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Open Educational Resources Collective Publishing Workflow

Plan Stage Checklist

Author Checklist

The checklist below is written for authors planning a new open textbook publishing project.

In the Plan stage of an open textbook project, you’ll need to:

Plan an Open Textbook Project

  1. Decide whether to adapt or author an open textbook.
  2. Consider how you’ll maintain consistency if you’re adapting an open textbook.
  3. Learn some general rules for designing and developing textbooks.
  4. Consider what to include in your textbook outline.

Get Set Up for Success with Copyright

  1. Learn how to manage third-party content.
  2. Learn how to manage copyright permissions.  

Choose a Creative Commons Licence

  1. Understand considerations when choosing a Creative Commons licence.
  2. Decide what rights you want to grant and retain.
  3. Understand restrictions when mixing content with different Creative Commons licences.
  4. Know how to get help with choosing and applying Creative Commons licences.

Call for Contributions From Other Authors

  1. Write and refine your call for contributions.
  2. Share your call for contributions.
  3. Respond to expressions of interest.
  4. Manage high or low response rates.

Agree and Document Expectations with Co-Authors

  1. Clarify expectations with co-authors in a contract or memorandum of understanding (MOU).
  2. Share how you plan to work together with new co-authors.
  3. Maintain communication with co-authors throughout your project.

Allocate and Manage Writing and Publishing Tasks

  1. Understand publishing roles and responsibilities.
  2. Consider how you’ll allocate and manage writing and publishing tasks.

Identify What Publishing Support Will be Needed

  1. Understand the publisher’s role in the publishing process.
  2. Decide what publishing tasks you need support with. Identify people in your network who can help with publishing tasks.
  3. Consider how you’ll allocate and manage writing and publishing tasks.

Adopt a Style Guide

  1. Understand what a style guide is and how to use one.
  2. Understand how to choose the right style guide for your textbook.
  3. Learn about commonly used style guides.
  4. Understand what a style sheet is and how to use one.

Get Familiar with Pressbooks

  1. Learn what Pressbooks is.
  2. Learn how Pressbooks works.
  3. Know how to get help with Pressbooks.

Attributions

Adapted from  ‘Checklist’ in Authoring Open Textbooks by Melissa Falldin and Karen Lauritsen licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

Library Staff Checklist

The checklist below is written for library staff planning a new open textbook publishing project.

In the Plan stage of an open textbook project, you’ll need to:

Plan an Open Textbook Project

  1. Help authors decide whether to adapt or author an open textbook.
  2. Help authors maintain consistency if they’re adapting an open textbook.
  3. Learn some general rules for designing and developing textbooks.
  4. Help authors outline their textbook.
  5. Develop a plan for the library's contribution to the textbook.

Understand Copyright

  1. Help authors develop their understanding of copyright for open textbooks.

Get Set Up for Success with Copyright

  1. Help authors manage third-party content.
  2. Help authors manage copyright permissions. 

Choose a Licence

  1. Ensure you and your authors understand considerations when choosing a Creative Commons licence.
  2. Help authors decide what rights to grant and retain.
  3. Ensure you and your authors understand restrictions when mixing content with different Creative Commons licences.
  4. Ensure authors know how to get help with choosing and applying Creative Commons licences.

Call for Contributions From Other Authors

  1. Help authors write and refine their call for contributions.
  2. Help authors share their call for contributions.
  3. Help authors respond to expressions of interest.
  4. Help authors manage high or low response rates.

Agree and Document Expectations with Co-Authors

  1. Clarify expectations with authors in a contract or memorandum of understanding (MOU).
  2. Share how you plan to work together as a team.
  3. Maintain communication with authors throughout the project.

Allocate and Manage Writing and Publishing Tasks

  1. Ensure you and your authors understand publishing roles and responsibilities.
  2. Consider how you or your author will allocate and manage writing and publishing tasks.

Identify What Publishing Support Authors Will Will Be Needed

  1. Ensure you and your authors understand the publisher’s role in the publishing process.
  2. Help authors decide what publishing tasks they need support with.
  3. Ensure authors know where to get help with publishing tasks.

Adopt a Style Guide

  1. Ensure you and your authors understand what a style guide is and how to use one.
  2. Help authors choose the right style guide for their textbook.
  3. Learn about commonly used style guides.
  4. Ensure you and your authors understand what a style sheet is and how to use one.

Get Familiar with Pressbooks

  1. Introduce authors to Pressbooks.
  2. Ensure you and your authors understand how Pressbooks works.
  3. Ensure you and your authors know how to get help with Pressbooks.

Request a Pressbooks Shell

  1. Learn what a Pressbooks shell is and how you can request one for your authors.

Attributions

Adapted from  ‘Checklist’ in Authoring Open Textbooks by Melissa Falldin and Karen Lauritsen licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence.