The Science of Bookselling
Author:
Kieran Lyons
Established in response to the recommendations of the Strategic Review Group, the new publishing division of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland already has an impressive line up of titles on its list ranging from student texts to thought leadership. Accountancy Ireland asked Director, Kieran Lyons, to outline what is on his agenda for the coming year.
For the past while, if you’ve been logging onto www.icai.ie you’ll have seen that the Institute has been publishing books. Quite a lot of books. And although we hope you’ve been impressed by the level of activity, perhaps more important for us is their scope and quality, and the thought that went into each and every one.
In 2006 the publishing division produced 10 titles, with a further six at advanced stages of editing and production. We set and met our target number. Considering that we had been up and running only 16 months, this was an ambitious goal. It is gratifying to know that the shippage of these 10 books far outstripped the output of our competitors. On the back of this programme, last month the ICAI was nominated for full membership of The Irish Booksellers’ Association – further evidence of our credibility in the marketplace. We’ll give ourselves a year or two before we dominate it completely.
The focus for 2007 is on marketing and brand exposure. Those who have bought more than one book will notice they already have identical badging, which the ICAI marketing department and our designers will support and refine. Over coming months, ICAI books will have much wider exposure. Our trade reps and distributors have been briefed to secure the best placing in shops. Some titles are obvious candidates for Eason’s, Hughes and Hughes, and local retailers. Others have will have a more natural home in Hodges Figgis and Waterstone’s. In 12 months’ time, it is our ambition that when you stroll over to the business and accounting sections, you’ll see a slew of ICAI titles on centre tables, displacing those of international publishers to the recesses of the stockroom in terms of visuals and unit sales.
The reaction to our programme has been excellent. Our student titles, for example, have met with universal praise. Education is a pillar of the Institute, and was a determinant in the decision to publish. The forthcoming syllabus changes represented an opportunity to create fresh, dedicated materials based on competencies and case studies. And, aside from retooled manuals and new books, we will be able to offer lecturers ancillary web material that will bring more life to the classroom.
It’s our aspiration that having come to trust and value ICAI publications, when our students progress into the world of work, we will be the provider of choice for their lifetime information requirements. As our front and back-lists expand and move to second and further editions, all of our members will be able to capitalise on an increasing body of accounting intelligence.
We’re deeply appreciative of those academics who have taken considerable time out of their professional and personal lives to write texts that will help students qualify in their chosen profession. It is a much-touted myth that lecturers and tutors need to publish books. In fact, in all universities, the scientific model prevails where the emphasis is on penning shorter papers for peer review journals. It is a measure of their regard for and commitment to the Institute that so many have agreed to write or contribute to our books, initially taking us on trust because they hadn’t seen examples of finished product.
tax.point has also been a great success. Now in its second year, subscribers will benefit from greater commentary and a higher page count, with minimal increase in price. It is and will always remain a member services publication, with the focus on information provision rather than on profit. We are testing electronic delivery in tandem with paper publication and, within a few months, subscribers will be able to search for articles and cases online.
Likewise, some of our books are broken into sections, allowing chapters or segments to be offered at low cost by PDF, not unlike the model used by Harvard Business Press. All ICAI books are already processed in formats that will make a move to electronic delivery
smooth and cost-efficient. Nothing quite like the feel of a good book
Critics said the Internet would destroy books but evidence to date suggests that online or CD-Rom publications will never replace paper products. How many of us have downloaded Microsoft Reader and bought entire books? (My credit card did magically key in its number and purchase one or two. It has been locked in a drawer ever since because of the subsequent eyestrain.) Recent studies by the University of Washington show that readers can’t process more than 10 screenshots and won’t print off more than 17 pages. We can’t underline, stick post its or use highlighter pen on our screens.
Especially on a bus or train. Figures from the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) presented at the International Innovation Network in 2006 support the view that electronic grows paper, and vice versa. But although there is nothing quite like the feel of a good book, it is fascinating to speculate how the profession will source information in a decade’s time now that we’ve become accustomed to Internet search engines.
With an increased emphasis on CPD, your feedback says in no uncertain terms that, apart from technical material, members across the spectrum want books and publications on broader business topics and skillsets. It’s hard to argue with the proposition that if you attend an Institute course, you should be able to walk into the lobby and buy the related text. Or if you’re embarking on a further ICAI qualification, that you should be supported with ICAI materials. We’ve taken note and will deliver accordingly. This year’s programme includes books on work:life balance, human resources, succession strategies and marketing. We have scheduled a minimum of fifteen books for 2007.
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Thought leadership publishing is an area we will expand greatly in the short term. It will be a voice for the profession, for the arguments that the ICAI should have the confidence to espouse. The Irish Accountancy Educational Trust has already generously supported the research we have published. November’s launch of Accounting in Irish Hospitals is an important example. It is the first such book in Ireland and encapsulates the intention behind the series.
Corporate social responsibility, highlighted by President McAleese at our annual dinner, is the next issue we are considering, and input will be canvassed across the profession.
During the year, we will also co-publish thought leadership with our sister Institutes, especially on broader technical areas and social policy.
Looking further ahead, integration of information is the real goal. When someone logs on to our website, he or she should be able to search by keyword, source all of the internal data on the topic or subject, and be steered towards the relevant publications, CPD courses and external resources. In Accountancy Ireland we already have a template.
As the recent winner of the Interactive Magazine of the Year award, it has demonstrated how ease of access to articles and commentary of the highest calibre is of real benefit to the reader.
There have been lessons to be learned over the past year and a half. As is the nature of publishing, titles do slip, as did some of ours and we apologise for this. Now that we have a clear schedule, however, books won’t be pre-marketed until we have definitive posting dates. In 2007, we won’t allow enthusiasm overtake pragmatism. The content and production values of our books must dwarf those of our competitors and their publication will be timed accordingly.
We are being given enormous support by our new publishing committee chaired by Council member Julian Clarke and peopled with accountants in business and practice, academics and industry heavyweights, including the financial controllers of a women’s glossy and a leading publishing house, and a past president of Designers Guild of Ireland.
This breadth of accounting and business experience affords not only the security of advice and peer review, but tangible participation by members in the ICAI publishing programme. Common sense says we will also be able to tap into industry best practice. One or two committee members expressed surprise at the notion that we would be so unguarded about our intentions. But the model is simple and we don’t apologise for it – the most innovative information products, the best price and the right marketing strategy. All in the interests of Chartered Accountants and the wider business community.
Every publisher canvases for authors and ideas and we are no different. If you have a burning ambition to write or contribute to a publication please talk to us. (It’s true, by the way. There is a book in everyone.) Our ongoing web development will offer a forum for your thoughts, with space for you to sound off. If you want us to, we’ll start a chatroom.
We’d like to thank those who have already offered advice and feedback. This publishing programme is for you, so please do take the opportunity to shape it.