The Well-Formed Document Workflow (formerly Scribe Publishing System) is an efficient approach to "book" manufacturing. Well-Formed Document Workflow (WFD) uses appropriate technology to assist with the normal editorial and production processes. Publishers who use WFD gain the following:
- Multipurposable content—Content that can be output in many formats, thus creating additional products and revenue streams.
- Time and cost savings—Publishers work more efficiently, completing projects more quickly and earlier.
- Decrease in human error—WFD automates repetitive production tasks.
- Archive-ready files—WFD-created files are well-formed and non-proprietary, thus they will never become outdated.
What Well-Formed Document Workflow is
WFD is an adaptable system of procedures and computer programs designed to facilitate editorial and production processes. WFD allows for multipurpose publishing of both straight-forward and sophisticated content. WFD can handle complex components contained within all types of "books", even scientific, medical, reference, and multilingual publications. WFD has also been adapted for authors and editors who may possess unique skills or knowledge but lack the computer proficiency required for other publishing applications.
WFD can function within most systems that a publisher has in place and can be customized to output files for any regular mark-up scheme or database management system.
How Well-Formed Document Workflow works
Using a well-formed document workflow, WFD is used to delineate structural elements of your content so that the mark-up code from programs or mark-up languages can be automatically applied. The WFD is designed to work in almost every commonly used program. And because the WFD reads the mark-up code of the programs, the working document is always the source (what we call the point document) for all other versions. This means that you will not lose any alteration to the content. For example, many of our clients use Microsoft Word for editing and QuarkXPress for page layout. Therefore, we use Word files as the point document1 in editorial, while the Quark document becomes the point document in the typesetting phase. From the Quark files, we can create e-books, deliver content on the Web, or re-generate Word files for future editions. We can also supplement the point document with components that allow for topic tags, key words, hyperlinks, biblical references, etc.
Because the point document can be used for archiving purposes, or be output into your archiving mark-up language, the archival form exists at every stage. Thus, you will never lose a version of your content, and all versions will match your final output requirements.
Advantages of Well-Formed Document Workflow
There are many advantages to our approach. Primarily, WFD enables publishers to create a variety of text formats from one properly constructed document. This eliminates the cost of editing, designing, composing, and setting each version individually. The cost to produce a typeset version along with complimentary electronic versions is little more than the former typesetting costs alone. For some of our clients, the overall cost for production has gone down. Our method also allows the design of a book to remain consistent across platforms.
WFD routines provide additional cost-saving benefits. The Well-Formed Document Workflow can be implemented to offset some indexing costs. It is possible to create an index from an ERTF document that facilitates the key word and sources indexing process.
The Well-Formed Document Workflow is an efficient approach to multipurpose publishing that makes the most of commonly used tools; it is not proprietary; and it allows the publisher to have more control over the book manufacturing process. Equally important, WFD is flexible and functions within your current editorial and production processes. Implementing WFD is the introduction of an efficient, long-lasting use of electronic tools, and the protection of the intellectual and artistic craft of specialized book manufacturing.