History

English 349: Editing and Publishing & Cornerstone Press

English 349: Editing and Publishing is a course that was first created by Mary Croft in the mid-1970s.  Under Croft's direction, students composed booklets on a wide variety of topics, with each student printing and distributing 30 copies of his or her booklet among the members of the class. When Dr. Dan Dieterich inherited the course in 1978, he followed Croft's model for the first six years.
 
In 1984, Dieterich restructured English 349: Editing and Publishing, modeling the new course after one taught at the University of Notre Dame. Instead of each student composing his or her own booklet, under Dieterich's new model all of the students worked together to edit, design, print, bind, market, and sell approximately 1,000 copies of a single book over the course of one semester. This required a small injection of grant funding to get the project off the ground, but ever since the course has been self-sustaining, and even run at a profit. The first two books from the English 349: Editing and Publishing course appeared under the name First Class Publishers. In 1988, however, the name Cornerstone Press was adopted and has been used for all subsequent publications. 

The university hired Dr. Ross K. Tangedal to direct the press and publishing program in Fall 2016. The press has grown considerably since then. Beginning in Fall 2018, the press launched three new series, expanding production from one book per year to four (at minimum). A new Spring publishing course was developed to staff the press, and an internship program provides the press with a summer staff. The press now publishes year round.
 
At the beginning of each semester, students are hired on in various administrative, editorial, design, production, marketing, and sales positions within Cornerstone Press. Although students have certain responsibilities their positions require them to fulfill, jobs often overlap, and a team effort is essential. The student staff members of Cornerstone Press then select manuscripts for publication based on an open call for submissions. Manuscripts come from all over the United States and abroad, and when the staff finally selects one, they negotiate a contract with the author – this contract includes an industry-standard royalty rate. Once the author signs the contract, the real work of publishing a book begins. The student staff carries out all of the work to bring manuscripts to publication, including editing, design, production, marketing, and sales. The publisher, who acts as both director and advisor, shares assistance along the way. Above all, the chief function of the press is to prepare students for careers in editing, publishing, marketing, and production.
 

Press Directors

Dr. Ross K. Tangedal
Director & Publisher
2016-present

Dr. Dan Dieterich (Publisher Emeritus)
1978-2009, 2013, 2015

Dr. Gail Folkins
2014

Dr. Per Henningsgaard
2010-2012

Dr. Mary Croft
1975-1978