1. “Write once, read many”
Planning for, producing and
delivering content across multiple
platforms
December 6, 2012
@brianoleary

2. An overview of today’s discussion
“Why” tackle agile content? “How” to make content agile?
• What is agile content? • What are the benefits and
• Why do I need to know costs?
about it? • Where is the ROI?
• Will it go away? • How do I get started?
• Why is it relevant to my • What are the best ways to
association? save on implementation?
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3. So what is agile content?
• Content owners identify elements (the building blocks of
content) and define document structure
• Owners can customize elements to capture specific industry
structures or taxonomies
• Can vary the presentation of elements across multiple uses
A host of acronyms and related terms are explained in two
glossaries online at http://bit.ly/ahxDGi.
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4. The promise of agile workflows
• Far lower conversion costs for varied outputs
• Web-ready content to drive broader and more targeted
marketing efforts
• Tagged content that can be combined or chunked to create
new content offerings
• The opportunity to link rights and IP, lowering costs and
unlocking new revenue

5. Tagging (mark-up) defines structure and
separates content from design
Three linked
Traditional Print- elements;
Content Structure Design
Centric Approach one output
opportunity
Migrating to agile content
Content and
structure are
Content-Centric Content Structure Design linked; design is
Approach separate
Multiple output
opportunities
Adapted from work by David Young and Phil Madans, Hachette Books
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6. Disengaging design increases agility
Print (multiple
formats)
Structural
components of the
work are identified Digital book
Web page Multiple formats
Content Structure Design can be generated
Mobile from a single
source (file)
PDF
and connected to
the content
Aggregation
(e.g., annual
Syndication, “best of”
more publication…)
Adapted from work by David Young and Phil Madans, Hachette Books
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7. If you’ve tagged for structure, you can
also tag for context (meaning)
• Formats are supported by consistent tagging for structure
• All cross-platform content benefits from structural tagging
• Recombinant, aggregated, syndicated and searchable uses
rely on contextual tagging
• “Chunkable” or repurposed content benefits most from
contextual tagging
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8. Publishers must balance process
complexity with content agility
Starting point – agile content transition
“Write once, read
once” (single-
format delivery)
“Write once, read many”
(supporting multiple
formats and uses)
XML workflows Conventional workflows
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9. Is agile content a passing fad?
• Mark-up (tagging) is a core component of publishing
• XML and its predecessor, SGML, are three-plus decades old
• STM and journal publishers (some under association control)
were early adopters of SGML
• Recent growth in use of agile content among professional,
business and some consumer publishers
• To understand the need for agile content, we surveyed the
toughest audience we could find …
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10. Editors’ views on the need for agile content
• 100% noted some or a lot of problems with content storage
and retrieval
• 89% noted that additional formats take more work
• 71% plan for more than one use of content
• 62% get files back from printers to edit or update
• 53% think about chunking or recombining content
• No editor felt “everything was fine; no need to change”
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11. Core take-aways from our survey
• Almost everyone sees a value in cost-effectively supporting
more formats
• The ability to manage multiple formats is far from “under
control”
• Content storage and retrieval is art, not science
• Increasingly, publishers and editors are looking for the
flexibility and control that agile content can provide
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12. In a nutshell, if you need to…
• Reduce direct or indirect content costs …
• Improve content storage and retrieval …
• Support digital, POD or alternative print formats, or …
• Offer members more control over their content choices …
• Then agile content is relevant to your association
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13. Implementing agile: benefits vs. costs
• An investment in content agility requires advance planning
• It often leads to changes in processes, technologies and
organizational structures and roles
• Publishers must learn and apply new tools in new ways
• Different types of content forms benefit to greater or lesser
degrees from an investment in agile content
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14. Balance: the key to workflow changes

15. Estimating agile’s potential benefits
Many
Cookbooks
Religion (esp Bibles)
STM
Education
Business
Travel and
Association
tourism
Fictional series Reference Tests
“Chunks”
Travelogues
Historical fiction (opportunity to
capture people, places, events)
Scholarly
monographs
Few or Novels
none
Low Frequency of or potential for reuse High
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16. Estimating agile’s potential benefits
Many
Cookbooks
Religion (esp Bibles)
STM
Education
Business
Travel and
Association
tourism
Fictional series Reference Tests
“Chunks”
Travelogues
Historical fiction (opportunity to
capture people, places, events)
Scholarly
monographs
Few or Novels
none
Low Frequency of or potential for reuse High
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17. Agile solutions fall into three “buckets”
• Variety of editorial
• Variety of editorial • Wordpress
• Wordpress • Standard
• Standard
tools
tools transforms (“collect
transforms (“collect
Increasing cost or complexity
Increasing cost or complexity
• PressBooks
• PressBooks
• MS Word (2011)
• MS Word (2011) for print”)
for print”)
• Drupal
• Drupal
• InDesign/InCopy
• InDesign/InCopy • Custom transforms
• Custom transforms
• Outsourced DADs
• Outsourced DADs
• Sharepoint
• Sharepoint (codeMantra,
(codeMantra, • Proprietary
• Proprietary
Ingram, etc.)
Ingram, etc.) databases with real-
databases with real-
• Workflow solutions
• Workflow solutions time calls or
time calls or
(e.g., K4)
(e.g., K4) • In-house (e.g.
• In-house (e.g. periodic feeds
periodic feeds
MarkLogic)
MarkLogic)
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18. Cross-platform usually requires some new
tools
Content editors Post production tools Relevant technologies
XMLSpy XML Validators XML
StylusStudio DTD Validators XSLT
Dreamweaver Converters - XML to DTD XPath
EditiX Converters - DTD to XML XSL-FO
oXygen ESB DTD
XMLWriter eBook Readers XML Schemas
Liquid Etc… XML Namespaces
Adobe InDesign XQuery
Wordpress EPub
PressBooks PDF
RSS
Adapted from work by Steve Waldron, Klopotek NA

