Publication matching support device

Abstract

To improve the efficiency of work of selecting an aspiring book author, which is carried out by a publishing company when the publishing company selects an aspiring book author and executes a new book publishing plan.SOLUTION: A support device 1 of the present invention includes an aspiring book author condition receiving unit 112 that receives conditions for aspiring book authors, an aspiring book author extraction unit 113 that extracts aspiring book authors who meet the conditions for aspiring book authors from data managed by a data management unit 111, and a display command unit 119 that commands the display of information related to the extracted aspiring book authors. The conditions for aspiring book authors include proposal conditions, which are conditions related to a proposal, and / or attribute conditions for aspiring book authors. The aspiring book author extraction unit 113 extracts aspiring book authors based on a comparison of the proposal conditions and / or attribute conditions for aspiring book authors with the data managed by the data management unit 111.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a publication matching support device (also simply referred to as "support device"). [Background technology]

[0002] Currently, the publishing industry is facing a variety of challenges, including a shrinking market for paper books due to the development of the Internet, sluggish book sales due to the invigoration of the used book market brought about by flea market apps, and diversification of the supply chain due to the increase in e-book publishing. In these circumstances, publishers are being called upon to streamline the activities they have traditionally undertaken and to take steps to increase the profitability of their businesses.

[0003] When a publisher builds a new relationship with an author, it is necessary to carry out tasks that require time, money, and human resources, such as building relationships with the author, negotiating contracts, editing and proofreading manuscripts, etc. In recent years, the challenging business environment in the publishing industry has made it increasingly difficult to carry out such tasks.

[0004] On the other hand, there are also authors who self-publish, covering the costs of publishing themselves. The advantages of self-publishing include the ability for authors to plan and write their own books as they wish, and the ability to publish content that would not be accepted by commercial publishers. However, self-publishing has the disadvantages of requiring high financial preparations and not being able to utilize the supply chain typically held by publishers, making it difficult to sell and promote in bookstores. Furthermore, self-publishing also has the disadvantage that, because there is no peer review by editors, even specialized books are less likely to be evaluated.

[0005] To address such issues in self-publishing, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a self-publishing support system that enables publishing companies and aspiring book authors to carry out various steps related to book publishing via the Internet. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-015180 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, the invention described in Patent Document 1 is an invention whose original purpose is to make the self-publishing process more efficient from the perspective of those wishing to write books, and is not intended to make the process of searching for book writers by publishing companies and various other tasks on the publishing company's side more efficient.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a publishing matching support device that can improve the efficiency of the work of selecting new book authors when a publishing company searches for new book authors and executes a new book publishing project. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] As a result of extensive research into solving the above-mentioned problems, the inventors discovered that the above-mentioned object can be achieved by extracting aspiring authors based on a comparison of the proposal conditions and / or attribute conditions of the aspiring authors with data related to the aspiring authors. The inventors then completed the present invention. Specifically, the present invention provides the following:

[0010] The present invention provides a publishing matching support device comprising: a data management unit that associates and manages data related to aspiring book authors, their attributes, and proposals for books that the aspiring book authors wish to write; an aspiring book author condition receiving unit that receives aspiring book author conditions, which are conditions for matching with aspiring book authors; an aspiring book author extraction unit that extracts aspiring book authors who meet the aspiring book author conditions from the data managed by the data management unit; and a display command unit that commands the display of information related to the aspiring book authors extracted by the aspiring book author extraction unit, wherein the aspiring book author conditions include proposal conditions, which are conditions related to the proposal, and / or the aspiring book author attribute conditions, and the aspiring book author extraction unit extracts the aspiring book authors based on a comparison of the proposal conditions and / or the aspiring book author attribute conditions with the data managed by the data management unit.

[0011] In this invention, the system receives the conditions for book writers, extracts book writers who meet the conditions, and instructs the display of the extracted book writers. In this process, the system extracts book writers based on a comparison of the proposal conditions and / or writer attribute conditions included in the book writer conditions with data. This allows publishers to efficiently select new book writers when searching for new book writers and implementing new book publishing projects. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] The present invention can improve the efficiency of the work of selecting new book writers when a publishing company searches for new book writers and executes a new book publishing project. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware and software configuration of a system S according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an example of the aspiring writer table 121. [Figure 3]FIG. 3 is a main flowchart showing an example of a preferred flow of the matching process executed by the support device 1 of this embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart continuing from FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0015] <System S> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware and software configurations of a system S of this embodiment. An example of a preferred embodiment of the system S of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. 1. The system S of this embodiment is configured to include a support device 1. The support device 1 is capable of communicating with one or more terminals T1 of aspiring book authors and one or more terminals T2 of publishing companies (hereinafter, collectively sometimes referred to simply as "terminals T") via a network N.

