you set aside the necessary budget for their services?