Why XML is a must to accelerate your publishing

Imagine this: Scientists study something, they write down all their results in the form of a manuscript. They further ship them off to a publishing house after the review process. What happens next? What do they do with your manuscript? Understanding the publishing process and technologies can be illuminating. There is a workflow that a publishing house follows to bring your books to life. One such powerful and ideal technology to build the publishing process is XML!

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XML is a short form for “Extensible Markup Language”. It is a markup language that refers to a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that can be read by both humans and computer programs. The design goals of XML focus mainly on simplicity, generality, and usability across the internet. Let’s take a quick glimpse into what publishing set up looks like in today’s time!

XML and publishing

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One of the most comprehensive approaches that publishers use is XML. It’s a fast emerging trend in the publishing environment as it simplifies the entire publishing process. Especially during the various stages of journal production. It reduces the need to convert content from one format to another, streamlining the work process and developing the flexibility of the content format.

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Benefits of XML

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• With  XML as the core format, one can view and publish content in multiple formats such as PDF, ePub, HTML, ePapers, etc. 

• Once the content is tagged and formatted into XML, all the deliverables are passed on to the production cycle in just one file. This reduces the need to convert files every time, increasing the publishing efficiency. 

• It also helps you convert and repurpose content into a wide variety of formats including Quark, InDesign, Doc, Text, Image, PDF, etc. 

• Since XML fits the web quite naturally, publishers get a chance to magnify their market leadership. By eliminating the need to re-create the content across various platforms, one can optimize publishing efficiency.

• By using XML tags in the authoring stage, chapters can be handled by different editors. Parallel execution can reduce the total time to bring a publication to the market.

• With the XML-first approach, metadata makes the journal content more searchable and more accessible.

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Challenges without XML

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From the authoring stage to that of the distribution stage, a journal goes through a complex journey! Despite the availability of tools that optimizes the entire submission process, it still takes months for a journal to get ready for publication. Readers want to have access to the information faster, with better quality, and view it anywhere, anytime.

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Solutions

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There are various platforms that help in optimizing the entire production process. One such platform that helps cut through the clutter and simplifies workflows is Kriyadocs. 

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Kriyadocs is a document collaboration platform that helps you publish faster and produce more content with less effort. The platform empowers you to effortlessly collaborate with empowered teams to create rich content.  Kriyadocs enables smart automation with stringent validation and extends repeatable processes for quicker monetization. Kriyadocs has more than 30,000 users and several leading book and journal publishers as its proud customers. 

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Get in touch with us today to optimize the entire authoring process with XML to find amazing results!

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Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XML

https://www.w3.org/standards/xml/publishing

https://msu.edu/~hoekmana/WRA%20420/ISMTE%20article.pdf

https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/help-tools/production-technologies.html

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