[0016] [Support device 1] The support device 1 realizes each software component shown in FIG. 1 using hardware components such as a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, and a communication unit 13. The support device 1 then executes, using each software component, a matching process in which a publisher searches for a new person wishing to write a book and selects the person wishing to write a book, and a matching process in which a person wishing to write a book searches for a new publisher and selects the publisher. The type of the support device 1 is not particularly limited. The type of the support device 1 may be, for example, various types of server devices, cloud servers, etc.

[0017] [Control unit 11] The control unit 11 includes a central processing unit (CPU), a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), and the like.

[0018] The control unit 11 cooperates with the storage unit 12 and / or the communication unit 13 as necessary. The control unit 11 then realizes the following software components of the program of this embodiment executed by the support device 1: a data management unit 111, an aspiring author data registration unit, a proposal data registration unit, an aspiring author condition receiving unit 112, an aspiring book author extraction unit 113, a publisher data registration unit, a content information registration unit, a publisher condition receiving unit 114, a publisher extraction unit 115, a display command unit 119, and the like. Details of each software component will be explained later through the flow of the matching process executed by the support device 1 of this embodiment.

[0019] [Storage section 12] The memory unit 12 is a device in which data and / or files are stored, and includes a storage unit that stores data non-temporarily using a hard disk, a semiconductor memory, a recording medium, a memory card, or the like.

[0020] The memory unit 12 stores a program executed by the microcomputer, a table of aspiring authors 121, a table of publishing companies 122, etc. The table of aspiring authors 121 and the table of publishing companies 122 may store all data related to aspiring authors and publishing companies as a single table, respectively, or the table of aspiring authors 121 and the table of publishing companies 122 may be divided into multiple tables by applying appropriate normalization.

[0021] The data stored in the aspiring author table 121 and the publishing company table 122 in the memory unit 12 is managed by the data management unit 111 provided in the control unit 11. For example, the data management unit 111 manages the individual data stored in the aspiring author table 121 in association with the individual aspiring authors, receives and manages the individual data stored in the publishing company table 122 in association with the individual publishing companies, and, in some cases, manages the individual data in association with both the individual aspiring author and the individual publishing company.

[0022] (Table 121 for writers) The aspiring author table 121 stores data such as the identification information, name, attributes (aspiring author attributes) of aspiring authors, and the book proposal of the book that the aspiring author wishes to write, all of which are associated with one another. It is preferable that these data are associated with various classification information as needed and stored in the same or separate tables. Examples of such classification information include aspiring author attribute classification information, which is directly or indirectly associated with aspiring author attributes, such as data on the aspiring author's age, preferred writing genre, gender, field of expertise, occupation, years of work experience, and qualifications. Examples of book proposal classification information, which is directly or indirectly associated with the book proposal, include data on the genre of the proposed book, the expected number of characters in the book, the number of items in the table of contents of the book, the attributes of the expected readership, and the areas of interest of the expected readers.

[0023] (Publisher Table 122) Publisher table 122 stores, in association with one another, publisher identification information, publisher name, attributes (publisher attributes), content summary information for previously published books, sales performance information, and the like. Sales performance information includes, but is not limited to, the number of books sold, sales revenue, the number of bookstores selling the book, and the number of reprints. Preferably, this information is associated with various classification information as needed and stored in the same or separate tables. Examples of such classification information include publisher attribute classification information directly or indirectly associated with publisher attributes, such as data on the number of years since the publisher was founded, the number of books sold in the past, the number of bookstores that the book has been sold at, the number of media appearances, and the names of certified standards such as International Standards Organization (ISO) standards. Examples of content summary classification information directly or indirectly associated with content summary information include the genre of published books, the number of characters in published books, the number of items in the table of contents of published books, the reader demographic, and the reader's areas of interest. If necessary, the content summary classification information may correspond to the proposal classification information stored in the author prospective writer table 121, etc., or the content summary classification information may be defined independently of the proposal classification information.

[0024] In this embodiment, in order to simplify the explanation, the prospective writer table 121 and the publishing company table 122 are each illustrated as a single table, but in order to make the maintenance and management of various data more efficient, each table may be divided into separate tables and used by relating them to each other, or two or more tables described as separate tables may be integrated into one and used.

[0025] FIG. 2 is an example of the aspiring author table 121. In the example shown in FIG. 2, information about an aspiring book author with the attribute information "Taro Yamada" includes the following attribute information: age and gender: "32-year-old male," qualification: "Financial Planning Technician," and work history: "Worked in the personal sales department of a city bank from XX to XX." The information about the aspiring book author also includes the book proposal information for a book titled "A Book About Finance," the book proposal for a book that explains the basics of finance to individuals with little knowledge about asset management, in light of the growing need for personal asset management, and the target audience: "married households in their 30s and 40s." The classification information for these includes the author's age and gender: "#Male in 30s," the field of the book he wishes to write: "#Finance," and the target audience: "#Readers in their 30s and 40s" and "#Married."

