What You Need To Know To Get Started Essential Tools of an XML Workflow

Topics We’ll Cover Steps before implementation Workflow throughout the organization Common tools of a publishing workflow Tagging – what it is and how to do it XML Functions – the acronyms

Steps before implementation

Workflow throughout the organization

Common tools of a publishing workflow

Tagging – what it is and how to do it

XML Functions – the acronyms

Steps Before Implementation

Where Are You? Existing IT infrastructure Strengths Weaknesses Company’s appetite for change Corporate approach to purchasing Scalability Output What are you going to be producing? How much?

Existing IT infrastructure

Strengths

Weaknesses

Company’s appetite for change

Corporate approach to purchasing

Scalability

Output

What are you going to be producing?

How much?

Some questions to ask Is our database of products and components complete? Do we have any issues with versioning? How effective are we at meeting internal or external deadlines? Do we face any issues related to content quality? How effective are we when it comes to retrieving book content files? Who holds the PDFs and production files, and is this working well? How often and how effectively do we use content to market or sell titles? How effectively can we publish in new or non-standard formats?

Is our database of products and components complete?

Do we have any issues with versioning?

How effective are we at meeting internal or external deadlines?

Do we face any issues related to content quality?

How effective are we when it comes to retrieving book content files?

Who holds the PDFs and production files, and is this working well?

How often and how effectively do we use content to market or sell titles?

How effectively can we publish in new or non-standard formats?

Workflow Throughout the Organization

Sample XML Workflow

Authors Most currently use Word Most publishers have author guidelines Word has XML functionality – incorporate this into the guidelines or revise guidelines to include XML editor Supply a list of keywords for the book Supply a list of keywords for each chapter Work with editor to tag and “chunk”

Most currently use Word

Most publishers have author guidelines

Word has XML functionality – incorporate this into the guidelines or revise guidelines to include XML editor

Supply a list of keywords for the book

Supply a list of keywords for each chapter

Work with editor to tag and “chunk”

Acquiring Editors Decide whether the book should exist just as a print product, or can be repurposed into other products Ebooks, chapters, iterative publications (O’Reilly’s Rough Cuts), excerpts

Decide whether the book should exist just as a print product, or can be repurposed into other products

Ebooks, chapters, iterative publications (O’Reilly’s Rough Cuts), excerpts

Developmental Editors Tagging content for meaning/context (work with author and copy editor) Confirming best use of content for acquiring editor’s additional products Enforcing author guidelines Product management of title

Tagging content for meaning/context (work with author and copy editor)

Confirming best use of content for acquiring editor’s additional products

Enforcing author guidelines

Product management of title

Production XML workflow is very concrete Tagging for format – chapter head, front matter, etc. Apply a pre-defined stylesheet and transform Work with compositor and render the different products

XML workflow is very concrete

Tagging for format – chapter head, front matter, etc.

Apply a pre-defined stylesheet and transform

Work with compositor and render the different products

Marketing Target specific audiences for the content (based on the context tags) Work with acquiring and developmental editors to create new products Work with production to design new packages SEO/SEM on individual books so that they come up in search results (Google)

Target specific audiences for the content (based on the context tags)

Work with acquiring and developmental editors to create new products

Work with production to design new packages

SEO/SEM on individual books so that they come up in search results (Google)

Subrights Rights information stored with the content, not in separate files You know by looking at the XML for any document which rights you have No more digging through files or contacting the agent/author

Rights information stored with the content, not in separate files

You know by looking at the XML for any document which rights you have

No more digging through files or contacting the agent/author

What’s In Your Toolbox?

Common Tools of Publishing Workflow Word processing (authors and editors) Design (stylesheets, transforms) ERP systems Title management DAM Conversion DAD

Word processing (authors and editors)

Design (stylesheets, transforms)

ERP systems

Title management

DAM

Conversion

DAD

Word Processing MS Word 2007 Has XML export functionality Most commonly used word processor/people are used to it Not writing in native XML means exports are inconsistent due to conversion Open Office – XXE Native XML word processor Learning curve on interface Requires you to know your doc’s structure before writing its content Eliminates conversion issues – docs are tagged appropriately at the outset

MS Word 2007

Has XML export functionality

Most commonly used word processor/people are used to it

Not writing in native XML means exports are inconsistent due to conversion

Open Office – XXE

Native XML word processor

Learning curve on interface

Requires you to know your doc’s structure before writing its content

Eliminates conversion issues – docs are tagged appropriately at the outset

Design Adobe InDesign Create or import tag taxonomy in InDesign Use those tags to distinguish various attributes or elements in the doc Edit XML structure within InDesign Export an XML file Quark Similar functionality to InDesign Less used in book publishing than InDesign Open Source options Not a lot out there just now for production/design use

Adobe InDesign

Create or import tag taxonomy in InDesign

Use those tags to distinguish various attributes or elements in the doc

Edit XML structure within InDesign

Export an XML file

Quark

Similar functionality to InDesign

Less used in book publishing than InDesign

Open Source options

Not a lot out there just now for production/design use

Third-Party Systems ERP – finance, inventory Title Management – production workflows, budgeting, marketing DAM – digital asset management DAD – digital asset distribution

