One of my blog readers recently asked me what stages I had to go through before my latest book was accepted by Yale University Press. He was surprised by how complex the process was, so I thought others might find it interesting too.
I don’t know how it is with other publishers, but I imagine this is fairly typical of a non-fiction publisher, especially a university press:
1. You suggest your idea for a book, or they suggest one to you. Regardless of which way round it is, the author then has to:
2. Submit a detailed proposal for the book, giving an outline of its structure, possible chapter headings, and a sample chapter.
3. Your editor scrutinises the proposal. When he or she is satisfied with it, it is sent to:
4. Two independent experts – usually senior academics or acknowledged experts in the topic – who assess the proposal (anonymously) and report back on it in some detail.
5. You, the author, have to digest the reports and respond to them, usually in written form, to show that you have taken the comments on board.
6. When this is done to everyone’s satisfaction, the Board approves the commissioning of the book and you receive a contract. You agree a time-frame for the book’s completion – for example, two or three years.
The allotted time passes. You work alone on the book. This is obviously the heart of the process. Then:
7. You submit the ‘finished product’. Your editor reads it and may suggest changes, which you then work on.
8. The manuscript is sent to two, sometimes three expert ‘Readers’ for them to write (anonymous) reports on. (Are they the same experts who reported on the proposal? I’ve never been told.)
9. The Readers send in their reports, which may each be pages long.
10. The author has to show that they have read and will respond constructively to the reports.
11. The author takes a deep breath and starts working through the Readers’ comments, which may involve considerable re-shaping of the text or parts of it.
12. The re-drafted book goes back to the editor, who decides whether it is now in final and acceptable form. If so:
13. It is sent to a copy-editor who goes through the text making sure that things are consistent, both within the text itself and within the ‘house style’ of the publisher. They may also suggest changes to wording if they think something could be clearer or more streamlined.
14. The author checks through the manuscript, responding to the copy-editor’s suggestions and considering their own last-minute ideas for things to add or delete. The manuscript goes back to the copy editor for final checking and incorporation of any new material.
15. The index now has to be compiled. (This will take weeks.) Some authors compile their own indexes. If not, it’s done by a professional indexer, at the author’s expense. In my case, I am very lucky that my in-house indexer has offered to do it, as he has done for all my other books which have indexes. I am very grateful for this as the thought of compiling my own index makes me feel sick.
16. The manuscript is now typeset. The resulting pages are proofread inch-by-inch by the author, and by others at the Press. Proofreading is famously difficult as you tend to see what you expect to be there, not what actually is.
After that, the production team supervises the printing, binding and so on.
I am currently in between stages 12 and 13 of the above process.
I wonder whether fiction writers have to go through all these stages? Somehow I doubt it, but I’m sure someone will enlighten me.
Wow! I always did have respect for authors but it has just increased massively
I have only had to go through this process once (with OUP) – but have certainly been there. One startling revelation: I paid a great deal of money to employ a professional indexer (provided by the publisher). I was appalled by the lazy, inept, and inadequate version that I was initially sent (particularly given the association with such a prestigious publishing house). I dispatched an appropriately armed torpedo by return – which clearly shocked the recipient into action: the revised index, completed in record time (said indexer must have sat up all night, for several nights to achieve this) was acceptable. But it certainly pays (in every sense) to check ….
That is really interesting and I had no idea the process was so extensive. I wonder (if you are able to reveal it) how often you have to take on board changes which you are not at heart entirely comfortable with? I suppose it’s probably a process of compromise. As for other genres, I have written several novels and volumes of poetry, and I have to say I have been guided almost entirely by my artistic instincts. This may be why none of them have been published yet! I was once signed by an agent, but when we didn’t immediately land a contract she let me go with the observation: “Your trouble is you always put art first.” It struck me as a rather strange thing to say. I thought I had been hired as an artist, but I suppose she was right in that publishing has to be a business too. But there is surely still a time to let art lead the way. I still hold out hope of appearing in print one day, anyway…
I wonder if AI could be used to create the index.
Very interesting, thanks! I always giggle when I see typos in published books, even though I’m a quick and fairly flippant reader I often notice a mistake or two – no doubt everybody was simply over the process by then and just wanted to get the thing published.
I feel that editors often don’t get the praise they deserve, I read an unedited book by an extremely gifted scholarly biographer and I was amazed by how much waffle was in the book compared to his edited books.