[0026] [Communications Section 13] The communication unit 13 is not particularly limited as long as it connects the support device 1 to the network N and enables communication with the terminal T, etc. An example of the communication unit 13 is a network card compatible with the Ethernet standard.

[0027] [Network N] The type of the network N is not particularly limited as long as it allows the support device 1 and the terminal T to communicate with each other. The type of the network N is, for example, the Internet, a mobile phone network, a wireless LAN, or the like.

[0028] [Terminal T] There is no particular limitation on the type of terminal T. The terminal T may be, for example, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or the like.

[0029] As will be described later, the aspiring author data registration unit and proposal data registration unit of the support device 1 instruct the aspiring author terminal T1 to display a registration form via the display command unit 119. The publisher data registration unit and content information registration unit instruct the publisher terminal T2 to display a registration form via the display command unit 119. Then, by entering and sending information in each registration form at the aspiring author terminal T1 and the publisher terminal T2, various data are registered via the memory unit 12 and communication unit 13 of the support device 1.

[0030] Furthermore, the aspiring author condition receiving unit 112 commands the publisher terminal T2 to display a search form via the display command unit 119. The publisher condition receiving unit 114 commands the aspiring author terminal T1 to display a search form via the display command unit 119. Then, at the aspiring author terminal T1 and the publisher terminal T2, each user inputs information into each search form and clicks a "search button" or the like, and the aspiring author terminal T1 or the publisher terminal T2 transmits the input data to the support device 1, whereby data extraction is performed via the control unit 11, memory unit 12, and communication unit 13 of the support device 1, and the information is displayed on the aspiring author terminal T1 and the publisher terminal T2.

[0031] [Main flowchart of matching process] Fig. 3 is a main flowchart showing an example of a preferable flow of the matching process executed by the support device 1 of this embodiment. Fig. 4 is a flowchart following Fig. 3. Below, an example of a preferable flow of the matching process by the support device 1 of this embodiment will be explained using Fig. 3.

[0032] First, as part of the matching process, the support device 1 executes a series of processes in which a publishing company searches for new book writers and selects the book writers. Steps S1 to S9 are an example of this process.

[0033] [Step S1: Register as a book author] When a command is received from the aspiring author terminal T1, the control unit 11 operates the aspiring author data registration unit in cooperation with the storage unit 12 and the communication unit 13. If no command is received from the aspiring author terminal T1, step S1 may be skipped and the process may proceed to any of steps S2 to S5. The aspiring author data registration unit commands the aspiring author terminal T1 to display a registration form via the display command unit 119. The aspiring author data registration unit receives data regarding the aspiring author's name, age, preferred writing genre, gender, specialty, occupation, years of work experience, and qualifications via the communication unit 13. The aspiring author data registration unit then assigns an identification number to the aspiring author as necessary and manages the above series of data in the aspiring author table 121 and / or related tables via the data management unit 111. At the end of step S1, the control unit 11 proceeds to step S2.

[0034] [Step S2: Register proposal information] When a command is received from the aspiring author terminal T1, the control unit 11 cooperates with the storage unit 12 and the communication unit 13 to execute the proposal data registration unit. If no command is received from the aspiring author terminal T1, step S2 may be skipped and the process may proceed to any of steps S3 to S5. The proposal data registration unit instructs the aspiring author terminal T1 via the display command unit 119 to display a proposal data registration form. The proposal data registration unit receives data via the communication unit 13 regarding the contents of the proposal, the genre of the proposed book, the expected number of characters in the book, the number of items in the table of contents of the expected book, the attributes of the expected readership, and the areas of interest of the expected readers. The proposal data registration unit then associates this data with the aspiring author as necessary and manages the above series of data in a book author table and / or related tables via the data management unit 111. At the end of step S2, the control unit 11 proceeds to step S3.

[0035] Although steps S1 and S2 are described as separate steps in this specification, these steps may be performed as a single step.

[0036] [Step S3: Register a publisher] Furthermore, when a command is received from the publisher terminal T2, the control unit 11 executes the publisher data registration unit in cooperation with the storage unit 12 and the communication unit 13. If no command is received from the publisher terminal T2, step S3 may be skipped and the process may proceed to step S4 or step S5, or may return to step S1 or step S2. The publisher data registration unit instructs the publisher terminal T2 via the display command unit 119 to display a registration form. The publisher data registration unit receives data regarding the book writer's business name, the publisher's years of establishment, location, number of books handled in the past, number of partner bookstores, number of media appearances, and names of certified standards such as International Standards Organization (ISO) standards via the communication unit 13. The publisher data registration unit then assigns a publisher identification number to this data as necessary, and manages the above series of data in the publisher table 122 and related tables via the data management unit 111. At the end of step S3, the control unit 11 proceeds to step S4.

