Unit Coordinator
Euan Mitchell
Available for consultation by appointment.

THE WEBSITE FOR THIS UNIT IS AT: http://www.staff.vu.edu.au/syson

E-mail addresses:
euan.mitchell@vu.edu.au

We acknowledge the Elders, families and forebears of the Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung tribes of the Kulin Nation who were the custodians of University land for many centuries. We acknowledge that the land on which we meet was the place of age-old ceremonies of celebration, initiation and renewal, and that the Kulin Nation people's living culture had and has a unique role in the life of this region.

UNIT LECTURE CALENDAR

GENERAL INFORMATION

Website
TheCollege of Arts hosts a website which contains a number of documents which you will find useful. It is located here.
On this site you will find:

How to select your units and work out your timetable – this offers an overview of degree structures.

The timetable – here you will find the times of classes and the rooms where they are held. It is worth checking these details close to the start of semester in case anything has changed.

Useful web addresses – this shows you how to access your VU email address. You will find that the faculty, your lecturers and tutors will send you important emails during the semester and it is crucial that you are able to access this information.

Assignment cover sheets – are available for download from the Arts website.

Students rights and responsibilities – this is a list of what you can expect from studying at university, and what the university expects from you.

Plagiarism – there is a student's guide to plagiarism, how to avoid it and the penalties involved in engaging in plagiarism or academic dishonesty available here.

Essay guide online – here you fill find a guide to the writing and presenting of essays. It contains an overview of structuring essays, of providing comprehensive references (Oxford, Harvard and APA) and of compiling a reference list.

Enrolling as a non-award student – this is an overview of enrolling in single units rather than in a whole degree.

Teaching and Learning Support (http://tls.vu.edu.au/students.htm) – there are a number of academic support servicesToffered to students which include:

• Study skills workshops
• Transitional issues for students new to higher education
• FAQs - the questions often asked by students
• Skills needed for your studies e.g. oral presentations
• General study skills - What is a lecture? What is a tutorial?
• Exam techniques
• Essay assessment criteria
• Information specific to particular units or courses
• Postgraduate and international students
• Mentoring
• Plagiarism

Handing in assignments and projects
Assignments and projects (including those from Friday’s seminar students) are to be submitted at the end of the appropriate seminar or – as a fall-back only – to your tutor's pigeonhole LEVEL 2, BUILDING E, Footscray Park campus.

Penalties for late assignments
Late assignments (without an extension) will be graded at a reduction of 25 per cent per week late.

Special consideration
If you feel that illness or personal difficulties have impaired your performance you may ask for Special Consideration, which can facilitate late submission and/or alternative arrangements for assignments. This can cover both emotional and physical difficulties. You need to contact a student counsellor to arrange this.

Arrangements for disabled students
Students with disabilities need to register with Equity and Social Justice.

INTRODUCTION
Publishing Principles and Practice is an elective unit for students completing the BA or the Major in Professional Writing. Its prerequisite units are the two first-year Professional Writing units. The unit deals with both practical and theoretical aspects of professional publishing in contemporary Australia.

Objectives

• to examine the practices of publishing, with special emphasis on their role and influence in history and contemporary society;
• to introduce students to a range of practical techniques and applied theories of publishing in the context of small press productions, especially books and magazines;
• to look at the principles and practice of publishing in paper and digital media, the forms of communication used by publishers with editors, designers, authors, printers, distributors, publicists and booksellers.
• to consider legal aspects of  publishing, especially in regard to use of copyright material, defamation and censorship.
• to assist students to develop advanced desktop publishing skills and develop skills in a range of software programs, particularly Adobe's InDesign.

FORMAT:
The unit is taught in a 60-minute lecture and 90-minute seminar (workshop) format each week for 12 weeks. The lectures provide the core theoretical material for the unit, while the seminars involve practical typesetting, design and publishing problems and tasks.

