ACP Publishing 101

ACP’s Publishing 101 Webinar series shares publishing knowledge and practices for new publishers, junior staff, and senior professionals at publishing companies—anyone working in the industry interested in learning more about the business side of publishing. Publishing 101 aims to be approachable, provide expertise from trusted sources within the industry, and extend professional development opportunities beyond ACP's usual general meetings. The series also provides a forum for fledgling industry professionals to discuss their own experiences and perspectives.

Registrants provided questions to help structure each presentation, and discussion questions were asked live. Below are archived recordings of the presentations and Q&A discussions. These recordings are now reserved for ACP members and will be distributed as part of the next Publishing 101 series. If you are staff at an ACP member firm or a previous Publishing 101 participant and would like to request access, please contact ACP at the email below. Copies of each session's captions or Communications Access Realtime Translations (CART) are also linked below each video. Thank you to The Captioning Group for providing this service.

More information is available on ACP's website.

If you have any difficulties accessing the recordings, please contact admin@canbook.org for further assistance.

Let’s Make a Book, 101: Editing, Art Direction, and Creator Relationships 

Session Leads: Rachel Page (Orca), Jen Knoch (ECW), Naseem Hrab (Kids Can)

The magic of book making is often why we want to get into this business in the first place. We want to play a part in bringing stories into the world that will touch and inspire. But getting cozy with a manuscript and a red pen is just a small fraction of what editors do. Join our presenters as they talk about what editors and art directors really spend their time on, and about the art of building and maintaining relationships with authors and illustrators.

Originally recorded on Wednesday, October 29, 2025.

Caption document of this recording is available here.

Logistics 101: Sales, Distribution, Marketing, and Publicity

Session Lead: Lauren Perruzza (LPG)

So, you've made the book. Now what? How do you get it out there and onto bookstore and library shelves, and into the hands of readers? What are the steps to take, and in what order? And what professional collaborations do you need to put in place to make all that happen? Lauren Perruzza, Executive Director of the Literary Press Group, is here to break down the jargon and walk you through those next steps, one piece at a time.

 
Originally recorded on Wednesday, November 5, 2025.

Caption document of this recording is available here.

Publishing Math, Part 1

Session Leads: Alexander Finbow (Renegade Arts Entertainment), Glenn Rollans (Brush Education) 

Startup capital, funding, advances, overheads, cash flow . What are all the pieces, and how do they f it together? How do you tell which projects would make a good investment? What do you need to have in place from the beginning to increase your chances of running a sustainable company? Alexander Finbow and Glenn Rollans will take us back to the basics in this seminar that will leave each participant with a worksheet to complete before attending Publishing Math: Part 2. 

 
Originally recorded on Wednesday, November 12, 2025.

Caption document of this recording is available here.

Publishing Math, Part 2

Session Leads: Alexander Finbow (Renegade Arts Entertainment), Glenn Rollans (Brush Education) 

You’ve learned about editing, sales and marketing, distribution, and managing creator relationships (and expectations). You've gotten a crash course in all the financial pieces. Now come back with your completed worksheet to dig deeper into figuring out how to give yourself a better chance to make your publishing business viable. 

 
Originally recorded on Wednesday, November 19, 2025.

Caption document of this recording is available here.

Alternative Beginnings

Session Leads: Alexander Finbow (Renegade Arts Entertainment)

Congratulations! You made it through the four-week crash course to the publishing industry. You now have an overview of the industry, and hopefully you have at least the beginning of an idea of how and where your potential publishing company fits in. You have a financial plan (or at least, you're on your way towards developing one). You're an expert now, and you're ready to set things up. But wait: are there different approaches to make things easier? Less financially risky? Is there a way to start that leaves you feeling less like Nemo, lost in the ocean, and more like a sea tortoise, with a map and a network? Join Alexander Finbow for one last session as he discusses some alternative business models to consider when entering the publishing sector. 

 
Originally recorded on Wednesday, November 26, 2025.

Caption document of this recording is available here.

Time Management for Small-to-Medium Presses

Session Lead: Kelsey Attard,  Freehand Books
Originally recorded on Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Caption document of this recording is available here.

Financial Management

Session Lead: Aymen Saidane, ECW Press
Originally recorded on Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Caption document of this recording is available here.

Best Practices for Human Resources

Session Lead: Andrew Martin, Lancaster House
Originally recorded on Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Caption document of this recording is available here.