[0037] [Step S4: Register content summary information] When a command is received from the publisher terminal T2, the control unit 11 executes the content information registration unit in cooperation with the storage unit 12 and the communication unit 13. If no command is received from the publisher terminal T2, step S4 may be skipped and the process may proceed to step S5, or the process may return to any of steps S1 to S3. The content information registration unit instructs the publisher terminal T2 via the display command unit 119 to display a content summary information registration form. The content information registration unit receives data via the communication unit 13, such as the content summary information of previously published books, the genres of the published books, the number of characters in the published books, the number of items in the table of contents, the reader demographics, and the reader's areas of interest. The content information registration unit then associates this data with publishers as necessary and manages the above series of data in the publisher table 122 and / or related tables via the data management unit 111. At the end of step S4, the control unit 11 proceeds to step S5.

[0038] Although steps S3 and S4 are described as separate steps in this specification for the sake of convenience, these steps may be performed as a single step.

[0039] Furthermore, for convenience of explanation, steps S3 and S4 are described herein as steps following steps S1 and S2, but steps S3 and S4 may precede step S1, or steps S1 to S4 may be performed simultaneously, in parallel, and independently of each other in any order. Furthermore, depending on whether or not there is a command from terminal T, steps S1 to S4 may be skipped entirely, or step S5, described below, may be performed first. Furthermore, depending on whether or not there is a command from terminal T, steps S1 to S4 may each be performed multiple times or many times.

[0040] [Step S5: Determine matching target] The control unit 11 determines whether the matching target in the matching process is a person aspiring to write a book or a publishing company. If the control unit 11 determines that the matching target in the matching process is a person aspiring to write a book, the control unit 11 proceeds to step S5. If the control unit 11 determines that the matching target is a publishing company, the control unit 11 proceeds to step S'5.

[0041] The matching target can be determined, for example, by the control unit 11 determining whether the account type of the account authenticated by the terminal T attempting to input the conditions is a publisher's account or an account of a person aspiring to write a book. However, the determination of the matching target is not limited to this manner, and any conventionally known method can be employed. Although not shown, if the matching target cannot be determined, the control unit 11 may instruct the display command unit 119 to display an error and instruct the display command unit 119 to display an interface for inputting information necessary for determining the matching target, such as an account authentication screen.

[0042] [Step S6: Receive the conditions for book writers] The control unit 11 cooperates with the storage unit 12 and the communication unit 13 to execute the aspiring author condition receiving unit 112. The aspiring author condition receiving unit 112 commands the publisher terminal T2 to display a search form via the display command unit 119. The aspiring author condition receiving unit 112 receives, via the communication unit 13, the aspiring author condition, which is a condition for matching with an aspiring author. The aspiring author condition includes a book proposal condition and / or a book proposal attribute condition. In some cases, the book proposal condition may include a book proposal classification condition, which is a condition related to the classification of the book proposal, and the aspiring author condition may include a book proposal attribute classification condition, which is a condition related to the classification of the attributes of the aspiring author. Here, the display command unit 119 may be instructed to display a list of the book proposal classification conditions and / or the aspiring author attribute classification conditions in advance in the search form on the publisher terminal T2. By using proposal classification criteria and aspiring author attribute classification criteria, search misses due to variations in the spelling of search terms can be prevented, so even publishers who are inexperienced and unfamiliar with searching for aspiring authors can effectively select aspiring authors. This achieves effective matching between publishers and aspiring authors. At the end of step S6, the control unit 11 proceeds to step S7.

[0043] [Step S7: Extract people who want to write books] The control unit 11 operates the book author extraction unit 113 in cooperation with the storage unit 12 and the communication unit 13. The book author extraction unit 113 extracts book authors based on a comparison of proposal conditions and / or author attribute conditions with data managed by the data management unit 111. When extracting book authors based on a comparison of proposal conditions and / or author attribute conditions with data managed by the data management unit 111, the book author extraction unit 113 may also extract book authors by comparing proposal classification conditions and / or author attribute classification conditions with data managed by the data management unit 111. Using proposal classification conditions and author attribute classification conditions prevents search omissions due to variations in search terms, etc., so even publishers who are inexperienced in searching for book authors and unfamiliar with search techniques can effectively select book authors. This allows for effective matching between publishers and book authors. At the end of step S7, the control unit 11 moves the process to step S8.