• Lecture Wed 9:00 10:00 G368
• Tutorial Wed 10:00 11:30 C511
• Tutorial Fri 9:00 10:30 C511
• Tutorial Fri 10:30 12:00 C511

Class Materials:
Texts & Equipment

• REQUIRED TEXTBOOK: Euan Mitchell, Your Book Publishing Options: How to Make and Market Ebooks and Print Books, OverDog Press, Melbourne, 2014.
• ACCESS REQUIRED (via library loan or bookshop purchase) to Victoria University’s annual literary anthology from 2013: Offset. This book is used for the Offset Design Critique – see assessment items below. Copies can be bought from the St Albans campus bookstore or borrowed from the VU library.
• USB thumb drive/memory stick, on which to save your seminar exercises.

Other Recommended Texts

• Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers, 6th Edition, Wiley, Brisbane, 2002.
• An Australian dictionary (e.g. Macquarie, Oxford-Australian, Collins-Australian).
• David Carter, Anne Galligan, Eds, Making Books: Contemporary Australian Publishing, UQP, 2007.
• J. Morrish, Magazine Editing. London: Routledge, 2003.
• Jason Epstein, Book Business: Publishing: Past, Present and Future, Norton 2001.
• Introduction to Book Publishing, Australian Publishers Association, 2008.
• Giles Clark, Angus Phillips, Inside book publishing [electronic resource] / Routledge, 2008.

Learning Outcomes:

•  Students will gain a general understanding of the role of publishing in industry and society in general. (CGA 2)
•  Students will be able to solve simple and complex publishing problems in a range of social and employment contexts. (CGA 1).
•  Having studied the principles and practices of publishing and the forms of communication appropriate to these areas, students will have obtained basic professional publishing skills. (CGA 3)
•  Group assessment ensures students work collectively and communicate effectively. (CGAs 3 & 4)
•  Students will obtain basic familiarity with legal aspects of publishing, especially copyright and defamation. (CGS 3)

Core Graduate Attributes:

•  Is an effective problem solver in a range of settings, including professional practice.
•  Can locate, evaluate, manage and use information effectively (including "critical thinking", ICT and statistical skills).
•  Communicates effectively as a professional and as a citizen.
•  Can work both autonomously and collaboratively as a professional.
•  Can work effectively in settings of social and cultural diversity.

ASSESSMENT:
NOTE: Try to submit your project and critique work at the end of the appropriate seminar. As a fall-back (only) you will find tour tutor’s pigeonhole on the 2nd Floor of E Building (Footscray Park campus).

1. Magazine Layout Project (due week 4 on the day of your seminar) 15%
This project requires students to create a multi-column magazine layout using Microsoft Word. Full instructions will be handed out in the Week 3 seminar. The finished project is to be handed in at the end of each student’s allocated seminar in Week 4. In between the seminars in Weeks 3 and 4, it is OK for students to take this project home and work on it, but if external assistance is suspected, then the student will have to answer the questions of an academic arbitrator. If a student does not have access to Microsoft Word at home, then the computers in the library can provide access to Word. Please note: the computers in C511 all run the Macintosh Operating System. If working in Windows between seminars, be careful your project does not re-format when transferred to the Mac computers in C511. Colour printing facilities may be available in C511. This is an individual project, not a group or partnership project. A signed, standard Assignment Cover Sheet should be stapled to the front of the pages submitted.

2. Tests (x 3): Key Terms and Core Concepts (weeks  5, 8, 11 in your seminar),  10% x 3 = 30%
These tests are conducted during seminar times in weeks 5, 8, and 11, based on the lecture material in this unit. There will be multiple choice and short answer questions on key terms and core concepts in publishing. The tests will be closed book, i.e. no use of notes, reference books or the internet. Phones are to be switched off and put away. A medical certificate for a specific illness will be required if a student is absent in any of the weeks 5, 8 or 11. More than one absence from these tests (including arriving too late to start within the allotted time limit) will require the student to sit a supplementary examination in November. Each student must sit the tests in the seminar time into which he or she is allocated.

