By Bill Kasdorf

Originally published in the Book Business Buyer’s Guide

Back in the day, books were just blocks of paper, typesetting involved typing, and every step of getting from a manuscript to a book involved handoffs between silos of specialists. Those days are long gone.

Digital technology demands that publishing processes become much more integrated. The author does the typing, and those digital keystrokes now get turned not only into the paper books we all know and love but an ever-expanding set of digital products. (Remember when people wondered whether ebooks would ever catch on?)

Those digital files are now generated, tweaked, and transformed in many ways. Who does that work? Lots of different players. But arguably those that have been most instrumental in making all this happen are the workflow and conversion services you see listed in this section. Why? Because doing digital well requires expertise in areas quite separate from that required by traditional print publishing.

Read the full article on BookBusinessMag.com here.