[0044] [Step S8: Calculate display order] The control unit 11, in cooperation with the storage unit 12 and the communication unit 13, executes the aspiring author extraction unit 113 by executing machine learning. More specifically, when extracting aspiring authors, the aspiring author extraction unit 113 calculates a ranking of the aspiring authors based on the relevance and similarity between the proposal information and the content summary information. By adjusting the ranking for displaying information related to aspiring authors based on the relevance and similarity between the proposal information and the content summary information, publishers can effectively select aspiring authors without having to read through a vast amount of material when selecting aspiring authors, thereby achieving effective matching between publishers and aspiring authors. Note that the ranking of aspiring authors based on the relevance and similarity between the proposal information and the content summary information may be calculated in advance by performing machine learning using a large language model (LLM).

[0045] Similarly, the control unit 11, in cooperation with the memory unit 12 and the communication unit 13, may execute the publisher evaluation receiving unit 116 and further execute the aspiring author extraction unit 113 by performing machine learning using AI (artificial intelligence). More specifically, the publisher evaluation receiving unit 116 receives evaluations of individual publishers from the aspiring author terminal T1. The aspiring author extraction unit 113 then calculates the degree of likelihood of a match between the aspiring author and the publisher based on the evaluations received from the publisher evaluation receiving unit 116 using machine learning, and, if necessary, calculates a ranking of the aspiring authors by combining this with the relevance and similarity between the proposal information and the content summary information. By adjusting the ranking for displaying information related to aspiring authors based on such evaluations of individual publishers, publishers can effectively select aspiring authors who are more likely to be matched when selecting aspiring authors, thereby achieving effective matching between publishers and aspiring authors.

[0046] Although step S8 has been described herein as being performed after step S7, step S8 may be performed simultaneously with step S7 or before step S7. Similarly, although step S8 has been described herein as being performed before step S9, which will be described below, step S8 may be performed simultaneously with step S9 or after step S9. If step S8 is not performed before step S9, the content of the calculation obtained as a result of step S8 may be fed back to step S9, which will be performed at a later date.

[0047] Furthermore, the calculation of the rankings of aspiring author candidates by performing AI machine learning may be performed by a display ranking calculation unit 118, which is different from the aspiring author extraction unit 113, in cooperation with the aspiring author extraction unit 113 as necessary. In this case, the display ranking calculation unit 118 calculates the rankings and weightings of the aspiring author candidates in advance based on the relevance of the proposal information and the content summary information. The results are then stored directly, or converted into other data as necessary, in the aspiring author table 121, the publishing company table 122, etc., or in tables related to these. Then, when extracting information related to aspiring author candidates, the aspiring author extraction unit 113 may refer to the ranking and weighting data related to the aspiring author candidates stored in the tables and reflect this in the final display ranking of the aspiring author candidates.

[0048] In either case, the display command unit 119 may issue a command to directly or indirectly display or suggest all or part of the information regarding the display ranking of the aspiring author calculated by the aspiring author extraction unit 113, etc., on the aspiring author terminal T1. By adopting such a configuration, aspiring authors are encouraged to add, correct, or improve data regarding their attributes and proposals, thereby increasing the possibility of matching between publishing companies and aspiring authors. Then, at the end of step S8, the control unit 11 proceeds to step S9.

[0049] [Step S9: Command display] The control unit 11 executes the display command unit 119 in cooperation with the storage unit 12 and the communication unit 13. The display command unit 119 commands the display of information related to the aspiring book author(s) extracted by the aspiring book author extraction unit 113. At this time, the control unit 11 may receive conditions regarding the display order desired by the publisher via the communication unit 13, and the display command unit 119 may further command a display order that reflects those conditions. Finally, the control unit 11 returns the matching process to step S1, and repeats the processes from step S1 to step S9.

[0050] Note that, in the above steps S1 to S9, the matching process when a publisher searches for a new book author has been described, but the same or similar process can also be applied to the matching process when a book author searches for a new publisher. In this case, steps S1 to S5 can be applied as is to the matching process when a book author searches for a new publisher. Furthermore, with regard to steps S6 to S9, steps S6 to S9 can be applied almost as is by replacing the configuration related to the book author and the configuration related to the publisher, respectively. Just to be clear, the configuration of the matching process when a book author searches for a new publisher, which corresponds to steps S6 to S9, will be described in detail below as steps S'6 to S'9. Note that when describing steps S'6 to S'9, explanations that are the same as steps S6 to S9 may be omitted.

