blog

June 25, 2019

by Tyler M. Carey, Chief Revenue Officer

Westchester is continually reviewing feedback regarding our Client Portal. The Client Portal, our no-cost online system for project management, is currently in formal release v. 2019.C.05, but a small, new feature was added this weekend that may make your life a little easier if you are a client with many live projects or articles in the Client Portal at once. Meet the ability to indicate “Priority” projects in your dashboard.

How does the new “Priority” Star work? In the Header of the Dashboard you will see a new Star icon next to “Action”. The Star is next to each job you have showing on your Dashboard as well.

This star will allow you to flag a job as a priority for you only.

So, if you have a priority project that you are focusing on, click the Star next to the job and it will change to red. You can then sort on the Star in the header, and all your jobs you flagged as priorities will show at the top of your Dashboard list.

Here are some screenshots to put more context to the above:

Click the Star next to a job and it turns red.

Sort on the Star in the header bar, and it will sort all Star jobs to the top.

This and other new features will be covered in the new User’s Manual we will be issuing in July.

Lastly, congratulations to Heidelberg UK for winning the Stationers’ Company Innovation Excellence Awards for 2019. Tim Davies, Managing Director of Westchester Publishing Services UK, represented Westchester at today’s awards ceremony, where The Client Portal was awarded a certificate for being shortlisted for the Customer Experience category. Congratulations to all our fellow nominees and to Heidelberg for the win!

Do you have suggestions for new features in the Client Portal? Call your account manager or Contact Us to share your feedback and ideas.

June 18, 2019

by Tyler M. Carey, Chief Revenue Officer

When I worked in legal publishing, staff regularly flew to India to meet with the typesetting vendor that was doing the bulk of our work, to help set up workflows, review processes, and more. And when I joined Westchester, I was told that as we launched our India Direct operation that many publishers would want to come visit our shops in Chennai and New Delhi. Those days of flying around the globe to see that an operation is there, meet some of the managers, and globe trek seem to be declining when it comes to evaluating typesetting vendors — we see more of that effort invested in flying to China and other countries to inspect print runs for our large trade vendors.

But interestingly, visits to our Danbury, Connecticut headquarters have increased in recent years. Is it just because we’re an anomaly as a US employee-owned company that owns an offshore editorial and typesetting operation — instead of the inverse structure most vendors in this space have?

No, I think it’s because of the staff we have like Terry Colosimo, Susan Baker, and Celeste Bilyard. Our US management team act as consultants for our clients, to help ensure that workflows and project plans are being created proactively and collaboratively, rather than on the fly when a big project hits.

“Sales plays a vital role in having regular check-in’s with our clients whether by phone or visiting them, however, having clients be able to speak to your operation or visit your operation is just as vital,” says Westchester’s Director of Operations, Terry Colosimo. “When I worked at Greenwood Press, my most rewarding experiences were actually visiting printing plants or paper mills. I was able to have face to face time with my customer service reps and get a full understanding of the workflow they were applying to my publications.

True, it’s not necessarily convenient for all clients to pop up I-84 to Danbury — much as it may be hard for them to visit Mona Tiwary in our New Delhi office or our managers at our Chennai, India-based typesetting operation. “But, when publishers can have a face-to-face meeting, or at least a video conference,” says Terry, “It helps you set a productive agenda that can be longer than a phone call with a ‘hard stop.’ It also allows for more casual dialogue and an exchange of ideas – which is valuable to both of us, rather than a ‘dog-and-pony-show’ PowerPoint and canned phone call. Recently, we had the EDP manager from one of our university press clients visit to discuss their program. On the agenda were changes to this university press’ XML aggregator. In discussing the new workflow, the conversation naturally veered into other topics, and we discovered that we were able to offer a solution to their issue-assembly process for journals. This type of dialogue would not necessarily happen with a locked 20-minute phone call, or a slide presentation. These visits are as much a learning experience for us as it is for our clients. By listening and asking questions, we are able to better understand their processes.”

