Westchester Publishing Services

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Introducing the Westchester Words Podcast

News

Nicole Tomassi, Marketing & Conference Manager

Nicole TomassiWords are the primary means by which our clients communicate with their customers, so we are always looking at various media that we can use to connect with them, as well as our colleagues throughout the publishing industry. During the pandemic, the absence of in-person events combined with an urgent need for timely, relevant content grew, motivating us to host more webinars of our own and to partner with others in the industry to speak with their audiences about topics that were of interest to them.

Like you, we have been navigating through so many changes during the past year and we realized there is an increased desire for shorter format content that is informative and compelling. This became the inspiration for our new podcast, Westchester Words: Education, EdTech, and Publishing.

Westchester Words is geared towards publishing industry professionals and others who are equally passionate about the creation of education content, books, and the business of publishing. These information-packed 10-15 minute episodes will feature conversations focused on topics including culturally responsive education, project management considerations, diversity, equity, and inclusion, supply chain impacts, the general state of the publishing industry, and much more.

You can listen to the introductory episode here:

We hope you’ll listen in and follow us on your favorite podcasting platform as we engage with others in conversation about the issues that are shaping education, edtech, and publishing. If you would like to suggest a topic for us to feature in a future episode, or join us to share your expertise with our audience, send us an email at: WestchesterWords@westchesteredsvcs.com.

by Tyler M. Carey, Chief Revenue Officer

typography alphabetPublishing friends, I’m very fortunate to be one of the (growing number of) American members of The Stationers’ Company. The Company acts as the livery guild for the publishing, media, and journalism industries in the City of London, but has had a global reach for many years. The industry knowledge and networking opportunities for those of us in these industries are beyond valuable. If you’re curious about the Company – or just really into fonts – the below event about typography and branding may be for you. This free event is open to all – feel free to sign up below.

As one of London’s longest operating guilds, with a history predating Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press, The Stationers Company has continuously represented the individuals and companies involved in the printing and selling of books in the city of London for more than 600 years, with their mandate encompassing print and digital media, journalism, and more. Despite being a Livery Guild of the City of London, their membership and networking opportunities are not localized just to London, and have expanded to include members of the publishing community who are based around the world. In our current time with travel severely curtailed, the Stationers Company has worked hard to maintain networking connections with their membership and the industry through virtual events and informational sessions.

With such a longstanding history in supporting the printed word, there is probably no organization better suited than The Stationers Company to host the webinar: Typography and Branding. Typography blends art and science, and is an integral component in how companies build and convey the values of their brand to the world. As technology continues to evolve, so too will typefaces, bringing new challenges and opportunities for designers and the companies they design brand materials for.

Speakers Luisa Baeta, David Livingston, and Stationers Company Freeman Richard Chapman, who are all designers, will have a discussion on Thursday, 28 January 2021 about modern typography and its relationship with branding, wayfinding, and type on the web.

You can get more information about the webinar and register for this free session by clicking this link. Information about other upcoming Stationers Company events can be found here.

by Nicole Tomassi, Marketing & Conference Manager

Westchester and the publishing industry overall have continued to change how we work on publication projects this year. Being able to successfully pivot and adapt to a different norm is a central theme running through our highlights from the summer of 2020. Read on to learn some of the ways we continued to maintain vital connections with our clients and within the larger publishing community:

Working Better Together

Publishing Now webinar whitepaperIn early July Publishers Weekly and Westchester co-hosted the Publishing Now webinar where attendees across all areas of publishing had the opportunity to hear from stakeholders at BISG, HMH, Ingram, and Princeton University Press about how each company was addressing challenges within their companies and beyond that were impacting producing, shipping, and selling publications to consumers, identifying potential issues to be aware of heading into the highly important fall and holiday seasons, and ideas for how publishers could prepare to navigate effectively through these situations. In addition to the webinar video, Publishers Weekly produced a summary article, and the panelists contributed content related to the discussion that is available to read and download from our website.

Welcome to Carol Wilson

In September, Carol Wilson joined Westchester Education Services in the newly created position of Director of Client Solutions. Carol has extensive experience within education publishing including her work at Pearson, Edmentum, and Renaissance Learning. This recent blog post outlines more about Carol’s credentials and how she will work with Westchester’s clients.

 

Westchester becomes a member of BISG

BISG logoPublishing is an industry where each sector is highly reliant on other companies within the supply chain that transforms author’s creations and delivers the finished product to consumers in the formats they desire. In these complex times, participating in a forum where data informs effective strategies for stepping through each stage of the publication lifecycle can be extremely beneficial. That is why we chose to become a member of the Book Industry Study Group this August. In this blog post, Chief Revenue Officer, Tyler M. Carey explains why the time was right to take this step and how other companies in the publishing industry can do so.

