Working with the outlined publishing models, identify the various roles you (and potentially others) will be undertaking for assignment five. For example, you’re likely to be writing your own content, designing your book, editing and reviewing it. You may also be involved in the production, printing and distribution process. Consider each aspect of the book assignment and briefly list what roles you think you’ll be doing, and what these roles entail. Also make notes of the roles of others who might be involved in your assignment and what their contribution is.
Roles
Model 1
Writer – Publisher – Editor – Designer – Production – Printer – Distribution – Retail
This model is similar to the process that you would expect in a large publishing house, and although it may vary, the source is the writer’s manuscript.
Model 2
Artist/Designer/Author – Publisher – Editor – Production – Printer – Distribution – Retail
This second model is an established alternative, with the designer or the book fulfilling multiple roles and having to carry the book forward from conception to completion.
My Role
Regardless of the book that I end up designing for assignment five, I would fall into a publishing process similar to model 2, and would have to fulfil multiple roles given that other than the printing, distribution, and retail, will have to be done by me.
To begin, I would be the artist/designer/author, as more than likely I would be creating any illustration, writing the copy, and designing the entirety of the book on my own. There is of course a possibility that depending the book I design, that I might use assets created by others, whether that is graphic elements or photographs. It is impossible to say at this time whichever the case will be.
The editor’s role would also fall onto me, as I would have to go through the book to make sure that everything is in order, checking the grammar as well as the content. This job would be continuously carried out during the design process, allowing me to make changes immediately, but also once the design is completed, for a final examination.
If the book is ready for printing, I would then concentrate on production, communicating with the printing service. This role would have actually already started before even beginning the design process, in order to be aware of the requirements than the design must meet in order for the printer to produce the best possible book according to my needs. Therefore I must already know the the details that will influence my design, from colour modes, to bleed margins, type margins, to resolution of images, photographs or illustrations, to the recommended minimum size of type.
As the book would be printed in a very limited run, and it is not meant for retail, there would be no publisher, no distribution, and no retail involved in the process, which does streamline it substantially. Still, it is daunting to have to cover so many roles when creating your own book, and even more so when you do not have a clear idea for what kind of book to design.
OCA Graphic Design 