More finishing to do
So, remember that piece I posted a couple of weeks ago? The one titled “Finished!”
Well, that was merely one finishing line on the journey to publication.
At that stage, we had completed all the words and all the pictures and submitted the illustrated pages to Random House.
Before submitting that version of the manuscript, our editor, Andrea Walker, had already read through the book and recommended an ego-puffingly small number of cuts, revisions and suggestions. We took those on board in the last push to get the manuscript complete, and it’s that version of the manuscript we submitted a few weeks ago.
From editor to copy editor
We’re now intensely engaged in “finishing”; that is, ensuring that the copy editor at Random House has a final, polished version of the manuscript to work with.
For the past couple of weeks I’ve had the illustrated manuscript displayed on one monitor, the script on another, and a Word document in which I list edits and conflicts on a third. All of that is now in the hands of artist Catherine, who will take the corrections and apply them to speech boxes and narration throughout the manuscript.
Once we submit that version of the manuscript, it will be over to the copy editor.
Copyediting is the process of going through the text to ensure it is readable and accurate. The copy editor:
- scrutinizes the manuscript for consistency of style and tone;
- checks the accuracy of spelling, grammar and punctuation;
- flags material that might have legal implications.
If you’ve ever had your enjoyment of an otherwise wonderful book derailed by typos, grammatical errors or poor syntax, you’ll deeply appreciate the role of the copy editor.
A long lead time gets longer
Most of the large publishing houses in the US use Chinese companies to print many of their titles. Even with shipping factored in, printing in China can cut costs by 50-60%. Of course, it also adds to the time it takes to have a book printed and ready for publication.
Our book is one of those that will head over to China for printing, and that’s why our deadline to have it in printable shape is only about six weeks away. Even with a mid-2024 deadline, publication won’t be until Fall, 2025.
Andrea had previously suggested a Summer, 2025 publication date, but Fall works better, not only because it allows for offshore printing, but also because of its subject matter, Graphic Dead Man Walking is not most people’s idea of summer vacation reading. Because high school and university students are our primary target audience, we want to get publication aligned with the most auspicious part of the academic year.