Abouts Books

By Elizabeth C. Judd

Curious about what happens to your book manuscript after you turn it in to the publisher? This article provides a step-by-step overview of the second stage of the publishing process. You'll learn what happens after your book goes into production. The roles of the production editor, copyeditor, typesetter, proofreader, and printer are explained, and the bound book date and publication date are clarified.

Copyediting

After any preliminary editing and revisions have been done, your book officially goes into production. A production editor or project editor supervises the publication process from here on. She or he first sends the manuscript to a copyeditor, who will put it in the publisher's house style (often based on the CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE), edit it for grammar and other mechanical problems, and try to catch inconsistencies and factual errors.

Manuscript Review and Cleanup

The file is returned to you for your review of the editing, for any final revisions, and, in the case of scholarly books, to add missing reference information. The production editor or copyeditor then does the "cleanup," which involves reviewing your changes, inserting your responses to queries in the manuscript, and resolving other editorial problems.

Book Design

The book designer finalizes the interior design of the book at this time, and the production editor codes the text elements to correspond to detailed type specifications.

Typesetting

The manuscript then goes to the typesetter (sometimes called the compositor). Because you were almost certainly asked to submit your manuscript in the form of an electronic file, it won't usually be necessary for the typesetter to keyboard or retype it from an edited hardcopy. But the typesetter may still have to do extensive work on the format and other aspects of the electronic file to prepare it for the printer. If there are tables, they are typeset separately, as are figure captions. The typesetter makes up the pages, placing the text, figures, and tables according to the book designer's specs.

Proofreading

Next, a set of page proofs is sent to you--and another set to a proofreader, if your publisher provides proofreading services--so typos and other errors can be corrected. ("Galley proof" is an old-fashioned term rarely used any more. Galley proofs are long strips, or galleys, of typeset text that have not been made up into pages. Page proofs represent the actual pages as they will appear in the printed book, with figures and tables in place.)

After you've marked any errors you've found on the page proofs and returned the proofs to the publisher, they're collated with the proofreader's master set of page proofs (if any). The typesetter makes the changes indicated, and the proofreader or production editor reviews the corrected pages to verify that all changes have been made. There may be two or more rounds of corrections. The index is also prepared at this stage.

Printing and Final Review

The book then goes to the printer. The printer supplies the publisher with digital proofs (once known as "blues"). The digital proofs represent the output of the final corrected file supplied by the typesetter. The production editor does a final check of the title, author name, ISBN numbers, continuity of text, and figure quality, among other details.

After the printing is done, the production editor reviews the F&Gs (folded and gathered sheets), which represent the actual printed signatures (blocks of pages) run off by the printer. This final check provides an opportunity to catch disastrous mistakes (misspelling of an author's name) or horrible printing before the book is bound.

Bound Book Date and Publication Date

One fine day, you'll receive a shipment of sample copies of the book. This is referred to as the "bound book date." Typically, six to nine months will have elapsed from the time your manuscript entered production to the time you receive the bound book. About five weeks after the bound book date, all the books will be in the publisher's warehouse, ready for purchase. This is the official publication date, and ask your colleagues and friends to come celebrate at your book party.

Elizabeth C. Judd, PhD, is the owner of Casco Bay Literary Services, an editorial services firm that provides book editing, ghostwriting, manuscript evaluation, consultation, and other publishing services. Our goal is to create the best possible publishing outcome for you, at prices you can afford. Click on http://www.cascobayliteraryservices.com for more information and writers' resources, including other articles on publishing topics.