“This type of no-cost consulting that Westchester brings to each client relationship helps all parties – sales, operations, and customer service — take part in understanding overall workflows, as well as which projects are most important, challenges, and solutions that a quick call or an order form would not allow for. “These visits and online meetings help solidify our commitment to building a true partnership with each client. And this kind of dialogue is unbelievably valuable for us, as well as our clients.”

Interested in learning more about how Westchester can work with you to consultatively establish the right workflows for your publications? Contact us to schedule a conversation.

June 4, 2019

$LaTeX composition typesetting example image$ LaTeX is one of the most powerful typesetting platforms for publishers of mathematics, economics, and other content requiring the presentation of equations. But, if you’re a publisher of that type of content, let’s just admit something else about LaTeX – it’s infuriatingly complex and can make any project bloat in schedule and cost.

Through our work in the journal and academic publishing markets over the years, we have handled hundreds of books and thousands of articles with LaTeX content. Every time a new ‘easy button’ for LaTeX appeared in the market, we too were optimistic that it would get easier to work with TeX content. But, since authors all like their own versions, plug-in’s, macros, and templates, most ‘easy buttons’ for LaTeX break the second you pour any content through them.

Sara, Kannan, Dilip from Westchester Publishing Services Instead of trying to bypass the problem, we invested. In our people. Meet US employee-owned Westchester’s offshore management team. Dilip, Sara, and Kannan scoured the industry to find the best of the best in LaTeX typesetting and consulting and hired them, and asked them to train other members of our staff. Through hiring and training over the years, Westchester has assembled an A-Team of LaTeX operators and engineers, who help The MIT Press, Princeton University Press, Johns Hopkins University Press, Mary Ann Liebert, and other book and journal publishers with their complex LaTeX content. We have helped Princeton and Johns Hopkins develop LaTeX templates for their authors to use, for Princeton and MIT we provide LaTeX consulting for authors, and we ensure that all of these books with critical math content are published quickly, affordably, and without issue.

Contact us to learn more about how we can help you with your LaTeX publications.

May 24, 2019

Compiled by Nicole Tomassi, Marketing and Conference Manager

In what has become an enjoyable tradition here at Westchester, I’ve asked my colleagues to tell about a book that they’re looking forward to reading during the (supposedly) more relaxing days of summer. Whether it’s a title that’s practically hot off the press or one that’s been waiting patiently for its turn in the reader’s hand, I’m pleased to once again present you with a wide array of stories true and fictional to choose from. Click on the book cover images to find out more information about these titles, and locate an independent bookstore near you that has it for sale. Happy Summer Reading!

The Fragility of Goodness: Luck and Ethics in Greek Tragedy and Philosophy, by Martha Nussbaum

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Why I can’t wait to read this book: Martha Nussbaum uses close readings of ancient Greek texts to investigate how luck and context determine whether someone or some action is good or ethical and examines whether such virtues are dependent on favorable factors outside of a person’s control (e.g. is goodness circumstantial–also known as the problem of “moral luck”).

Selected by: Steve Barichko, Production Editor

The Book of Life: A Novel (All Souls Trilogy #3), by Deborah Harkness

Publisher: Penguin Books

Why I can’t wait to read this book: I’ve read the first book in the series, A Discovery of Witches, and watched the live action TV show. I’m currently reading the second book and I’m as in love with it as the first one. Both books grabbed my attention right away and I couldn’t put them down. I can’t wait to read the last one to see, with everything that Diana and Matthew have been through if they prevail. Good mix of historical knowledge, suspense, supernatural elements and romance all in one!