[0051] [Step S'6: Receive publisher conditions] The control unit 11 cooperates with the storage unit 12 and the communication unit 13 to execute the publisher condition receiving unit 114. The publisher condition receiving unit 114 commands the aspiring author terminal T1 to display a search form via the display command unit 119. The publisher condition receiving unit 114 receives publisher conditions, which are conditions for matching with publishers, via the communication unit 13. The publisher conditions include content conditions, which are conditions related to content summary information, and / or publisher attribute conditions. In some cases, the content conditions may include content classification conditions, which are conditions related to the classification of content summary information, and the publisher conditions may include publisher attribute classification conditions, which are conditions related to the classification of publisher attributes. Here, the display command unit 119 may be instructed to display a list of content classification conditions and / or publisher attribute classification conditions in advance in the search form on the aspiring author terminal T1. By using content classification criteria and publisher attribute classification criteria, search misses due to variations in the spelling of search terms, etc., can be prevented, so even aspiring book authors who have little experience searching for publishers and are unfamiliar with searching can effectively select publishers. This achieves effective matching between aspiring book authors and publishers. At the end of step S'6, the control unit 11 proceeds to step S'7.

[0052] [Step S'7: Extract publishers] The control unit 11 operates the publisher extraction unit 115 in cooperation with the storage unit 12 and the communication unit 13. The publisher extraction unit 115 extracts publishers based on a comparison of content conditions and / or publisher attribute conditions with data managed by the data management unit 111. When extracting publishers based on a comparison of content conditions and / or publisher conditions with data managed by the data management unit 111, the publisher extraction unit 115 may also extract publishers by comparing content classification conditions and / or publisher attribute classification conditions with data managed by the data management unit 111. Using content classification conditions and publisher attribute classification conditions prevents search omissions due to variations in the spelling of search terms, etc., so even aspiring book authors who have little experience searching for publishers and are unfamiliar with searching can effectively select publishers. This achieves effective matching between aspiring book authors and publishers. At the end of step S'7, the control unit 11 proceeds to step S8'.

[0053] [Step S'8: Calculate display order] The control unit 11, in cooperation with the storage unit 12 and the communication unit 13, executes the publisher extraction unit 115 by performing machine learning. More specifically, when extracting publishers, the publisher extraction unit 115 calculates the ranking of publishers based on the relevance and similarity between the content summary information and the proposal information. By adjusting the ranking for displaying information related to publishers based on the relevance and similarity between the content summary information and the proposal information, a prospective book author can effectively select publishers without having to read through a huge amount of material when selecting a publisher, thereby achieving effective matching between the prospective book author and publishers. Note that the ranking of prospective book authors based on the relevance and similarity between the content summary information and the proposal information may be calculated in advance by performing machine learning using a large language model (LLM).

[0054] Similarly, the control unit 11, in cooperation with the memory unit 12 and the communication unit 13, may execute the aspiring author evaluation receiving unit 117 to further execute the publisher extraction unit 115 by performing machine learning. More specifically, the aspiring author evaluation receiving unit 117 receives evaluations of individual aspiring authors from the publisher terminal T2. The publisher extraction unit 115 then uses machine learning to calculate the likelihood of a match between publishers and aspiring authors based on the evaluations received from the aspiring author evaluation receiving unit 117, and, if necessary, combines this with the relevance and similarity between the content summary information and the proposal information to calculate a ranking of the publishers. By adjusting the ranking for displaying information related to publishers based on the evaluations of individual aspiring authors, aspiring authors can effectively select publishers with a higher likelihood of matching when selecting publishers, thereby achieving effective matching between aspiring authors and publishers.

[0055] Furthermore, when the publisher extraction unit 115 extracts publishers, it may calculate the ranking of publishers by combining sales performance information related to the sales performance of books previously published by the publishers, which is registered in the storage unit 12, with the relevance and similarity between the content summary information and the proposal information. Here, sales performance information related to book sales performance includes information such as the number of previously published books, number of copies sold, total sales, number of reprints, number of stores selling the book, and sales trends by genre or region. By adjusting the ranking for displaying information related to publishers based on such sales performance information, aspiring book authors can more easily select publishers with extensive publishing know-how when selecting publishers, thereby achieving effective matching between aspiring book authors and publishers. Then, at the end of step S'8, the control unit 11 proceeds to step S'9.

[0056] [Step S'9: Command display] The control unit 11 executes the display command unit 119 in cooperation with the storage unit 12 and the communication unit 13. The display command unit 119 commands the display of information related to the publishers extracted by the publisher extraction unit 115. At this time, the control unit 11 may receive conditions regarding the display order desired by the aspiring book author via the communication unit 13, and the display command unit 119 may further command a display order that reflects those conditions. Finally, the control unit 11 returns the matching process to step S1, and repeats the processes from step S1 to step S5 and step S'6 to step S'9.

[0057] [Other Steps] The following describes, by way of example, other steps that may be performed by the assistance device 1. The steps exemplified below may be employed individually or in combination.