3. Offset Design Critique (due week 7 on the day of your seminar) 15%
Students are required to write a 500-word critique on the design and layout of the text and graphics in the Victoria University student anthology Offset 2013. This anthology is available from the Footscray Park campus bookstore or VU Library. The aim is for each student to evaluate the quality of this book’s design and layout and to do so by drawing on the terminology and concepts from the lectures, seminars and readings. The critique is to be written as an essay in an academic style and include references. This critique helps you develop the critical perspective needed to ensure your major project in this unit (see below) reaches a professional standard. Please note: as well as a hard copy submission on paper, students are required to email their critique as an ebook in the EPUB format to their tutor. Failure to submit either hard copy or ebook version of the Offset Design Critique will result in a deduction of 5 marks. The creation of an ebook in the EPUB format is achieved by using the free software ‘Calibre’, as demonstrated in the week 6 seminar. This is an individual essay, not a group or partnership essay. Three examples of excuses that will not be accepted for failing to submit the ebook of the critique on time: the lecturer’s email address was entered incorrectly, failure to remember to attach the ebook file to the email, alleged computer breakdowns or glitches.

4. Major Project (due week 12 on the day of your seminar) 40%
This project is to be undertaken with a partner. It is the major assessment for this unit. The ability to collaborate productively is an essential skill in the publishing industry. You can work on this project between seminars.

The first part of this project will be to develop a publishing identity. Your partnership might choose to be a mainstream, corporate, alternative, radical, literary, specialist or some other kind of publisher. You will develop a 200-250 word mission statement which outlines the nature of your organisation. The publication you end up producing needs to sit within the terms of the mission statement.

This project involves a partnership of two students using InDesign and PhotoShop to produce a professional standard of publication, such as: a newsletter, fanzine, anthology or other collection of writing; or any other sufficient and manageable project you design and clear with your tutor. A partnership of two is required to produce a publication with a minimum of 16 A4 pages + a full cover, or 24 A5 pages + a full cover. If your tutor agrees to you working in a group of three, your project will require 24 A4 pages + full cover or 32 A5 pages + full cover. Note: the publication’s page size can be approximately A4 or A5, not precisely these dimensions. Students are encouraged to have their projects professionally printed and bound in time for submission in week 12, so as to demonstrate their planning and project management skills, but this is not a requirement. The finished pages can simply be placed back-to-back in the transparent sleeves of a plastic folder. Please do not attempt to print out ‘booklets’ that you staple together.

Individually, you are also required to keep a journal of your activities, in which you will record ideas, plans, meetings, decisions, etc.  We are looking primarily for you to demonstrate design and layout skills in this project – though the quality of overall editorial coherence will be taken into account, i.e. the text used does NOT have to be your own writing, but it must be selected according to criteria stated in your stated mission, not simply a grab-bag of random and/or poorly edited texts. You will be marked according to four criteria:

• Conceptual and planning (30%).
• Aesthetics and design accuracy (30%).
• Application of hardware and software capabilities (30%) – N.B. effective use of InDesign and PhotoShop is a shared responsibility that is not to be delegated to only one person in the partnership.
• Editorial coherence (10%).

NOTE 1: A signed, standard Assignment Cover Sheet from EACH student should be enclosed within their partnership’s single Major Project submission.

NOTE 2: If external assistance is suspected (excluding that of printing companies who are allowed to be engaged to print and bind the submitted publication), then the student/s involved will have to answer the questions of an academic arbitrator. Additional assessments may be required.

UNIT OUTLINE

Week 1 (starting 21 July)
Lecture: Introduction: Publishing Industry Overview

Seminar:  
Discussion of this Unit Outline, requirements for assessment, location of the Unit’s website, and general questions.
Basic typography exercises in Microsoft Word on Macs in computer lab, Room C511.

Set Reading:
Unit Outline.
Euan Mitchell, ‘Introduction’ (pp 1-17) from Your Book Publishing Options: How to Make and Market Ebooks and Print Books, OverDog Press, Melbourne, 2014.

Extension Reading:
Martyn Lyons, John Arnold, Eds, A history of the book in Australia 1891–1945: a national culture in a colonised market, University of Queensland Press, 2001 FTS070.50994 HIS

Week 2 (starting 28 July)
Lecture: Managing the Writing Process

Seminar:  
Apply professional formatting to this downloadable manuscript in Microsoft Word, so it is suitable for submission to a publisher (hard copy of guidelines handed out in seminar).