Selected by: Kenia Gonzalez, Customer Service Representative

Storytelling with Data: A Data Visualization Guide for Business Professionals, by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

Publisher: Wiley

Why I can’t wait to read this book: As the head of sales for Westchester, I have to present a lot of data to different departments for resource planning, financial forecasts, and more. Additionally, over the past five years, Westchester’s presence in the policy group space has grown geometrically as we edit, design, and typeset hundreds of white papers, books, and journals every year, including many that have complex infographics and 4-color charts. My initial flip through Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic’s title, reflecting what she learned during her time at Google and other large companies, shows it to be a great guide to understanding visual data, as well as a primer on how to better make your point using data visualization. With luck, by the end of the summer, forecast and resource planning meetings I lead will result in less snores and more questions about why I used so much color ink from the scanner/printer next to our journals department.

Selected by: Tyler M. Carey, Chief Revenue Officer

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, by Hank Green

Publisher: Dutton

Why I can’t wait to read this book: I discovered Hank Green when he started NerdCon: Stories a few years ago—a convention in Minneapolis that celebrated all things story. I’ve followed his vlog and various projects ever since. Picking up his debut novel was a no-brainer. Can’t wait to read!

Selected by: Meg Overman, Senior Editor, K-12 Publishing Services

Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers, by Leonard Koeen

Publisher: Imperfect Publishing

Why I can’t wait to read this book: The Japanese aesthetic theory of wabi-sabi holds that there is profound beauty in imperfection—in objects with cracks or chips or signs of wear or repair. Of course, there’s more to it than that, and Leonard Koren distills the subject and offers guidance for artists and designers. I’ve been interested in the subject for years and finally want to finish this classic.

Selected by: Tom V. Hartmann, Business Development Manager

The Night Tiger, by Yangsze Choo

Publisher: Flatiron Books (a Westchester client publisher)

Why I can’t wait to read this book: This has been sitting on my shelf since it came out in February, and I can’t wait to finally dive into it. I was initially skeptical, but the magical element pulled me in out of pure curiosity. In The Night Tiger, two characters trying to find their place in society are brought together because of a severed finger while men in their district inexplicably turn into tigers.

I love that this sounds complicated yet whimsical—sounds like the perfect summer read to me!

Selected by: Christina Kinsella, Production Editor

Lost Dayton, by Andrew Walsh

Publisher: The History Press

Why I can’t wait to read this book: True confession: I’ve started the first chapter or two of this book already and am hooked. Walsh is a local historian and professor who does an excellent job painting the landscape of forgotten neighborhoods. His prose is informational, yet breezy and engaging. His work helps shed light on how the city became what it is now and what it’s left behind.

Selected by: Kevin J. Gray, Managing Director, K-12 Publishing Services

Montauk, by Nicola Harrison

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press (a Westchester client publisher)

Why I can’t wait to read this book: I’m looking forward to reading this debut novel about a woman who spends the summer of 1938 at the famous Montauk Manor – a real and still operational resort – rubbing elbows with other high-society wives, while their husbands are conducting business in New York City, a hundred miles to the west and a world away. I grew up on “The Island” and though this story is set 80 years in the past, I’m curious to see what details the British born and bred author tucks into the story that are authentic to Long Island in general, and the East End in particular.

Selected by: Nicole Tomassi, Marketing & Conference Manager

These recent articles also offer up several good summer reading recommendations:

Publishers Weekly – Best Books – Summer Reads 2019

The New York Times Summer Books Preview

The Washington Post – The 20 Books to Read This Summer

And of course, you can also check out our list from last year!

May 22, 2019

Welcome to the Westchester Publishing Services Client Portal version 2019.C.05, now more user friendly and feature rich to improve your productivity as publications move through the workflow. And as always, our Client Portal is Free for Westchester client projects. Later this year, you will be able to use our Client Portal for publications you manage entirely in-house (certain conditions will apply).

Enhancements include:

Improved Dashboard Timeline
Enhanced UI Rollovers
Sortability
New Data Export Options
and added Upload/Download Capabilities

Contact us to learn more about how the Client Portal can help you better track and manage your editorial and production projects with Westchester.

New Client Portal Feature: “Priority” Star for Projects