The work of Ooligan Press is divided into different departments. Students who are enrolled in the Master’s of Book Publishing program at Portland State University participate in the departments for credit and experience. Students are either assigned to a department or are allowed to choose a department based upon their preference. Students may participate in as many departments as they want throughout the course of the program.
Acquisitions:
The Acquisitions department evaluates all book proposals, queries, and manuscripts sent to Ooligan Press. The department members decide which manuscripts to reject and which to pitch to the Executive Committee. Once the Executive Committee decides to acquire a manuscript, Acquisitions department members communicate with the author to negotiate the acquisition, answer the author’s questions, and deal with contract issues. There are two subgroups of the Acquisitions department: the In-House Projects side and the Solicited and Unsolicited Side. These subgroups focus on their specific projects and learn to deal with the unique aspects of these genres. While there are two parts to the department, members sit in only one meeting a week and can volunteer for projects for either side.
Design and Production:
In the Design and Production department, students are responsible for the physical shape and feel of the book. Students follow a project from manuscript to three-dimensional object, learning the intricacies of book design and production in a step-by-step manner. The department members examine manuscripts for challenges and creative opportunities and then make choices that will enhance the reading experience. They take book size and shape, typeface, paper weight, cover design, color, overall feel, and a myriad of other factors into account when making decisions. Students work in smaller groups to make all decisions, allowing individuals to use their personal experience and that of their peers within the safety of a laboratory and studio environment.
Digital Content:
The Digital Content department is responsible for converting Ooligan titles into e-books, preparing them for Google Book previews and the Look Inside feature on Amazon.com, maintaining the Ooligan website, and keeping up to date on the latest news about e-books, e-readers, and the rest of the digital publishing world. As the publishing industry changes, this group helps to push each Ooligan title one step further and remain interesting in a multimedia culture.
Editing:
The Editing department edits book manuscripts, press releases, and all material that goes into the public eye from Ooligan Press. Each book manuscript has a team lead who directs the project with a team of editors. The editors are on an “on-call” rotation schedule for editing material other than books (press releases, for example). This group works closely with the Acquisitions, Design, and Marketing teams, as well as with authors. The Book Editing class is required before joining this group as it provides a very strong skill base for manuscript editing.
External Promotions:
The External Promotions committee is responsible for promoting both the publishing program and Ooligan Press. The members seek out opportunities to focus the media’s attention on the unique aspects of Ooligan Press and the matchless opportunities available through the publishing program. The committee coordinates with and supports the efforts of the other departments. While External Promotions does not work on individual books, the projects in this department are vital for expanding Ooligan’s presence in the literary culture of Portland and across the country.
Marketing and Sales:
The Marketing department’s primary concern is making sure that Ooligan books are seen by the people who will buy them. This means setting up book tours, planning book launches, staffing the Ooligan booth at trade shows, doing market research, sending out press kits to the media, and anything else students can think of to get people reading Ooligan books. The Marketing group continues to work with every Ooligan title, even backlist titles, and therefore almost always needs extra hands.
The Sales portion of this department is responsible for driving sales of the books produced by Ooligan Press. They work closely with our distributor, Ingram, by developing special sales projects to target specific audiences. They provide follow-up for the Marketing department’s efforts.
Operations:
The Operations department is responsible for keeping the office running smoothly. Students check e-mails, take and fill book orders, keep track of the bookkeeping for Ooligan, file papers, keep the office neat, manage the bulletin board, run errands, make copies, send faxes, and take on other paper-management projects. The group members are not the decision makers for authors to go to. Decisions and contracts stop at the publishers desk—not ours.