Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Book Progress – Final Corrections:
I haven’t been very good about posting to this blog and I apologize for that. Getting a book ready for publication is more work than I ever thought, though I love every minute of it. If I were only publishing a book things would have gone much faster than this, but in the past eight-plus years I’ve been an activist, educator and volunteer; and I’ve been running a busy household with frequent guests and a lot of fun.
Life has been wonderfully full and exciting.
On the book front I’ve finished my Point-Of-View (POV) edit and corrections to the narrative. This week I started correcting the text. As I input those correction I will be sending the final text to my good friend, Stuart Tanner, for the final copy edit.
Did I mention that, in addition to having English running through his veins, Stuart is also a top-flight poet. As I get older I appreciate the beauty of good poetry more and more, though my writing talent does not lie in that direction. I’ve had the good fortune to know two talented poets personally, Stuart is one of them.
After Stuart and I finish the final copy edit, the manuscript goes out to my proof-readers. When those come back and are checked, I print out the final manuscript. This undergoes a final read-through, including reading it aloud. Corrections can happen even at this final stage if needed.
Then I format the document, finish the paperwork for the publisher, and send it out.
When the publisher gets it, they will convert the book from a word processor file to a publication file. There can be errors during this conversion. The publisher sends me galleys as .pdf files and I scan them for final correction.
Every error caused by their software costs me nothing. Every error of mine costs .03 and those three pennies add up fast. I understand the reasons, which is why I use multiple proof-readers and talented editors.
A shout-out to my first editor, and writing mentor, Ken Ludden, whose SIL web site is back up and running. I’m immensely grateful to Ken for all his help, and I hope his second book comes out soon.
I haven’t been very good about posting to this blog and I apologize for that. Getting a book ready for publication is more work than I ever thought, though I love every minute of it. If I were only publishing a book things would have gone much faster than this, but in the past eight-plus years I’ve been an activist, educator and volunteer; and I’ve been running a busy household with frequent guests and a lot of fun.
Life has been wonderfully full and exciting.
On the book front I’ve finished my Point-Of-View (POV) edit and corrections to the narrative. This week I started correcting the text. As I input those correction I will be sending the final text to my good friend, Stuart Tanner, for the final copy edit.
Did I mention that, in addition to having English running through his veins, Stuart is also a top-flight poet. As I get older I appreciate the beauty of good poetry more and more, though my writing talent does not lie in that direction. I’ve had the good fortune to know two talented poets personally, Stuart is one of them.
After Stuart and I finish the final copy edit, the manuscript goes out to my proof-readers. When those come back and are checked, I print out the final manuscript. This undergoes a final read-through, including reading it aloud. Corrections can happen even at this final stage if needed.
Then I format the document, finish the paperwork for the publisher, and send it out.
When the publisher gets it, they will convert the book from a word processor file to a publication file. There can be errors during this conversion. The publisher sends me galleys as .pdf files and I scan them for final correction.
Every error caused by their software costs me nothing. Every error of mine costs .03 and those three pennies add up fast. I understand the reasons, which is why I use multiple proof-readers and talented editors.
A shout-out to my first editor, and writing mentor, Ken Ludden, whose SIL web site is back up and running. I’m immensely grateful to Ken for all his help, and I hope his second book comes out soon.
# posted by Phillip T. Alden @ 9:40 PM 
