Behind The Scenes Session 2
May 18, 2014
Moving forward Behind The Scenes will post every 3rd Sunday of the month. As promised last month, today’s session will provide insight for a reader’s favorite question: “What’s taking the book so long to be released?”
For the purposes of this session we’ll look at the production path from a traditional publishing standpoint.
I usually wait until negotiations are over and a contract is signed before I announce a new book deal. This is because the process from an offer being made to the final contract being received can sometimes take months. But once I’ve signed on the dotted line…it’s on! Usually, I submit proposals for new books. A proposal consists of a complete synopsis (beginning to end of book) and three chapters. Once the contract is complete I’ll have concrete deadlines to meet, and depending how long the negotiation process has taken it might be sooner, rather than later. Once the book is completed and I’ve hit send on the email to my editor, it begins its journey through the production process.
My editor reads the first draft and usually gets back to me in a two month period to request revisions. These can range from something large, like plot/character changes, to something small, like a suggestion for altering a particular sentence. We usually only go through this process once, but a book can go through several drafts before reaching its final stage. Once my editor and I are satisfied with the story, the manuscript is submitted to the production department and they send it out to a copyeditor. The copyeditor will look for things like grammar and formatting. They also pick up inconsistencies throughout the manuscript such as eye color, hair length. I love my copyeditor because I often make mistakes in this area. During this time the ebook production department is also working on formatting the digital file for the book, calculating chapter and page count. This process can take up to 2-3 weeks.
I’m given two weeks to go over all of the copyeditor’s concerns. During this time the production team is creating the design for the inside of the book. They are working on the font treatment for the title page chapter headings, as well as what font to use for the text of the book, and how many lines to put on each page. This helps dictate what the final page count of a novel will be. Simultaneously, production and the editor decide what else should appear in the book—a list of my other books, an excerpt of from my upcoming novel, a page calling out the next book in the series, etc.
When I’m finished with the copyedited manuscript it goes back to production to be typeset in compliance with all the design and text elements that were decided upon earlier. These pages take about a month to create and will be called the first pass pages.
I receive the first pass pages and am given two weeks to make sure the book reads as it should and that all the corrections from the copyediting stage have been incorporated. This is the last time I see the book until I receive my author copies. ***Note: All of this is going on while I’ve already started writing the next book. Yikes! Sometimes it’s a task juggling the new edits and writing the new book.
In some cases—this totally depends on the publisher and is usually only with single title books—the final pages are bound into a soft copy with a cover that is close to what the final cover will be. They are called galleys/Advanced Reader Copies, and are useful to marketing and publicity. Galleys/Advanced Reader Copies are sent out to reviewers, radio/tv hosts, bloggers…anywhere that would show interest in the type of book being published, by the publisher. I receive a small number of these copies and sometimes hold reader contests with them or send to specific reviewers that my publisher may not know about.
It takes about six weeks for the pages and the cover to be 100% final. After that, it is sent to the printer. A typical text-only book is meant to be printed around eight weeks before its publication date. Orders for print books are finalized at least 3 months before publication, so the production team can tell how many books the printer needs to create.
Printing and shipping these books to the various warehouses will take about a month, so that they arrive one month prior to publication. Three weeks prior to the publication date, the books are shipped to all the stores and warehouses that placed orders, so that they have time to receive the stock, ship to customers who pre-ordered, set up displays, etc.
And then…you can purchase the book!
When all moves according to plan this process can take up to nine months. This is why when I announce a new book deal in July 2014, if it’s for a print book, you most likely won’t have that book in your hot little hands until June or July of 2015. If the book is heading for ebook only release the process is a lot shorter.
Next session: An Author’s Limitations—The Contract
Moving forward Behind The Scenes will post every 3rd Sunday of the month. As promised last month, today’s session will provide insight for a reader’s favorite question: “What’s taking the book so long to be released?”
For the purposes of this session we’ll look at the production path from a traditional publishing standpoint.
I usually wait until negotiations are over and a contract is signed before I announce a new book deal. This is because the process from an offer being made to the final contract being received can sometimes take months. But once I’ve signed on the dotted line…it’s on! Usually, I submit proposals for new books. A proposal consists of a complete synopsis (beginning to end of book) and three chapters. Once the contract is complete I’ll have concrete deadlines to meet, and depending how long the negotiation process has taken it might be sooner, rather than later. Once the book is completed and I’ve hit send on the email to my editor, it begins its journey through the production process.
My editor reads the first draft and usually gets back to me in a two month period to request revisions. These can range from something large, like plot/character changes, to something small, like a suggestion for altering a particular sentence. We usually only go through this process once, but a book can go through several drafts before reaching its final stage. Once my editor and I are satisfied with the story, the manuscript is submitted to the production department and they send it out to a copyeditor. The copyeditor will look for things like grammar and formatting. They also pick up inconsistencies throughout the manuscript such as eye color, hair length. I love my copyeditor because I often make mistakes in this area. During this time the ebook production department is also working on formatting the digital file for the book, calculating chapter and page count. This process can take up to 2-3 weeks.
I’m given two weeks to go over all of the copyeditor’s concerns. During this time the production team is creating the design for the inside of the book. They are working on the font treatment for the title page chapter headings, as well as what font to use for the text of the book, and how many lines to put on each page. This helps dictate what the final page count of a novel will be. Simultaneously, production and the editor decide what else should appear in the book—a list of my other books, an excerpt of from my upcoming novel, a page calling out the next book in the series, etc.
When I’m finished with the copyedited manuscript it goes back to production to be typeset in compliance with all the design and text elements that were decided upon earlier. These pages take about a month to create and will be called the first pass pages.
I receive the first pass pages and am given two weeks to make sure the book reads as it should and that all the corrections from the copyediting stage have been incorporated. This is the last time I see the book until I receive my author copies. ***Note: All of this is going on while I’ve already started writing the next book. Yikes! Sometimes it’s a task juggling the new edits and writing the new book.
In some cases—this totally depends on the publisher and is usually only with single title books—the final pages are bound into a soft copy with a cover that is close to what the final cover will be. They are called galleys/Advanced Reader Copies, and are useful to marketing and publicity. Galleys/Advanced Reader Copies are sent out to reviewers, radio/tv hosts, bloggers…anywhere that would show interest in the type of book being published, by the publisher. I receive a small number of these copies and sometimes hold reader contests with them or send to specific reviewers that my publisher may not know about.
It takes about six weeks for the pages and the cover to be 100% final. After that, it is sent to the printer. A typical text-only book is meant to be printed around eight weeks before its publication date. Orders for print books are finalized at least 3 months before publication, so the production team can tell how many books the printer needs to create.
Printing and shipping these books to the various warehouses will take about a month, so that they arrive one month prior to publication. Three weeks prior to the publication date, the books are shipped to all the stores and warehouses that placed orders, so that they have time to receive the stock, ship to customers who pre-ordered, set up displays, etc.
And then…you can purchase the book!
When all moves according to plan this process can take up to nine months. This is why when I announce a new book deal in July 2014, if it’s for a print book, you most likely won’t have that book in your hot little hands until June or July of 2015. If the book is heading for ebook only release the process is a lot shorter.
Next session: An Author’s Limitations—The Contract
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