Administrative Tasks

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been sharing some of the things we do all day at Harpeth Road Press. When it comes to administrative tasks, there are so many little pieces-parts that have to get done that we couldn’t list them all, so we chose a few of the big ones to highlight today.

Title Upload Preparation

Before a digital title is uploaded, we spend time researching metadata elements specific to that author and their novel to ensure we have the correct data to support the novel upon publication. We also review the book’s retail description as well as the author’s bio. We optimize our various platforms, preparing the author and the novel for a digital launch. 

Research

We begin to apply our metadata research to our ads, and schedule them for publication. We write and send out email promotions, schedule author Q&A’s and scout out any promotional opportunities we can.

Future Planning

We begin planning future books by that author if possible and work upcoming books into our seasonal lists. We are also business planning, goal setting, and looking at numbers to ensure that our books have the best possible support they can get.

Legal

Making sure we follow the latest advice for copyright and usage for our online assets is at the forefront of everything we do. We work with our legal team to be sure all contracts, tools, social media, and our website are legally sound. We research best practices, correspond with our legal team, draft documents, and collaborate with other professionals in the business.

In-House Activities

We meet with our interns to be sure they’re getting the most out of their work with us, building their semester workload, and if necessary, providing their universities with everything they require as part of the internship. We collaborate with our interns and give them real-life opportunities to learn. We collaborate and correspond with our editorial assistant to be sure that things move along smoothly at the ground level. We research latest practices, write blog posts, and keep authors up to date.

Royalties

We work with our financial team (including our finance and tax professionals) to prepare quarterly royalties every three months. We compile reports from all retailers, organize earnings and monthly statements, and figure percentages for each author. We also complete a comprehensive royalty statement for every book and every author.

There you have it—25 things your publisher does all day! We hope you’ve enjoyed taking a peek behind the curtain to see some of the things we’re up to.