 

IPG Independent Publishing Awards sponsorship

As a member of the Independent Publishers Guild, Westchester UK had the pleasure to sponsor the Education Publishing Award category during the Independent Publishing Awards ceremony, which took place virtually on September 22. Kudos to the independent publishers who were nominated in the various categories, and congratulations to all of the winning publishers. You can view the awards show here.

 

Westchester Publishing Services featured in PW Digital in India article

Being able to conduct operations digitally has been mission-critical during the past seven months, and the right tools are crucial to ensuring processes run as seamlessly as possible. Westchester’s adoption of the Dropbox platform a few years ago both within our internal teams as well as serving as the foundation for our Client Portal are detailed in this article which was part of the coverage in Publishers Weekly’s annual Digital in India section.

 

Keeping focused on the needs of individual publishers

Westchester has weathered many different business cycles during our more than 50 years of operation. At a challenging time for many in the industry, this summer we surpassed the milestone of having more than 250 active clients, publishers who rely on us for editorial, production, content creation, and project management services while workforces are remote and the ways readers purchase and consume content has dramatically changed. We have achieved this by consulting with each publisher to identify the best solution for their specific workflow issues, and providing them with finished projects they and their customers can be proud of.
Would you like to experience how a collaborative partnership can help your publishing program? I invite you to contact us to learn more.

by Tyler M. Carey, Chief Revenue Officer

Regular readers of this blog may be aware of my participation in The Stationers’ Company, the City of London’s livery company – or guild – for the publishing and media industries.  For myself and the other US-based members of The Stationers’ Company, the inability for us to travel to London for Company events has been disappointing.  Nonetheless, the Company has invested a great deal of energy and no shortage of resources in keeping programming viable via Zoom.  Frequent webinars and presentations about the state of the industry, new projects that members are working on, as well as the odd night or two of virtual pub trivia have kept us connected with our friends and colleagues in the UK.

Recently, I had the great privilege of participating in an interview hosted by the Master of the Company, the Right Reverend Stephen Platten. Platten was educated at The Stationers’ Company School, a since-closed school that had been run by The Stationers’ Company. He went on to serve in the clergy, including a role as the last Bishop of Wakefield for the Anglican Church. In his retirement, he has been increasingly active in the Company, leading the Company through the expansion and upgrade of the historic Stationers’ Hall in Central London. You can see our discussion in the YouTube link below.

If you have an interest in The Stationers’ Company and want to learn more about its efforts in the UK, US, and the rest of the world to connect publishing professionals, please use the Contact Us form, and I will get back to you promptly.

by Tyler M. Carey, Chief Revenue Officer

BISG logoWestchester Publishing Services is proud to share that we recently became a member of the Book Industry Study Group (BISG). BISG works to provide solutions that will positively impact on two or more parts of the publishing supply chain, which in addition to publishers, includes packagers like Westchester, printers, distributors, and companies that collect, use, and analyze the data and metadata that are critical to the success of the entire supply chain.

Tyler M. Carey, Chief Revenue Officer for Westchester said, “Joining BISG is a long overdue commitment from Westchester Publishing Services to the publishing industry.  The work that Brian O’Leary and the BISG board and committees have done to advance the business of making books is critical to the stability and growth of the publishing industry.  Westchester has participated in discussions around workflow and industry trends in an unofficial capacity with BISG for some time, but with the pandemic’s impact on publishing, we see the importance of playing a more active role in one of the industry’s most critical organizations.  We encourage all publishers to explore the BISG.org website, the white papers on different aspects of our industry, the research produced by BISG’s member committees, and join the discussion.”

Brian O’Leary, Executive Director of BISG shared this regarding Westchester Publishing Services becoming a member, “We’re happy to welcome Westchester Publishing Services to BISG. Our members work collaboratively to solve problems that affect two or more parts of book publishing, improving revenues, and reducing friction between trading partners. At a time when we’re challenged to find new ways of working together, BISG provides an important way to identify and address industry issues through standards, best practices, and new approaches.”

The work of BISG is advanced through the work group committees staffed by volunteers from member organizations who strategize solutions that will benefit the larger publishing ecosphere, helping the industry to remain strong and grow more adept to handle the challenges of publishing and disseminating printed content in ever more myriad formats and distribution channels. To learn more about the work BISG does and to find out how your company can become a BISG member, please visit their website.