|
If you plan to publish your book yourself rather than
through an
established publisher, there are important things you should know
about the production process. For your book to be ready for
copyediting, it should already have been reviewed by a developmental
editor. Please be prepared to provide the word count (not the page
count) of your manuscript and a sample chapter so that the copy editor
can assess how much work would likely be involved in copyediting
your book.
-
Normally, when an author works with a book
publisher, the publisher provides a
developmental editor who works closely with the author in developing
the overall organization and format of the book.
- Then the manuscript is
given to the copy editor, usually as a Word file. The copy editor provides
an
estimate based on review of a chapter.
- Once the copyediting pass has
been
completed, the copyedited file is sent to the author to review the tracked changes suggested by the copy
editor. The author is not allowed to accept or reject changes in the
file but can suggest additional changes (with the tracking tool turned
on) and answer the copy editor's queries in the comments section.
- After the author has reviewed the copyedited file, the publisher e-mails the
file back to the copy editor to do a cleanup pass. This pass is a
final review by the copy editor to make the manuscript file as clean as
possible and double-check any new edits the author has made. At this
time, the copy editor accepts or rejects each suggested change and
ensures that all queries are resolved. If any unanswered queries
remain, the copy editor alerts the publisher.
- When any remaining
issues have been resolved by the publisher, the manuscript is sent to a
desktop publishing (DTP) professional, who pours the manuscript into a
DTP program such as InDesign or QuarkXpress. The DTP professional sets
the manuscript into pages according to the book design.
- Finally, pages are printed out, with hard copies sent to a proofreader, who compares the
page proofs to the final manuscript, ensuring that all copy transferred
properly and any newly introduced typos are caught.
Obviously,
if you are
self-publishing, you are not required to follow the usual production
procedures, but it helps to know about them so
that you can make wise choices for your project. For example, some
self-publishing authors forego re-contracting the copy editor to do the
cleanup pass, preferring to accept or reject changes themselves. If
you choose to do the cleanup pass yourself, I strongly encourage you
to hire a proofreader to review the page proofs, so that any potential
newly introduced errors can be caught. There's no point in creating a
book that you can't be proud of, so it's important to carefully
consider what steps may be necessary to produce a great work. |