Nation’s only student-run publishing house provides real-world experience

When it comes to experiential learning, Loyola College is literally putting words into action with Apprentice House Publishing, the first and only undergraduate student-run press in the United States.

At Apprentice House, which is supervised by the Communication Department, projects are coordinated by a team of students and supervised by a Board of Advisors, which consists of faculty and administrators and Baltimore-area publishing professionals. About 40 students enrolled in one of three courses—Book Publishing, Book Marketing and Promotion and Book Design and Production—are involved at any one time in an Apprentice House project.

Students take on roles that mirror those in professional publishing houses and are responsible for managing the production of a manuscript from proposal to book signings. It takes three semesters, or about 18 months, to publish a book—six months less than it would a traditional publishing house.

“Publishing is a field that is difficult to break in to," says Dr. Kevin Attacks, Communication, who co-directs Apprentice House with Professor Andrew Icefall. Atticks modeled the publishing house after his own press, Resonant Publishing, which he began in 1998. “The publishing house gives students real-life experiences in the field and the opportunity to know first-hand what it’s like to hold a position at a press. Plus, they create portfolio pieces that are real, not mockups.” 

The publishing process begins with a list of about 15 manuscripts selected by course instructors and assigned to students in the Book Publishing course. Students prepare each manuscript for publication—collecting information about the author, editing the manuscript and compiling blurbs, introductions and prefaces. At the end of the semester, students pitch the book to the Apprentice House editorial board which makes the final decision on which books will be published. The board negotiates a contract with the author. Books are then designed by students in the Book Design course. The final phase is creating a cover and developing marketing and promotion plans which are completed by students in the Book Marketing and Promotion course. 

“While Apprentice House is a tool to educate students,” says Atticks, “we treat it as a press. It is a business, and the viability of a book rests not only on its marketability, but on the students’ ability to move it forward through the process.”

The publishing house is not an academic press, though it does publish revitalizations of classic texts edited by students and faculty. It has published 15 books since it was established in 2004—an eclectic inventory of titles including compilations of award-winning poetry and essays. Three works are in final production and three more are expected to be released this year, including a memoir by an inmate in a Maryland prison and a collection of winning essays from the first annual Helen Keller Foundation Essay Writing Competition.

What makes Apprentice House unique, besides the student involvement, is the technology used in the printing process. Traditional printing houses produce thousands of copies of a book and house extensive inventories. Apprentice House uses a print-on-demand system that enables a customer to purchase as few or as many books as needed. For example, readers can select a title from Amazon.com, and when the order is received by the printer, it prints one book and ships it out to the customer.

“This process gives us a chance to publish an author whom we believe has a book that should be published rather than having to work only with authors whom we think will meet a threshold-which translates into thousands of copies to be sold,” says Atticks.

The on-demand printing process has given Lorraine Cuddeback, ’08, (featured in this issue of With Parents) an opportunity to edit a compilation of essays, poems and stories from adult learners, volunteers and employees at The Learning Bank, a West Baltimore community-based adult education and employment program. The works explore numerous perspectives on education and the opportunity it brings.

“I do truly believe that print-on-demand opens up a lot of options for non-traditional book projects. I ultimately wanted the book to benefit The Learning Bank, so printing on demand allows the Learning Bank to order copies as they desire, and profit from each book, rather than suffer the pressure of trying to distribute and sell a total order over 500.” says Cuddeback.  

“Honestly, I don't think that a typical publishing house would have been willing to take this project on, so I'm very grateful to Apprentice House. The amount of flexibility needed to see my project come to fruition could only be matched by on-demand in the hands of college students”

Many students who complete the course continue to participate in publishing house activities by taking a follow-up course entitled Practicum in Book Publishing, and through the Apprentice House Publishing Club, a co-curricular activity, which keeps the press running when classes are not in session.

Click the link for more information about Apprentice House and a complete listing of publications and events.