[0058] (Sends and receives two-way messages between publishers and prospective authors) The control unit 11 of the support device 1, in cooperation with the memory unit 12 and the communication unit 13, may receive text information, document information, image information, etc. from either the aspiring author terminal T1 or the publisher terminal T2 and instruct the other terminal to display the received information. By providing the support device 1 with such a two-way message sending and receiving function between the publisher and the aspiring author, various processes that previously required a lot of effort and expense from the time of matching between the publisher and the aspiring author until the book is published can be streamlined, thereby reducing the burden on both the publisher and the aspiring author. In this case, before instructing the aspiring author terminal T1 to initially display the information received from the publisher terminal T2, the support device 1 may instruct the aspiring author terminal T1 to display a message reception permission form. Furthermore, before instructing the publisher terminal T2 to initially display the information received from the aspiring author terminal T1, the support device 1 may instruct the publisher terminal T2 to display a message reception permission form.

[0059] In this regard, the control unit 11 of the support device 1 may instruct the aspiring author terminal T1 to display information necessary for the publishing company to support the activities of the aspiring author. More specifically, the control unit 11 may instruct the aspiring author terminal T1 to display information necessary for the aspiring author to raise funds from a third party before or after the publication of the book. A specific method of such fundraising may be a conventionally known crowdfunding method. Alternatively, for example, the aspiring author may raise funds in the form of collecting "tips" from readers after the publication.

[0060] This tipping may be a substitute for currency (hereinafter also referred to as a "currency substitute"), such as points or virtual currency purchased in advance from another business. Information about these currency substitutes may be provided by readers to the aspiring author via the Internet. For example, predetermined payment identification information, such as a two-dimensional code such as a QR code (registered trademark), may be provided to the book, and information about the currency substitute may be sent from readers to the aspiring author via that payment identification information. In any case, in order for the publishing company to support the aspiring author in this series of processes, the control unit 11 may instruct the aspiring author terminal T1 to display necessary information.

[0061] As described above, the support device 1 of this embodiment can improve the efficiency of publishers' searches for aspiring authors, and can also improve the efficiency of aspiring authors' searches for publishers. The improved efficiency of searches for aspiring authors by the support device 1 leads to increased customer attraction for publishers as users due to its convenience. Furthermore, an increase in the number of publishers as users leads to more diverse and efficient searches for publishers by aspiring authors, and this convenience leads to increased customer attraction for aspiring authors as users. This further leads to more diverse and efficient searches for aspiring authors by publishers, and the interaction between the two leads to an explosive increase in the value of the platform and a significant increase in the efficiency of two-way matching between publishers and aspiring authors.

[0062] <Usage example> The following is an example of how the support device 1 of this embodiment is used. The following describes an example of how the support device 1 is used when a publishing company selects people who wish to write books.

[0063] [Table registration / update] The support device 1 stores personal information, company information, proposal information, past content information, and past performance information provided by the book writer and the publishing company, respectively, in the writer table 121 and the publishing company table 122, and updates the stored information.

[0064] [Providing a search platform] The support device 1 receives the aspiring author conditions or their classification conditions from a publisher terminal T2 or the like used by a sales representative of a publisher who has a fixed-price subscription to a service that introduces aspiring authors. The support device 1 extracts a list of aspiring authors associated with data that does not contradict the aspiring author conditions from the aspiring author table 121. This allows the support device 1 to provide a platform for introducing aspiring authors who meet the aspiring author conditions to sales representatives or the like.

[0065] 〔matching〕 The support device 1 adjusts the display order of the extracted aspiring book authors based on the aspiring book author conditions as well as the relevance and similarity of the proposal information and content summary information. The aspiring book author extraction unit 113 and the display order calculation unit 118 may also adjust the display order of the aspiring book authors based on the aspiring book author's activity regarding the publisher's advertisements and content information (for example, advertisements, content information, and publishers that have given "likes," advertisements, content information, and publishers that have left favorable comments, advertisements, content information, and publishers that have left favorable reviews, etc.) to the extent that it is consistent with the activity. Then, based on the selection of the publisher's sales representative for the extracted aspiring book author, the support device 1 performs matching, such as sending the aspiring book author an invitation to work with the publisher to write a book.

[0066] [Management after matching is established] The support device 1 registers information relating to the relationship between publishers and aspiring book writers established through the above-mentioned search platform and matching in the storage unit 12. The support device 1 then enables two-way message transmission and reception between publishers and aspiring book writers, thereby reducing the effort and cost required for book writing for both publishers and book writers, and enabling effective and efficient book publishing.

[0067] In addition, as another use example, a use example when a person hoping to write a book selects a publishing company will be described below. Note that in the explanation of the use example below, explanations of the same configuration as that explained in the above "Use example when a publishing company selects a person hoping to write a book" may be omitted.