ERP – finance, inventory

Title Management – production workflows, budgeting, marketing

DAM – digital asset management

DAD – digital asset distribution

What it is and How to do it Tagging

Tag: You’re It Formatting tags Chapter heads Subtitles Section heads Context tags “ This is a recipe” “ This is about John Adams” Similar to indexing

Formatting tags

Chapter heads

Subtitles

Section heads

Context tags

“ This is a recipe”

“ This is about John Adams”

Similar to indexing

Who Tags What When Authors – contextual keywords Editors – contextual keywords, structural elements Production/Design – structural elements Marketing – SEO keywords, marketing terms Subrights – rights metadata and tags

Authors – contextual keywords

Editors – contextual keywords, structural elements

Production/Design – structural elements

Marketing – SEO keywords, marketing terms

Subrights – rights metadata and tags

How to Tag Carefully No standard tagging interface exists yet – must do in native XML (can be outsourced with lists) No standard contextual tagging taxonomy (apart from BISAC categories) exists yet No industry standard contextual taxonomy exists for chunk-level tagging Consensually Talk with other pubs about what they are doing No one publisher will have the single solution Industry standards make books sale-able – without them, pubs have to rely on viral sales Book Industry Study Group will have to get involved

Carefully

No standard tagging interface exists yet – must do in native XML (can be outsourced with lists)

No standard contextual tagging taxonomy (apart from BISAC categories) exists yet

No industry standard contextual taxonomy exists for chunk-level tagging

Consensually

Talk with other pubs about what they are doing

No one publisher will have the single solution

Industry standards make books sale-able – without them, pubs have to rely on viral sales

Book Industry Study Group will have to get involved

The acronyms and gibberish Alphabet Soup

XML Functions XPATH XQUERY XSLT XSL-FO Schematron

XPATH

XQUERY

XSLT

XSL-FO

Schematron

XPATH Query language that selects certain nodes or tags from an XML document Ex: if a user wants to display only the chapter elements in a document, the XPath query goes through the document and selects only the chapter elements for display, leaving the rest of the document alone. A way of navigating through an XML document and filtering what is not relevant at that particular time.

Query language that selects certain nodes or tags from an XML document

Ex: if a user wants to display only the chapter elements in a document, the XPath query goes through the document and selects only the chapter elements for display, leaving the rest of the document alone.

A way of navigating through an XML document and filtering what is not relevant at that particular time.

XQuery A query language for collections of XML documents in a repository (as opposed to querying a single document) Uses XPath syntax, as well as some SQL-type syntax to supplement Crawls through multiple documents and selects particular attributes for display – useful for combining aspects of documents together to form new documents

A query language for collections of XML documents in a repository (as opposed to querying a single document)

Uses XPath syntax, as well as some SQL-type syntax to supplement

Crawls through multiple documents and selects particular attributes for display – useful for combining aspects of documents together to form new documents

XSLT Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations Translates an XML document into a human-readable document (or another XML document). Used as a conversion tool between different XML schemas Also a way of converting an XML document into an HTML or plain-text document Uses XPath to identify certain tags and process them a specific way.

Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations

Translates an XML document into a human-readable document (or another XML document).

Used as a conversion tool between different XML schemas

Also a way of converting an XML document into an HTML or plain-text document

Uses XPath to identify certain tags and process them a specific way.

XSL-FO A stylesheet language for formatting objects Like XSLT and XPath, it is a component of XSL – Extensible Stylesheet Language Is most often used to generate PDFs, which are then used to print documents onto paper Was designed to format printed, paged media, as opposed to screen-based reflowable media

A stylesheet language for formatting objects

Like XSLT and XPath, it is a component of XSL – Extensible Stylesheet Language

Is most often used to generate PDFs, which are then used to print documents onto paper

Was designed to format printed, paged media, as opposed to screen-based reflowable media

Schematron A validation language that uses XPath to describe patterns in an XML document Supplements DTDs and XML schemas, and ferrets out errors in XML files Schematron rules can be converted into style sheets, making the construction of XSLs much more automated

A validation language that uses XPath to describe patterns in an XML document

Supplements DTDs and XML schemas, and ferrets out errors in XML files

Schematron rules can be converted into style sheets, making the construction of XSLs much more automated

Useful Links TOC/StartWithXML – http://toc.oreilly.com/startwithxml Book Industry Study Group – http://www.bisg.org Free newsletter, “The Big Picture” – http://www.ljndawson.com/The_Big_Picture/Newsletter_Subscription/ Email me w/questions – [email_address]

TOC/StartWithXML – http://toc.oreilly.com/startwithxml

Book Industry Study Group – http://www.bisg.org

Free newsletter, “The Big Picture” – http://www.ljndawson.com/The_Big_Picture/Newsletter_Subscription/

Email me w/questions – [email_address]