The Ins and Outs of Book Design

Session Leads: Natalie Olsen (KissCut Design) and Sam Tse
Originally recorded on Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Caption document of this recording is available here.

Navigating the Editor-Author Relationship

Session Lead: Fazeela Jiwa, Fernwood Publishing
Originally recorded on Thursday, November 9, 2023 — 12:00 – 1:30 pm EST

Caption document of this recording is available here.

The Story of 3,000 Random Numbers: Introduction to Inventory Management

Session Lead: Jason Farrell, University of Toronto Press
Originally recorded on Thursday, November 16, 2023 — 2:00 – 3:30 pm EST

Caption document of this recording is available here.

Direct-to-Consumer Sales

Session Lead: Leigh Nash, Assembly Press
Originally recorded on Thursday, November 23, 2022 — 2:00 – 3:30 pm EST

Caption document of this recording is available here.

Publishing Contracts in Detail

Session Leads: Grace Westcott (Westcott Law), Glenn Rollans (Brush Education Inc.)
Originally recorded on Thursday, November 3, 2022 — 1:00 – 2:30 pm EDT

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) document of this recording is available here.

Digital Book Conversions and Accessible eBook Production

Session Lead: Jen R. Albert (ECW Press)
Originally recorded on Thursday, November 10, 2022 — 1:00 – 2:30 pm EST

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) document of this recording is available here.

Metadata I: Basic Terms and Creation

Session Leads: Tom Richardson (BookNet Canada), Brendan Ouellette (Annick Press)
Originally recorded on Thursday, November 17, 2022 — 1:00 – 2:30 pm EST

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) document of this recording is available here.

Metadata II: Sales, Distribution, and Marketing

Session Leads: Amanda Lee, Brendan Ouellette (Annick Press)
Originally recorded on Thursday, November 24, 2022 — 1:00 – 2:30 pm EST

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) document of this recording is available here.

Publishing and Editorial: from strategy to the day-to-day

Session Lead: Karen Boersma, Publisher (Owlkids Books)
Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) document of this recording is available here.

2021 Q&A Discussion 

Session Lead: Karen Boersma, Publisher (Owlkids Books)
Date: Thursday, October 28, 2021

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) document of this recording is available here.

Contracts & Royalties

Session Lead: Matt Williams, Vice President, Operations (House of Anansi Press / Groundwood Books)
Date: Tuesday, October 27, 2020 

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) document of this recording is available here.

2021 Q&A Discussion 

Session Lead: Matt Williams, Vice-President, Operations (House of Anansi / Groundwood Books)
Date: Thursday, November 4, 2021

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) document of this recording is available here.

Financial Forecasting and Management in Book Publishing

Session Lead: Glenn Rollans, President and Publisher (Brush Education Inc.)
Date: Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) document of this recording is available here.

2021 Q&A Discussion 

Session Lead: Glenn Rollans, President and Publisher (Brush Education Inc.)
Date: Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) document of this recording is available here.

Book Marketing: the long path to putting a book into a reader’s hands 

Session Lead: Judy Brunsek, Director of Sales & Marketing (Owlkids Books)
Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) document of this recording is available here.

2021 Q&A Discussion 

Session Lead: Judy Brunsek, Director of Sales & Marketing (Owlkids Books)
Date: Thursday, November 25, 2021

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) document of this recording is available here.

Rights & Licensing: spreading the word(s) around the world 

Session Lead: Judy Brunsek, Director of Sales & Marketing (Owlkids Books)
Date: Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) document of this recording is available here.

2021 Q&A Discussion 

Session Lead: Judy Brunsek, Director of Sales & Marketing (Owlkids Books)
Date: Thursday, December 2, 2021

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) document of this recording is available here.

Distribution, Inventory Management, US Sales, and Workflow: the nitty gritty of metadata, logistics and workflow 

Session Lead: Margaret Bryant, Sales Director (Orca Book Publishers)
Date: Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) document of this recording is available here.

2021 Q&A Discussion 

Session Lead: Margaret Bryant, Sales Director (Orca Book Publishers)
Date: Thursday, November 18, 2021

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) document of this recording is available here.

Sales and Marketing in Canada from a Sales Rep’s Perspective: Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Session Lead: Saffron Beckwith, President (Ampersand Inc.)
Date: Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) document of this recording is available here.

2021 Q&A Discussion 

Session Lead: Saffron Beckwith, President (Ampersand Inc.)
Date: Thursday, December 9, 2021

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) document of this recording is available here.