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Book Trailer for Strange Sheets

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Tuesday, February 24, 2009

THE WRITING PROCESS....

WHY IT TAKES SO LONG GETTING A TRADITIONALLY PUBLISHED BOOK PUBLISHED



The process a book goes through after it leaves the writer’s hands once the manuscript is submitted and accepted by a publisher is so time consuming, you want to tear your hair out. The manuscript changes hands so many times, it is a wonder there is any print left on the paper, or any paper left to print in book form. No wonder eBook publishing and self-publishing looks so appealing to writers.

‘Congratulations, we accept your manuscript,’ says the publisher. And you think your work is finished except for the booksignings, the marketing and the pats on the back for a job well done. After all, you’ve already put a considerable amount of time into the manuscript writing and researching. What is the holdup? Well, guess what? You’ve submitted your precious baby to be distorted, changed, misshapen into something you wouldn’t recognize as your own work, even if it does have your name on it. It seems everyone is a critic. And, you have to wonder why your manuscript was accepted in the first place, if a publisher wants to change it as a first order of business.

The tale of woe: First the editor reads and reviews the manuscript. Then the author and editor discuss possible changes. Why they cannot leave a good, well written story alone is a mystery that even God can’t figure out. Everyone has input for the output. Time must be permitted not only for the author to make changes, but for the editor to review the new, and not always improved version. (Hang on to your submitted draft!). All this keeps people employed.

If that isn’t enough, then the book goes off to be copy-edited. Copy editors are very important and too rarely praised for the work they put into a manuscript. A copy editor is responsible for more than merely proofreading. The copy-editor makes certain the book is in line with the “house” guidelines which can vary enormously from publisher to publisher. Depending on what other types of books a publisher publishes, you may want to tear your hair out here as well.

In a series, the copy-editor watches for continuity problems, not only within the volume, but within volumes in a series. (For those who write “formula” books, where you are told what to write, where every book sounds the same as the last 20,000 printings by said publisher, hang your heads.)

A good copy editor is pure gold. A bad one should be horse-whipped and hung by their pencils, pens, computer keyboards...whatever they use. Horror stories abound. After the copy-editing, good or bad, the copy-edited manuscript gets mailed back to the author. The author reviews the comments, both those directly written on the page and those included in a side letter.

“Stet” is a useful term for authors to remember. STET! Have it tattoo’d somewhere. You may be using it often. It means “leave it alone.” If the author thinks the critique is out of bounds, s/he can write a letter to explain why s/he does not want a change. Example: my first book, a person I hired to edit the book did not know that some of the story setting was in NY because NY was a port of entry, and why the hero was located there. S/he also didn’t know about Karate, or pressure points and wanted those sections written out as too violent. Hello! It was a spy story. S/he also hadn’t a clue that women were very accomplished in the sport of Karate in real life, not just the movies. When you run into this, know that an editor, copy-editor, critique partner, etc., needs to know what you know. Good copy-editors et al accept and appreciate the input. The bad ones do not and insist on slash and burn. A good reason to keep notes and sources of your research until the day you die.

When the manuscript gets back to the publisher, the next place it finds itself is Production. Production people are the people who decide (in consultation with the editor) on things like style of type, what numbers to use for chapter headings, and whether there will be any art of glyphs at the start of chapters. They also decide the cute little “dingbats”—(yes, it is a real word) the little symbols that indicate a break in the action and point of view within a chapter.

When all these decisions are made, the book is formatted. Then it is produced as “page proofs.” These are the pages of the book as they will appear in the actual book, but still unbound. They come out in big sheets. Page proofs are then sent off to the author for review as well. NEVER ever skip this stage or any other or assume the publisher at any level of production knows what they are doing. This will have YOUR name on it. You can only make so many apologies for bad work before you look like an idiot. You can find entire paragraphs dropped, missing sentences, words mysteriously misspelled or altered, haywire punctuation. It is your last chance to change anything in the text. Sadly, not enough time is given for page proofs, considering ALL the time spent in the rest of the production. The only thing needed to be returned are those pages WITH changes, so if your page proofs are okay, you are done. Ha! Rarely is everything okay.

Next, the book goes back to Production. Your changes are made (or ignored).
Along with this is the cover art and jacket copy to be dealt with. Here you may not have any input. If you do, consider yourself lucky. It is always good to have an idea or two for your cover. It doesn’t mean you ideas will fly with the designers, but if they happen to ask, you have something to contribute. Same with the dingbats.

Somewhere in this series of business decisions and production activity, your novel must be slotted into the schedule for printing and release, another point at which massive delays can happen. My first book had so may delays, I cried. Do not trust the date you are given. It can and more than likely…will change. That production date is only a could’a, would’a, maybe, sort’a, might happen. Change is inevitable. Roll with the punches.

And, that is why it takes a novel so long to come out on bookshelves. Even after the text is written, there are a tremendous number of stages along the way to the finished book. If a publisher cares about the finished product, none of them will be omitted. If you care, you will be patient. And celebrate. It took a long hard road to get a finished shiny book in your hands. Now you can understand why eBooks and self-publishing are so attractive.

WHAT IS THE LESSON?

Never rest on your laurels. If you want to be an enduring writer, go beyond being a one-book-wonder. Keep writing! You will never be done honing your craft. There is something new to learn with each book, especially in marketing and promoting. Publishers come and go. New talent rises and falls by the wayside because they thought they knew it all and the profession of writing and its rewards passed them by. Never become complacent in your craft.

Set short term and long term goals. Change and refine your list as needed. Yes, the list will change. Where would you like to be in six months? How about five or ten years from now? How will you get there. Plan, plan, plan, and dream, dream, dream. Learn all you can and pursue your dreams with enthusiasm. Hopes and dreams are the keys to the Universe.

You will compete, but compete with yourself. It’s in your DNA. Use others’ success as a benchmark for your own. Be inspired. Never stop dreaming. Set higher and higher goals for yourself. Enjoy the ride.

It is easy to be discouraged. Rejection isn’t easy for anyone. Keep in mind that each NO you receive is one step closer to a YES. Be thankful. You write because you have to write. This too is in your DNA. Get paid for it. Do not squander your talent.

Join writer’s groups. They provide inspiration and support from other writers. Other writers can provide resources, education workshops and encouragement. Too far away to participate? No time? Look online for listings in your area, or sign up for the many national organizations and bulletin boards available via the Internet.

Love your fans. Appreciate them.

Keep a trophy wall. Frame your contracts, your book covers, your thank you notes, your letters of appreciation. You’ve earned those accolades because you tried. You don’t know where you are going until you know where you’ve been. Remind yourself of all that you’ve achieved and all that’s possible to those who dare to believe in themselves. Success is trying. Failure is never having stepped out of your comfort zone to compete with yourself.

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