The pandemic took the book publishing industry by surprise, emphasizing the need for resilient business practices to be in place before a crisis hits.
David Hetherington, Vice President of Global Business Development at Books International—a leading provider of US and international book manufacturing, print, and digital distribution services—was originally scheduled to speak at the 2024 Publishing Innovation Forum about building resilient business practices. Although unable to attend, he instead joined us on the BookSmarts Podcastto share his insights.
With over four decades of experience in publishing, David offered valuable advice on proactive planning, identifying potential risks, and fostering relationships that help build resilience. Here’s a look at some highlights from his conversation:
What events should publishers be planning for?
My advice to publishers would be to start thinking about what the implications are for your business after the US election, as there could be some dramatic changes in the publishing landscape that I think few publishers are really giving much attention to.
For example, consider the implications of the Chinese hostilities with Taiwan for the book publishing business. What’s going to happen to publishers who rely on Asian manufacturers in the event of a war between the Chinese and the Taiwan, or the Chinese and the United States? President-elect Trump is talking about 20% tariffs so what does that do to the economics of kids books?
There’s a whole raft of things that could happen that I think are worth giving some thought to.
What do you think publishers should be doing to address potential risks?
One of the things that I urge publishers to do right now is to focus their time and effort on making sure that they’re managing their cash resources effectively. For example, if you’re a small publisher with half a million dollars in receivables and you’re expecting that check to come in. Well, what happens if that check doesn’t come; how are you going to pay your people?
Also, the number of book manufacturers in the US is shrinking and it’s becoming much harder for them to make profit. So publishers should consider what’s going to happen if that manufacturer they have a commercial relationship with decides to go out of business.
What lessons have we learned from past events that may help with future planning?
It’s a very good idea to invest in relationship building. At Books International during the paper crisis, we found a whole raft of friends we never knew we had until it hit the fan and people were looking for paper or press time. That’s not the time to build relationships. Now is the time to build, nurture, and pay attention to those relationships.
You don’t want to be building friendships when you need to; you want to have those relationships built in advance.
What is the first thing publishers should do in the midst of an unexpected crisis?
My first piece of advice would be to examine your supply chain and consider what might possibly go wrong and how you can protect yourself. I would encourage publishers to shorten their supply chain because the longer your supply chain is, the more links there are, and there is inherently more risk.
What other advice do you have for publishers?
I would encourage publishers to pay attention to the elements of your environment that could have an effect on your business. When you see a front page article in the New York Times that enrollments in higher education are down by 5%, that, to me, is something to pay attention to. It says you should be thinking about what the implications are for your print quantities.
The core of David’s message is proactive resilience: anticipating potential risks and taking steps before they become necessary. Publishers should remain vigilant about potential crises and consider the political and economic developments that could impact their business.
Remember…
“If it can go wrong, the odds are it will go wrong.”
For more insights, tune into the BookSmarts Podcast episode for David Hetherington’s full discussion on how to build resilient business strategies. David will be attending the Association of Catholic Publishers event in April and participating in an upcoming BISG webinar on managing through future crises.
If you have questions for David, he can be reached via email at d.hetherington@booksintl.com.