Degree Requirements

This course offers a broad overview of the publishing industry, from its origins in the 15th century to the very latest trends and key indicators. In completing this course, students will acquire a foundational understanding of the industry’s major sectors and categories: the roles of relationships between a range of publishing professionals and key business processes and practices, practical knowledge of which is essential for further, more specialized study.

This course will explore the various forms of editing, while paying particular attention to what editing professionals do, how, and why they do what they do matters, as well as where their skills can be applied in the editing profession. Students will learn and enhance editing skills such as proofreading, copyediting, fact-checking, indexing, and the use of style guides and other resources. Students will also learn about the day-to-day responsibilities and the challenges of working both “in-house” and as a freelancer.

Library and school markets for books aimed at young readers change under several factors including shifts in educational approaches, cultural developments, and social changes. This course explores the ideas related to how children’s books are defined, structured, and analyzed through the lenses of these affiliated with schools, libraries, and the general public. This course will also explore how these attitudes and practices have changed during the 20th and 21st centuries and how these attitudes and practices have affected publishers and the collections of schools and libraries.

This course is an introduction to the electronic tools necessary to function in the graphic design field. Industry standard software will be taught to create page layouts that incorporate scanning and illustration. Emphasis will be placed on work created as well as the mechanics of software.

This course guides students in the best practices of successful publishing professionals by focusing on two core skills that are crucial: industry research and professional peer-to-peer communication. Over the course of the term students will study examples of open questions in publishing, and they will join conversations (literal and figurative) with publishing professionals in order to better understand, or answer, these questions. Further, as students consider these questions and interact with publishing professionals, they will position themselves to be adequately prepared to begin work in GPP 7500 Publishing Thesis and GPP 7275 Publishing Internship.

In children’s books, the images and text must work together seamlessly to tell the whole story. In this class, students will develop a historical and artistic understanding of the illustrated book: how images enhance the story in terms of pacing, page-turning, anticipation, etc. Students will also learn more technical skills such as what it takes to succeed in the children’s book market, how to develop a character model sheet, and how to prepare a book-worthy dummy, among other skills.

This course will introduce students to the role of marketing within the children’s book publishing house. Students will learn the principles of successful marketing strategies – both print and online – as well as the fundamentals of product development, branding, and advertising across multiple channels in trade and school/library markets. Students will study the latest trends in children’s publishing along with successful marketing campaigns.

The terms Developmental Editor or Acquisitions Editor lead to a common misconception that there are only two editorial behaviors: fixing manuscripts and saying “yes” or “no” to a manuscript. In reality, the editorial process is complex. Editors manage the expectations (and frustrations) of individuals both up and down the production chain, from authors and agents to senior editors and imprint directors. Editorial work means managing resources, managing people, staying informed, researching, communicating clearly and persuasively, using data to make informed decisions, and performing other tasks to help projects succeed. Through readings, discussions, and projects, students will learn terms and skills that will allow them to better perform a range of editorial duties in book publishing.

This is an on-the-job experience in a commercial publishing environment that offers training in a variety of editorial, production, or marketing areas. Participation is supervised by a publishing professional from the host publishing organization and by a faculty advisor.

Students may obtain internships at any point during their academic career; however, only those students who have successfully completed 18 credits with a 3.0 GPA or higher are eligible to receive academic credit for an internship. Students may only receive a total of 3 credits for an internship.

In children’s books, the images and text must work together seamlessly to tell the whole story. In this class, students will develop a historical and artistic understanding of the illustrated book – how images enhance the story in terms of pacing, page-turning, anticipation, etc. Students will also learn more technical skills such as what it takes to succeed in the children’s book market, how to develop a character model sheet, and how to prepare a book worthy dummy.

This course will introduce students to the role of marketing within the children’s book publishing house. Students will learn the principles of successful marketing strategies – both print and online – as well as the fundamentals of product development, branding, and advertising across multiple channels in trade and school/library markets. Students will study the latest trends in children’s publishing along with successful marketing campaigns.

 With the popularity and widespread use of social media, branding has become easier and yet more complicated. In this class, students will focus on using various digital platforms to effectively build a brand in order to better understand the concepts behind branding, the components of a brand, and how publishers and others use contemporary digital platforms to construct, maintain, and adapt their brands.

 Philadelphia and its surrounding region are home to many public and private research institutions in medicine and other fields, and this reality positions the city as a hub for academic and research journal publishers. The publishing of journals differs from magazine and book publishing in several ways, and this course provides an overview of journal publishing to explain those differences and prepare students to work in this sector of the publishing industry. Various administrative roles key to journal publishing are also explained: editorial, production, marketing, sales, and the positions within these roles. This course also looks at recent sector changes and how those changes suggest the industry’s future.

This is an on-the-job experience in a commercial publishing environment that offers training in a variety of editorial, production, or marketing areas. Participation is supervised by a publishing professional from the host publishing organization and by a faculty advisor.

Students may obtain internships at any point during their academic career; however, only those students who have successfully completed 18 credits with a 3.0 GPA or higher are eligible to receive academic credit for an internship. Students may only receive a total of 3 credits for an internship.

The Literary Agent plays a crucial role in the book publishing industry as the liaison between the author and the publishing house. A successful literary agent must have the ability to seek out and recognize good quality and marketable book content, and a judicious editorial eye to help authors craft successful proposals and manuscripts.

The agent must also build and maintain a strong network with editors in various publishing categories, and serve as an advocate and sales agent on behalf of their author clients. Agents conduct sales, negotiate contracts, and then mentor the fulfillment of contractual negotiations, including handling financial issues and subsidiary rights. In this changing era of book publishing, authors rely heavily on literary agents to shepherd them through the publishing process.

The terms Developmental Editor or Acquisitions Editor lead to a common misconception that there are only two editorial behaviors: fixing manuscripts and saying “yes” or “no” to a manuscript. In reality, the editorial process is complex. Editors manage the expectations (and frustrations) of individuals both up and down the production chain, from authors and agents to senior editors and imprint directors. Editorial work means managing resources, managing people, staying informed, researching, communicating clearly and persuasively, using data to make informed decisions, and performing other tasks to help projects succeed. Through readings, discussions, and projects, students will learn terms and skills that will allow them to better perform a range of editorial duties in book publishing.

Philadelphia and its surrounding region are home to many public and private research institutions in medicine and other fields, and this reality positions the city as a hub for academic and research journal publishers. The publishing of journals differs from magazine and book publishing in several ways, and this course provides an overview of journal publishing to explain those differences and prepare students to work in this sector of the publishing industry. Various administrative roles key to journal publishing are also explained: editorial, production, marketing, sales, and the positions within these roles. This course also looks at recent sector changes and how those changes suggest the industry’s future.

SMALL PRESS PRACTICES This course will give students hands-on experience in running a small publishing company. Through the course, students will follow the stages of publishing a book from acquisition, editorial, layout, design, promotion, marketing, and distribution. Students will publish a book available to the public. Students will establish and manage a small "break even" or better budget.

This is an on-the-job experience in a commercial publishing environment that offers training in a variety of editorial, production, or marketing areas. Participation is supervised by a publishing professional from the host publishing organization and by a faculty advisor.

Students may obtain internships at any point during their academic career; however, only those students who have successfully completed 18 credits with a 3.0 GPA or higher are eligible to receive academic credit for an internship. Students may only receive a total of 3 credits for an internship.