July 17, 2007

Hi all,

Here are some of my notes on the publishing process, taken during various workshops as well as some of my own thoughts. Many of the steps that follow happen simultaneously, but writing, however, is serial.

The Basics of The Publishing Process

You've pitched to an editor and they've been sold on your completed manuscript. You get The Call. You should know right now that the ideal time between this call and seeing your book on the shelf is about one year. Rarely will you see a book come out faster than 6 months, and often its more like 18 months.

First thing to expect is some paperwork to sign. Contract and terms will need to be negotiated.

It may help at this point to consider things from the editor's point of view. Each book is a project to them and they generally manage several projects at any given time (often in the range of 30-40 books a year). The editor is generally the project manager for this book project.

One of the first things your editor will do is start writing up the "book package". which is basically a project statement - especially a marketing sheet. This is a good time to give the editor as much info as you can to help get a head start - the more tidbits that support your book, the better. Some of the information the editor will start to collect is:

• Final Book Title, Genre, Word/Page Count
  
• Author Name, Bio
  
• The Hook or Pitch
  
• Selling Points and Positioning
  
• Backlist of Author
  
• Competitive Titles and Authors
  
• Booksellers likely to be interested (local ones, etc)
  
• Quotes and Reviews
  

Next, they will likely have a cover conference. The marketing vision of the book starts very early on. Generally, if you're a series, knowing the titles of the series, like a trilogy, in advance, can be worked into the vision for unifying the books.

Meanwhile, the editor has marked up the manuscript and, along with a revision letter, this has been sent back to the author for revision. Also, cover copy may be worked on, and sent to the editor and author for review. Once all the revisions are complete, the revised manuscript is sent to the copy editor. This final manuscript may be sent to other authors to get endorsements and quotes.

A strategy meeting will likely occur around this time, with all the appropriate publishing departments attending. This is a formal presentation of the book and the marketing plan for it. This is a great time to have already informed your editor about any self-promotion plans.

A sales conference may follow. Here the cover, catalogs and marketing plans are finalized. Large booksellers might get to provide feedback at this time. For example, there have been times when a cover or a title was "too racy" for a certain seller's shelves, and so it might be revised.

Mechanicals are like coverflats only simpler. They are the external part of the book, with the covers, titles, and copy. Around this time, the mechanicals are signed off on by editorial and other groups. This finalizes the cover marketing.

Meanwhile, the author has received the finalized copyedited manuscript. Once it has been reviewed, it is sent to typesetting.

Coverproofs, which are again, much like coverflats, are reviewed and signed off on.

The typeset book is run as a first pass. These pages are proofread, often by the author as well as several proof-readers. Any changes will go back to typesetting, and the book with get a second pass printing.

Once all is finalized, the book goes to print. It generally takes about 2 months for printing to be completed. Meanwhile, the sales department is selling the book to booksellers and they are making orders for the book. This will help determine the number of volumes printed for the first edition. The final book is often ready about a month before it goes on sale, for promotional purposes.

As you can see, the timing of all this stuff makes it important to provide as much information as possible as soon as possible, so any ideas sourced from the author get worked into the marketing plan early on.

Hope this helps!