The educational publishing scene continues to shift from paper materials. Leaders need to find a way to offset the decline in revenue from print products. To that end, a way to offset this loss from print products could be in digital product sales. Still, publishers shifting their team from a print-first workflow to a digital-first strategy takes strong leadership and time. Yet, the shift to digital textbooks will take years. Besides that, paper textbooks will not ever go away. As a result, leaders need a digital-first/print-second strategy. One of the first steps on this strategic path is to get a good authoring tool. Below are three ways a course authoring tool benefits the publishing team.
The digital product development process is improved
So, new authoring tools let the content writers begin with the digital product content first. Besides that, writing teams can create and design products in one place. Writers will be able to import legacy materials. Then, they edit with content updates, and they can export them for publication. The product workflow will be pushed by the authoring tool. This advantage lets editors lay down guard rails that the system enforces. To that end, the development process is faster.
A good authoring tool creates faster workflows
Likewise, leaders can see where products are at in the development cycle. Editors can review products through their desktops anytime, anywhere. Writers can pick up and work on digital products at any time. Also, contractors can be orientated on the new system. Leaders can use the tool to train new writers on dummy products. Best of all, writers and artists can team with educators to test the digital-first products before publication. Also, the digital-first strategy is more efficient.
An authoring tool makes the creation process efficient
Besides that, an all-in-one authoring tool lets teams create content that they know works in digital environments. Teams can reuse interactive content in other digital products. Still, authoring tools let teams make content that is for mobile, tablet, and web delivery. The flexible output capacities are integrated into the tool. Teams can test products on a variety of browsers as well. Best of all, authoring tools allow educational publishers to lift courses from one learning management system to another.
In sum, the educational publishing scene will continue to shift to a digital-first strategy. The shift from paper textbooks will continue to accelerate. Still, printed textbooks will have a place in the market. Educational publishers need a solution that meets the varied needs of the industry. A digital-first / print-second strategy will weather the market shift.