19. Managing and applying transforms
Why style sheets? They are the PDF,
PDF,
tool that makes “write once, read print
print
XSL-FO
many” possible …
XSL-FO
XSL-FO
POD
POD Large
Large
XSLT
print
print
XSLT XSLT
XSL-FO XSLT XSLT XSLT
Othe
Othe CSS Mobi
Mobi
r*
r* etc.
etc.
*Chunked, recombinant or
annotated content
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20. Style sheets lower per-page prep costs
Stylesheets
Simple = $550
Moderate = $1500
Complex = $2500
Highly complex = $5K - $10K
Composition
$.50 - $4.25
Adapted from work by Rebecca Goldthwaite, Cengage Learning
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21. The payoff is volume-related
Adapted from work by Rebecca Goldthwaite, Cengage Learning
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22. How do I obtain a return on my investment?
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23. 23

24. 24

25. 25

26. Content
aggregation
Custom
publishing
Digital
marketing
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27. 27

28. How do I get started?
Contracts & Production Production or Marketing &
Acquisition agreements Editorial editorial operations sales
Develop Integrate Confirm Work with Manage and Use tags to
author rights additional editors to tag apply help target
guidelines information downstream and “chunk” transforms audiences
with content uses
Implement Apply style Work with Content-
Word With authors, sheets solutions specific
templates tag for providers SEO/SEM
using XML meaning Implement
functionality and maintain Monitor
version search and
Keywords control keyword use
to inform
upstream
tagging
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29. Best ways to save on implementation
• Begin with the end in mind (plan first)
• Commit to sustained change over a period of time
• Remember that it’s not (just) about technology
Successful implementation starts with effective planning. Here
are five planning and seven implementation “best practices” to
keep in mind as you develop more agile content workflows.
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30. Begin with the end in mind …
Planning Implementation
 Establish and evaluate member  Obtain and maintain operating buy-
requirements in, support and dialogue
 Assess your processes across  Rank association benefits and
functions and handoffs measure progress openly
 Model both current (operational)  Plan for early wins, ideally spread
and future (strategic) benefits across multiple functions
 Solicit senior-level support for  Exploit the value of prototyping
sustained change
 Capture and share deep content
 Determine the point at which you knowledge
want to “start” being agile
 Foster and communicate objective
measurements
 Capitalize on the value of new,
downstream uses
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31. Commit to sustained change …
Planning Implementation
 Establish and evaluate member  Obtain and maintain operating buy-
requirements in, support and dialogue
 Assess your processes across  Rank association benefits and
functions and handoffs measure progress openly
 Model both current (operational)  Plan for early wins, ideally spread
and future (strategic) benefits across multiple functions
 Solicit senior-level support for  Exploit the value of prototyping
sustained change
 Capture and share deep content
 Determine the point at which you knowledge
want to “start” being agile
 Foster and communicate objective
measurements
 Capitalize on the value of new,
downstream uses
31

32. Remember that it’s not (just) about tech …
Planning Implementation
 Establish and evaluate member  Obtain and maintain operating buy-
requirements in, support and dialogue
 Assess your processes across  Rank association benefits and
functions and handoffs measure progress openly
 Model both current (operational)  Plan for early wins, ideally spread
and future (strategic) benefits across multiple functions
 Solicit senior-level support for  Exploit the value of prototyping
sustained change
 Capture and share deep content
 Determine the point at which you knowledge
want to “start” being agile
 Foster and communicate objective
measurements
 Capitalize on the value of new,
downstream uses
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33. Planning and implementation, by function
Bring the planning and
implementation
checklists to life: “What
do I need to know to
do this right?”
Provide examples of
what agile can do and
how to get started
Describe best and
emerging practices in
agile; provide skills and
arguments to help
convince others to
participate 33

34. So if you are looking to …
Goal Keep in mind
Repurpose • Tie plans back to pain points, where applicable
content
• Buy/develop XSLT and XSL-FO tools that can be shared, adapted
• Simplify: make content files that support multiple uses
Create related • Capture and share deep subject knowledge
“chunks”
• Prototype and test (make many small mistakes, not one big one)
• Test pricing where you can (not an agile suggestion, but …)
Create • Survey (be mindful that the expressed need may not be there)
expanded
• Engage both editors and membership staff (break down silos)
editions
Develop or use • To take advantage of app readers, ask for standards (typically
mobile apps HMTL5) and structure content so that it can be ported easily.
• For smaller associations, app development may not be a priority
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35. Other operational improvements
Goal Keep in mind
Improve internal • Catalog pain points (file maintenance, retrieval, versioning, etc.)
processes
• Be clear where tools help (versus workflow improvement alone)
• Focused projects: short or prototyped; senior and operating
support; look for early wins
Produce more • Figure out the formats first (POD, large print, etc.)
formats
• Buy, borrow or develop XSLT and XSL-FO tools that can be shared
or easily adapted
• Simplify: make XML files that support seamless downstream use
Streamline • Standard formats, particularly EPUB, exist
digital book
• If you need to support more than EPUB, buy, borrow or create
production
transforms that can be reused across titles
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36. Useful links
• http://bit.ly/ahxDGi (link to XML and related glossaries)
• http://www.idpf.org (standards, EPUB)
• brian.oleary@magellanmediapartners.com
• @brianoleary (Twitter)
• www.linkedin.com/in/brianfoleary (LinkedIn)
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