Set Reading:
Euan Mitchell, ‘Option 1: Writing a Manuscript’ (pp 19-50) from Your Book Publishing Options: How to Make and Market Ebooks and Print Books, OverDog Press, Melbourne, 2014.

Extension Reading:
Anne Galligan, ‘The Culture of the Publishing House: Structure and Strategies in the Australian Publishing Industry’ (pp 34-50) from Making Books: Contemporary Australian Publishing, UQP, 2007.

Week 3 (starting 4 August)
Lecture:  Book Publishing Vehicles  

Seminar:  
Introducing the Offset Design Critique (essay for assessment) and the anthology Offset 2012.
Design and layout of a multi-column magazine using Microsoft Word: Project Instructions

Further skills in Word will be demonstrated in Seminar 3 to help complete Assignment 1, as shown in this downloadable file.

Set Reading: 
David Whitbread, ‘Layout’ (pp 158-174) from The Design Manual, 2nd edition, UNSW Press, 2009.
Euan Mitchell, ‘Option 2: Determining Your Publishing Vehicle’ (pp 51-78) from Your Book Publishing Options: How to Make and Market Ebooks and Print Books, OverDog Press, Melbourne, 2014.

Extension Reading:
S. Murray, ‘Generating Content: Book Publishing as a Component Media Industry’ (pp 51-67) from Making Books: Contemporary Australian Publishing, UQP, 2007

Week 4 (starting 11 August)
Lecture: Overseeing the Editing Process

Seminar:  
Finishing and submitting the magazine layout project begun in the week 3 seminar.

Set Reading:
Euan Mitchell, ‘Option 3: Editing the Manuscript’ (pp 79-104) from Your Book Publishing Options: How to Make and Market Ebooks and Print Books, OverDog Press, Melbourne, 2014.

Extension Reading:
Rob Carter, et al, Typographic Design: Form and Communication, Van Nostrand Reinholdt, 1985. 686.224CAR
Ruari McLean, The Thames & Hudson Manual of Typography, Thames & Hudson, 1980. 686.22 MACL
Marshall McLuhan, The Gutenberg galaxy: the making of typographic man, University of Toronto Press 686.1MACL

Week 5 (starting 19 August)
Lecture: Cover Creation and Design

Seminar:  
First Test on Key Terms and Core Concepts (first 25 minutes of seminar)
Ebook covers and images in PhotoShop: Part 1

Set Reading:
Euan Mitchell, ‘Option 4: Creating Covers’ (pp 105-144) from Your Book Publishing Options: How to Make and Market Ebooks and Print Books, OverDog Press, Melbourne, 2014.

Extension Reading:
Roger Parker, Looking Good in Print, Ventana, Chapel Hill, 1988.Carl Dair. Design with Type, University of Toronto Press, 1967. 686.22 DAI
Albert C. Book and C. Dennis Schick, Fundamentals of Copy and Layout, NTC Business Books. 659.13BOO

Week 6 (starting 25 August)
Lecture: Ebook Preparation and Formatting

Seminar:  
Discussing student partnerships for the Major Project beginning next week.
Using the free Calibre software to create an ebook in the EPUB format (And how to submit the Offset Design Critique as an ebook)
Ebook covers and images in PhotoShop: Part 2

Set Reading:
Euan Mitchell, ‘Option 5: Preparing Ebooks’ (pp 145-180) from Your Book Publishing Options: How to Make and Market Ebooks and Print Books, OverDog Press, Melbourne, 2014.

Extension Reading:
Jon M. Duff, Introduction to Desktop Publishing, Prentice-Hall, 1989. 686.22DUF
Roger Parker, Looking Good in Print, Ventana, Chapel Hill, 1988.
Robin Williams, The Non-Designer's Design Book, Peachpit Press, 1994. 686.22WIL

Week 7 (starting 1September)
Lecture: Print Preparation and Design

Seminar:  
Introducing InDesign and the Basic Layout of Book Pages
Finalising all the partnerships for Major Project.
Draft the partnership’s mission statement and logo.

