Constellation Service Offering

Overview

  • Constellation is a set of digital services intended to enable Client publishers to participate widely in the emerging digital landscape at a cost balanced with the revenue potential of those digital opportunities.
  • It currently includes digital print services—both short print run (SPR) and print on demand (POD)—online content sampling services, e-Book sales and distribution, and a number of online marketing tools.
  • Constellation is designed to be flexible to allow Clients to tailor the services to their needs at a title level and partner and technology agnostic to extend reach.
  • In representing the needs of hundreds of independent publishers, Constellation is also intended to streamline the administrative burden for Clients and digital partners alike while enabling Clients to make more money from their digital efforts.
  • Clients may take advantage of any combination of the service offering components in which they have enrolled at a title level and, within each service offering component, may choose the vendors to which Constellation sends their files.
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How Does It Work?

  1. Constellation negotiates agreements on behalf of its Clients with the leading digital services vendors.
  2. Client chooses the digital services in which it would like to enroll and the vendors with which it would like to work and executes an addendum to its distribution agreement.
  3. Constellation makes available to the Client a customized web interface through which Client can manage title upload.
  4. To submit titles, Client logs into Constellation using its password protected Client log-on.
  5. Client reviews the auto-populated metadata associated with each title to be uploaded.
  6. Client indicates the vendors to which each title is to be sent.
  7. Client loads print-ready PDF into Constellation via drag & drop web interface or portable file transfer (CD, flash drive).***
  8. Constellation converts the files as necessary and distributes the content to the designated program partners.
  9. From time to time, Constellation adds digital partners and makes these new vendors available to its Clients.

***Constellation can assist in the digitization of backlist titles where files are not available.

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FAQ

  1. How do I enroll? Initial enrollment will take the form of an addendum to your distribution services agreement. The addendum will indicate the digital services in which you’d like to participate and will include a set of representations and warranties from you to the appropriate digital service providers (e.g., Amazon, Google, BN.com). Shortly after the addendum is fully executed, you will receive a logon and password to Constellation’s Digital Asset Management system.

    Make contact with your distribution services representative if you are interested in enrolling in one or more of the Constellation services. In the case of PGW, the contacts are Eric Kettunen and your client services manager; in the case of Consortium, the contact is Michael Cashin; and in the case of Perseus Distribution, the contact is Sarah Coglianese.
  2. What are my responsibilities as a participating Client publisher? Your chief responsibilities as a participating Client publisher are to identify which titles you’d like to put in which programs; to secure any rights you do not already have to display, distribute, and / or sell your content in digital form; to determine how you will price your digital content and compensate your authors where applicable; and to deliver your book files to Constellation.
  3. Do I have to sign a contract with each of the vendors? You do not have to sign a contract with each of the vendors: one of the primary purposes of Constellation is to take on that burden on your behalf, and in so doing secure a better deal collectively, at lower administrative cost, for all participating Client publishers. You will need to represent and warrant to our digital partners that you have the rights to display, distribute, and/or sell your content in digital form, but you will do so primarily via the enrollment process with Constellation. Certain vendors may require some additional paperwork; however, our hope and intent is to keep that paperwork to a minimum.
  4. What happens if I already have a contract with one or more of these vendors? Subject to certain nuances individual to each digital service provider, you will have the option to transition to Constellation’s agreement and service arrangements with that digital service provider or to continue with that partner under the terms of your own agreement.
  5. Will Constellation be adding any additional vendors to this program over time? Yes. As viable digital partners emerge, Constellation will be negotiating agreements with these vendors and making these new relationships available to Clients.
  6. When will these services be available? Staged rollout of all services is ongoing and will begin in earnest in September 2008. Constellation will simultaneously be implementing its Digital Asset Management system, so interim workarounds will be in place to bridge the gap between the launch of the service offerings and the availability of Client interfaces to the DAM. Full rollout of all services with supporting Client interfaces into Constellation’s Digital Asset Management system is expected to occur in the first calendar quarter of 2009.
  7. When do I pay for the various Constellation services, and when do I get paid for sales made through one of the digital programs? Generally speaking, you will see the deduction for any services on the statement for the month following the month of service. An exception to this rule is the cost associated with manufacturing POD books: those charges will appear on your statement when the corresponding sales do, according to the terms of your distribution agreement. Sales made via any of the Constellation programs follow the same cycle as the sales made for your printed books, subject to the reporting and payment cycle of the individual digital partners (some of these report and pay on a quarterly, rather than monthly, basis). Please refer to the illustrative chart below.
      Transaction Date Visible through Client Interface Month of Credit or Deduction Statement Date
    SPR - Manufacturing fees Books printed in August Receipt viewable within 8 hours September End of September / Beginning of October
    POD - Manufacturing fees Books sold in August N/A November End of November / Beginning of December
    e-Book - Conversion fees Books converted in August N/A September End of September / Beginning of October
    Constellation file load fee Book loaded into Constellation in August N/A September End of September / Beginning of October
  8. How will I manage my titles? Once Constellation’s Digital Asset Management system has been fully implemented, you will have a secure, individual login into the system from which you will be able to manage many functions associated with your digital title set (e.g., direct where an individual title will be sent, monitor the status of titles you have submitted, generate reports, etc.). For other needs, you will be able to reach out to your distribution services contact or a member of the Constellation team.
  9. How will I know my titles have been sent to my designated digital vendors? Where each title has been sent and when will be associated with that title’s record in the Digital Asset Management system. However, the Constellation team will also be sending a report on a weekly basis that summarizes which of your files were distributed that week.
  10. To whom do I address any questions I might have? Once enrolled in the program, you can go to your distribution contact or to a member of the Constellation team.
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