For the last decade, the Old Vic theatre in London has managed once a year to write, cast, rehearse and put on a play in 24 hours. A single day to do everything.
The script is written overnight… the play is rehearsed through the day… the performance is in the evening. Simple!
It set us to thinking… what would a 24-hour TGBC production of a book look like? Would it be possible for us to take a book from idea to print in a single day? Here’s what might happen…
7:00 AM
Editorial team gather to brainstorm idea for a short book; agree the concept; work up a proposal.
Coffee machine switched on; extra strong coffee ordered.
8:00 AM
New Manuscript Meeting: Commercial Director and senior editorial staff discuss proposal, finetune it, and approve it.
8:30 AM
Editorial Project Manager (PM) appointed. Writing begins.
9:00 AM
Publishing meeting. PM, Commercial Director and Print Buyer agree print run, launch date (ie: tomorrow!), page extent, page size, page quality, and price of book.
9:30 AM
PM sends Design Brief for cover and page design to Creative Director, Commercial Director and US Ministry Director for feedback.
10:00 AM
Marketing meeting. PM briefs Marketing team, including US marketing (who are in the office at 5am their time), who then agree global promotional approach.
Print buyer gets quotes from printers for 12-hour-turnaround price.
Creative Brief amended, approved and given to Head of Design to begin design process.
13:00 PM
Writing finished. PM begins to edit.
AV editor films author(s) in the film studio for promo trailer.
15:00 PM
Design finish page layout design.
Editing finished; member of editorial begins layout.
Sketch meeting. Head of Design presents possible cover routes to Creative Director, Commercial Director and PM. Cover route agreed.
17:00 PM
Laid out document given to proofreader.
Covers meeting. Head of Design presents worked-up cover to Creative Director, Commercial Director and PM. Tweaks agreed—Design department implement any changes.
Trailer edit finished—Commercial Director approves it, and it goes live.
Marketing emails sent worldwide.
18:00 PM
Corrections into layout. Pdf of internals created.
Cover finished and approved by Creative Director; blurb on back written.
Ebook version created.
Admin team briefed on the book—who it’s for, what it does, why it’s great—ready for phone sales the next day.
19:00 PM
Creative Director approves final version of cover and internals; Print Buyer sends the book to the printers.
19:15 PM
Everyone, exhausted, goes home.
07:00 AM
Book delivered to UK and US warehouses. Available for sale on TGBC websites and for advance purchase on Amazon and from bookshops.
That’s how we would/could do a book from zero to publication in 24 hours. It would require us to do the writing in just four and a half hours, editing to take only 2, and the whole design process to last just 8 hours! It would be an exhausting, marathon day—but if the Old Vic can do a play in that time, maybe one day TGBC will do a book…
Carl is Editorial Director at The Good Book Company and is a member of Grace Church Worcester Park, London. He is the best-selling author of The Garden, the Curtain and the Cross and God's Big Promises Bible Storybook, and also serves as series editor of the God's Word for You series. Before joining TGBC, he worked as a journalist and then as a teacher, and pastored a congregation in Hull. Carl is married to Lizzie, and they have two children. He studied history at Oxford University.