[0068] [Providing a search platform] The support device 1 receives publisher conditions or their classification conditions from the aspiring book writer terminal T1 or the like used by book writers who have registered with the service that introduces publishers. The support device 1 extracts a list of publishers associated with data that does not contradict the publisher conditions from the publisher table 122. This allows the support device 1 to provide a platform for introducing publishers that meet the publisher conditions to aspiring book writers or the like.

[0069] 〔matching〕 The support device 1 adjusts the display order of the extracted publishing companies based on the publishing company conditions as well as the relevance and similarity between the content summary information and the proposal information. Furthermore, the publishing company extraction unit 115 and the display order calculation unit 118 may adjust the display order of the publishing companies based on the activity of the aspiring book writers at the publishing companies with respect to the proposal information, etc. (for example, the proposal information / aspiring book writers who "liked" the book, the proposal information / aspiring book writers who added favorable comments, the proposal information / aspiring book writers who left favorable reviews, etc.) to the extent that it does not contradict the activity. Then, based on the aspiring book writer's selection of the extracted publishing companies, the support device 1 performs matching, such as sending a solicitation letter to the publishing company requesting the aspiring book writer to consider a book writing project.

[0070] It should be noted that within the scope of the concept of the present invention, those skilled in the art may conceive of various modifications and alterations. Therefore, it is understood that such modifications and alterations fall within the scope of the present invention. For example, even if a person skilled in the art appropriately adds, deletes, or modifies components of the above-described embodiment, or adds, omits, or modifies the conditions of a process, such modifications are also included within the scope of the present invention as long as they maintain the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0071] S System 1 Support equipment 11 Control section 111 Data Management Department 112 Authorship Conditions Reception Department 113 Book writing applicant extraction department 114 Publisher Conditions Receiving Department 115 Publishing business extraction department 116 Publisher Evaluation Reception Department 117 Author Evaluation Reception Department 118 Display rank calculation section 119 Display command section 12 Storage section 121 Authorship Table 122 Publisher Table 13 Communications Department N Network T-Terminal T1 Terminal for those wishing to write books T2 Publisher terminal

Claims

1. a data management unit that manages data relating to aspiring book authors, attributes of the aspiring book authors, and proposals for books that the aspiring book authors wish to write, in association with each other; a writer candidate condition receiving unit that receives book writer candidate conditions, which are conditions for matching with a book writer candidate; a book author candidate extraction unit that extracts book author candidates who satisfy the book author candidate conditions from the data managed by the data management unit; a display command unit that commands the display of information related to the aspiring author(s) extracted by the aspiring author extraction unit; Equipped with The conditions for the aspiring book author include a proposal condition, which is a condition related to the proposal, and / or a book author attribute condition, which is a condition related to the attribute, the book author aspirant extraction unit extracts the book author aspirants based on a comparison of the proposal conditions and / or author attribute conditions with data managed by the data management unit; A support device for publication matching.

2. the data management unit manages proposal classification information, which is a classification of the proposal, and aspirant author attribute classification information, which is a classification of the aspirant author attributes, in association with the data; The proposal conditions include proposal classification conditions, which are conditions related to the classification of the proposal, and / or the book author conditions include book author attribute classification conditions, which are conditions related to the classification of the book author attributes, When the book aspirant author extraction unit compares the proposal conditions and / or the aspirant author attribute conditions with the data managed by the data management unit, the book aspirant author extraction unit compares the proposal classification conditions and / or the aspirant author attribute classification conditions with the data managed by the data management unit. The support device according to claim 1 .

3. a publisher condition receiving unit that receives publisher conditions that are conditions for matching with a publisher; a publisher extraction unit that extracts publishers that satisfy the publisher conditions from the data managed by the data management unit; Furthermore, The data management unit further manages data associating publishers with attributes of the publishers, The publisher conditions include publisher conditions that are conditions related to the publisher, the publisher extraction unit extracts the publishers based on a comparison between the publisher conditions and data managed by the data management unit; the display command unit commands the display of information related to the publishers extracted by the publisher extraction unit; The support device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The data management unit further manages data associating content summary information of books previously published by the publisher with the publisher; the book author aspirant extraction unit, when extracting the book author aspirants, calculates a ranking of the book author aspirants based on the relevance of the data related to the proposal and the content summary information; the display command unit further commands the display of the ranking. The support device according to claim 3 .

5. a publishing company evaluation receiving unit that receives an evaluation of the publishing company from the book author hopeful, the book author aspirant extraction unit calculates a ranking of the book author aspirants based on the relevance and the evaluation when extracting the book author aspirants; The support device according to claim 4.

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