Set Reading:
Euan Mitchell, ‘Option 6: Preparing Pages for Print’ (pp 181-208) from Your Book Publishing Options: How to Make and Market Ebooks and Print Books, OverDog Press, Melbourne, 2014.

Extension Reading:
Roger Parker, Looking Good in Print, Ventana, Chapel Hill, 1988.
Christopher Perfect, The Complete Typographer: a Manual for Designing with Type, Prentice-Hall, 1992. 686.224PER

Week 8 (starting 8 September)
Lecture: Printing Options and Processes

Seminar:  
Second Test on Key Terms and Core Concepts (first 25 minutes of seminar).
More exercises using InDesign for the Advanced Layout of Book Pages.
Continue working on Major Project using InDesign and PhotoShop.

Set Reading:
Euan Mitchell, ‘Option 7: Printing Books’ (pp 209-228) from Your Book Publishing Options: How to Make and Market Ebooks and Print Books, OverDog Press, Melbourne, 2014.

Extension Reading:
David Cole, The Complete Guide to Book Marketing, rev. ed, Allworth, New York, 2003. 381.45002COL
Samantha Schwarz, Australian Guide to Getting Published, Hale & Iremonger, 1995. 070.520994SCH

Week 9 (starting 15 September)
Lecture: Distribution of Ebooks and Print Books

Seminar:  
Using InDesign for Book Cover Layouts
Continue working on Major Project using InDesign and PhotoShop.

Set Reading:
Jason Epstein, ‘Goodbye to All That', Book Business: Publishing: Past, Present and Future, Norton 2001
Euan Mitchell, ‘Option 8: Distributing Print and Ebooks’ (pp 229-262) from Your Book Publishing Options: How to Make and Market Ebooks and Print Books, OverDog Press, Melbourne, 2014.

Extension Reading:
William Germano, Getting it Published, University of Chicago Press, 2001. 070.52GER

Seminar:  
Continue working on Major Project using InDesign and PhotoShop.

Set Reading:
Euan Mitchell, ‘Option 9: Marketing Your Brand’ (pp 263-300) from Your Book Publishing Options: How to Make and Market Ebooks and Print Books, OverDog Press, Melbourne, 2014.

Extension Reading::
Gareth Branwyn, Jamming the media: a citizen's guide: reclaiming the tools of communication San Francisco: Chronicle Books, c1997  STA302.23 BRA   

Mid-semester Break

Week 11 (starting 6 October)
Lecture: ‘Long-Tail’ Marketing and the Future

Seminar:  
Third and Final Test on Key Terms and Core Concepts (first 25 minutes of seminar).
Continue working on Major Project using InDesign and PhotoShop.

There are no set readings during weeks 11 and 12 while partnership meetings and private work sessions are taking place for Major Project.

Extension Reading:
Chris Anderson, The (Longer) Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More, Hyperion Books, New York, 2008.   

Week 12 (starting 13 October)
Lecture: Working in the Publishing Industry

Seminar:  
Finish and submit Major Project using InDesign and PhotoShop.

There are no set readings during weeks 11 and 12 while partnership meetings and private work sessions are taking place for Major Project.

STUDENTS' RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES

A NOTE ABOUT PLAGIARISM FOR ALL ARTS STUDENTS
Plagiarism is trying to pass off other people’s work as your own. Don’t do it. Plagiarism is one of the most serious crimes in academia. Cases of plagiarism have destroyed the careers of undergraduates, postgraduates and senior staff in too many institutions. Victoria University takes plagiarism very seriously and those caught face heavy penalties that may culminate in expulsion from their course. You have been warned. If you feel tempted to plagiarise because you are struggling with the content of a subject or have time-management issues, then talk to your tutor. We are here to help and can suggest study strategies to assist you. All staff want you to succeed in your studies, but with honest effort not foolish short-cuts. Don’t suffer in silence.