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A Day In The Life of a Print on Demand Publisher
 The working day starts early for Debbie Jenkins. She's usually up at 7.30am and by 8.30 she has already cleared her urgent email. Email often includes bulk orders from authors, journalists requesting review copies of new titles and project related email from authors who currently have a book in progress.
Once her first pass of email is done she'll have a light breakfast, some freshly brewed coffee and take her dogs, Dani and Fuggles, for an hour-long walk in the hills and valleys surrounding her Spanish home. Debbie says, "Being able to live and work in such a beautiful part of the world was only made possible through this publishing business. I have no urgent meetings and no morning commute - so I don't feel guilty at all about spending an hour with my dogs where I can sort out my priorities for the day ahead."
Once she's showered and changed she'll often take her laptop to the front porch to take in the view and work in the fresh air. She will then have a quick telephone catchup (which is free using Skype) with her business partner (who's also her brother) in the UK to discuss priorities, new books and marketing campaigns. During the next hour or so she'll log onto the printer's system, handle bulk orders, dispatch review copies of books and send out invoices.
Debbie then makes time to prepare a healthy fresh lunch from mainly local ingredients from the nearby village and surrounding countryside and then eat. Debbie says, "It used to be hard to find the time for anything more than a sandwich when I was running the marketing consultancy in the UK - but now I have the time to prepare and eat proper food. Once a week we'll even head into town with my husband Marcus to have a hearty 3-course lunch."
If there is a book in progress then the afternoon is usually spent editing or proofing books, approving cover artwork and getting in touch with the author to remind them of timescales and to check progress on things like testimonials and other outstanding content. Debbie says, "My brother Joe handles cover design and typesetting and we share the copy editing and proofing roles depending upon the type of book. If I was running the business alone then I would handle book covers and formatting more systematically - or outsource them for a small fee."
As the end of the day approaches - typically 5.00pm - Debbie will again log into the printer's system, check the number of sales made and send any final emails before finishing up, walking the dogs before heading down into the local village with Marcus to spend time with her friendly neighbours or driving into Murcia city for a nice meal.
At the weekend Debbie and her husband enjoy scuba diving, geocaching and other pursuits including painting. They are often also entertaining friends, family and neighbours or tending their olive and almond trees.
DAILY/WEEKLY
- Check email for press enquiries
- Check the post - mostly for cheques!
- Send review copies of books to journalists requesting them
- Deal with direct bulk orders from authors using online system
- Raise and send invoices for bulk orders
- Write/approve new book press release and send to appropriate press contacts
- Book project: copyediting, cover design, author supervision etc.
MONTHLY
- Calculate and pay author royalties
- Pay printer/distributor for bulk orders
- Review month's income/profit and summarise for accounts
- Pay self and overheads (should just be phone, internet and insurance)
- Email authors and encourage them to do some more direct promotion
YEARLY
- Send year-end accounts to accountant
- Renew contracts up for review (every 3-5 years)
- Review success of individual authors/books
- Plan Business Strategy - to decide list and campaigns for the following year
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