Bridging the Gap: A Conversation on Consistency Between Internal and External Production Teams

In publishing today, internal teams are leaner and the reliance on external partners has never been greater. How can organizations maintain quality and consistency when production crosses company boundaries?

RACHEL COMERFORD (Macmillan Learning) and LINDA SECONDARI (Studiolo Secondari) sat down to discuss the challenges and opportunities of aligning workflows, expectations, and communication between internal publishing teams and external vendors.

Rachel: We’re talking about consistency between internal and external production partners. Internal publishing teams are getting smaller and smaller, which means we are relying more on vendors and freelancers. For that relationship to work, we need everyone working from shared standards and with the same sense of accountability.

Linda: Absolutely. It’s a fascinating topic because the scope is so broad. It includes accessibility, licensing, production—all of it. When things fall out of sync, it costs money and time, and ultimately, creates a worse experience for everyone, including the customer.

Rachel: Exactly. Consistency isn’t just a quality issue; it’s an user-experience issue. We see it in how accessible content is, how thorough the metadata is… the impact everywhere.

Linda: Where do you like to start, from a publisher's point of view?

Rachel: I always try to start with documentation; we have system how-tos, style guides, checklists, decision hierarchies... Those create a foundation everyone can rely on. I think culture plays a role, too. People need to feel comfortable talking to each other and aligned around a shared goal.

Linda: From the external side, I’d add that sometimes just getting into those systems can be a challenge. A book designer might have to learn your invoicing platform, your file-sharing setup, your asset management tool. For you, it’s second nature; for us, it’s, “What on earth do I click on next?”

Rachel: Fair point. We’ve never claimed our systems are easy!

Linda: That’s why empathy matters. We’re working across different infrastructures and often juggling several clients. A little flexibility goes a long way. Even something like naming conventions, if they’re not shared, chaos follows. 

Rachel: I think role assignments help, too. Everyone should know who owns the final decision for each piece of the workflow. Otherwise, feedback just bounces around.

Linda: Yes, and from the outside, it’s often unclear who that person is. A clear point of contact and decision chain saves so much time and prevents confusion.

Rachel: We assume that hierarchy is obvious internally, but it’s not always visible externally. And then when multiple people deliver many pages of documentation, it just gets more confusing for all involved.

Linda: That’s true. I love a good checklist, but some onboarding materials go too far. If I’m being paid $1,000 for a cover, I can’t spend two hours reading your documentation. My margins are already tight.

Rachel: So, what works best?

Linda: Super concise. Actionable. A one-page list of what you need me to do. Internal teams can have the long HR-style guide, but external assets need a quick start.

Rachel: That’s helpful. And fair. If we require more documentation time, we should be factoring that into pricing.

Linda: Exactly. It’s about meeting each other halfway. And the tone matters, too. Sometimes external onboarding reads like an employee handbook. I don’t need your mission statement; I need to know where to upload files and how to name them.

Rachel: Less manifesto and more map?

Linda: Yes! When communication is efficient, it signals respect for time on both sides.

Rachel: Style guides and briefs are good areas to begin. If expectations for citations, file formats, or accessibility are clear from the start, we avoid so much rework later.

Linda: The brief should clarify all the variations expected, too: hardcover, paperback, e-book, audiobook. It shouldn’t come as a surprise at the eleventh hour. The clearer the setup, the smoother the collaboration.

Rachel: I like that. And that goes both ways. Vendors sometimes see things we miss. They catch inefficiencies in our systems or point out where expectations don’t match reality. If we as publishers make space for that feedback, then the overall result is a cleaner workflow.

Linda: And when we understand each other’s constraints, consistency becomes collaboration. It doesn’t have to mean everything is the same…

Rachel: Although, I will say, I love a template!

Linda: … but it does make the process predictable and the predictability is more sustainable in the long run. Ultimately, consistency across internal and external teams isn’t achieved through rigid control. It’s built on shared clarity, communication, and respect. When documentation is clear, roles are defined, and empathy underpins collaboration, consistency can evolve from a checklist and clear communication into a shared rhythm. It’s less about making everyone work the same way and more about ensuring we’re all moving in the same direction, toward high-quality, accessible, and sustainable publishing outcomes.  When empathy meets structure, quality follows naturally!

RACHEL COMERFORD is the Senior Director of Accessibility at Macmillan Learning where she leads cross-functional efforts to ensure students of all abilities have access to their course materials. In 2020, BISG awarded Rachel the Industry Innovator award for her work helping Macmillan Learning to become the first Global Certified Accessible publisher by Benetech.

Under her leadership, Macmillan was recognized by WIPO’s Accessible Book Consortium with the International Excellence Award for Accessible Publishing in 2020 for their work towards providing educational materials that any student can use.

LINDA SECONDARI is a publishing strategist and creative director known for transforming complex ideas into clear, beautifully executed work. After two decades leading creative teams at Oxford and Columbia University Press, she founded Studiolo Secondari to help authors, publishers, and organizations bring their stories to life with clarity, elegance, and strategic insight.

She is also the founder of The Strategic Author, a coaching program designed to help writers define their vision, refine their message, and navigate the publishing journey with confidence and purpose.

Her work lives at the intersection of storytelling and strategy, where editorial vision meets design intelligence and purpose drives every creative decision. She specializes in thoughtful collaborations—developing books for thought leaders and creatives, refining brands for mission-driven organizations, and guiding authors to express their ideas with confidence, craft, and resonance.