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Jamie Hood: Production manager, academic

Out of House Publishing has grown since we started in 2007, and an increasing list of publishers coupled with changing demands and expectations means that my role is rarely the same from one year to the next. As Production Manager it is my job to ensure we have the resources in place to meet the high standards expected of us by every one of our clients, and to offer support to our wonderful team of project managers.

It seems a long time since we were only concerned with the printed book. At Out of House we have always run an XML-first workflow where required, something that has stood us in good stead as the need for XML and for ebooks has increased. This has affected not only how we must think about the individual printed page and how this might look in another format, but also book production as a whole as we integrate ebooks into a previously print-production workflow.

Having been with Out of House since the beginning, it’s been a great experience to have helped set up the production workflows, something we have to constantly monitor and adapt. Indeed, we encourage all those working with us to provide feedback and suggestions that can help production run smoothly – from project managers to freelance editors to typesetters. Having input into the way we operate is one of the aspects of my role that I value the most, and has helped further my own understanding of book production.

Ultimately, we want both happy publishers and happy authors, and seeing the positive feedback we regularly receive makes me proud not only of where we are now but also how far we have come.