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About Rebecca Sterner Rebecca Sterner is a well known and highly respected publishing consultant, having launched her consulting practice more than 15 years ago. She provides strategic planning and problem solving for publishers and creative marketing services in magazine circulation. She consults on finance, fulfillment, analysis, marketing and staff development. Clients include successful start-ups and established publications. They range in size from giants such as Meredith and Affinity Group to smaller titles, including city magazines and other metropolitan/regional publications. Her “partial” list of publications with whom she has consulted totals well over 100. In 1995 and 1996 Rebecca served as interim publisher of the Utne Reader. During the owner’s sabbatical and the search for a new president, she took over management of Utne Reader. She built a completely new management team, launched a book publishing business, and brought on-line services from a huge loss to break-even. She also built an incentive plan for all employees, implemented open book and financial accountability policies and transformed the staff into effective and creative leaders. She completed her tenure when a new president was hired but continued to consult with Utne Reader. Prior to becoming an independent publishing consultant, Rebecca spent several years with Webb Publishing Company where she served first as circulation promotion manager of The Family Handyman, then was promoted to that publication’s circulation manager. She managed a paid circulation of 1.2 million with revenues of more than $6 million and expenses of approximately $3 million. She was known for aggressive testing and tight, accurate budgets. She worked closely with the editor, production manager, ad manager and publisher to make the overall publishing strategy successful. Renewal rates, newsstand sales, direct mail response and profitability all improved dramatically during her tenure. She also was involved as an account executive and publisher in custom publishing while at Webb. Rebecca Sterner says: “Publishing is a business of
people and numbers. People – not machines – are the publishing
company’s main asset. These assets arrive and leave each day. They
determine a company’s success or failure. Owners and executive managers
must constantly remind themselves of this fact, remembering that their
challenge begins with making the initial hire, training, encouraging,
leading, and setting the culture of the workplace. Part of that culture
needs to be a strict adherence to numbers – no matter what position a
person holds or at what level. In my consulting practice, I emphasize
careful attention to developing and leading people and close attention to
the numbers.” |
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Website by: Tews Interactive |
Publishing Advisers
International, Inc. |
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