An Overview of the Publishing Process
Copyright © 2008 Casco Bay Literary Services

Curious about what happens to your book manuscript after you turn it in to the publisher? This article provides a step-by-step overview of the publishing process.

Types of Books

The details of the publishing process differ somewhat depending on the type of book you've written. Books can be categorized in various ways; one possible distinction is between five major (though overlapping) types: trade, mass-market paperback, textbook, scholarly, and reference.

Trade books are commercial books aimed at a general audience and include most bestsellers.  They're usually sold in bookstores—in contrast, say, to textbooks, which are often ordered through school systems, or in contrast to mass-market paperbacks, available not only in bookstores but also in supermarkets, airports, and other locations. Like trade books, scholarly and reference books are primarily available in bookstores.

The specifics of the publishing process vary from publisher to publisher and are also changing as new technology emerges. But the following outline generally holds true.

Writing

After you've signed a contract, you'll complete your book within six months or a year or whatever timeframe is specified in the contract. Ideally, you'll receive feedback from your agent (if you have one) or from the publishing house during the writing process, so that the manuscript you turn in to the publisher is nearly flawless. But the publisher may decide the book needs more work at this point.

Line Editing or Developmental Editing

Any of several types of editors could suggest revisions. Publishers use a mystifying array of terms for their editorial staff; the terms vary from one area of the publishing industry to another and even from one company to another. (The glossary at the end of this article clarifies the more important terms.) But whatever they're called, most editors at this stage are concerned with the larger picture—that is, with aspects of your manuscript like organization, readability, and accuracy—rather than with smaller details like grammar and spelling.

For example, the acquisitions or acquiring editor could recommend revisions; in the case of scholarly books, these may be based on suggestions from peer reviewers. Or if you've written a trade book, the (line) editor, content editor, or substantive editor handling the book may suggest improvements. Textbooks are sometimes sent to a developmental editor, who will recommend organizational, stylistic, and other changes that can make a book more competitive with similar books. After you've made the necessary changes, the manuscript goes into production.

Copyediting

A production editor or project editor supervises the publication process from here on. She or he first sends the manuscript to a copyeditor, who will put it in the publisher's house style (often based on the Chicago Manual of Style), edit it for grammar and other mechanical problems, and try to catch inconsistencies and factual errors.

Manuscript Review and Cleanup

The manuscript is returned to you for your review of the editing, for any final revisions, and, in the case of scholarly books, to add missing reference information. The production editor or copyeditor then does the "cleanup," which involves reviewing your changes, inserting your responses to queries in the manuscript, and resolving other editorial problems.

Book Design

The book designer finalizes the interior design of the book at this time, and the production editor codes the text elements to correspond to detailed type specifications.

Typesetting

The manuscript then goes to the typesetter (sometimes called the compositor). Because you were almost certainly asked to submit your manuscript in the form of an electronic file, it won't usually be necessary for the typesetter to keyboard or retype it from an edited hardcopy. But the typesetter may still have to do extensive work on the format and other aspects of the electronic file to prepare it for the printer. If there are tables, they are typeset separately, as are figure captions. The typesetter makes up the pages, placing the text, figures, and tables according to the book designer's specs.

Proofreading

Next, a set of page proofs is sent to you—and another set to a proofreader, if your publisher provides proofreading services—so typos and other errors can be corrected. (Galley proof is an old-fashioned term rarely used any more. Galley proofs are long strips, or galleys, of typeset text that have not been made up into pages. Page proofs represent the actual pages as they will appear in the printed book, with figures and tables in place.)

After you've marked any errors you've found on the page proofs and returned the proofs to the publisher, they're collated with the proofreader's master set of page proofs (if any). The typesetter makes the changes indicated, and the proofreader or production editor reviews the corrected pages to verify that all changes have been made. There may be two or more rounds of corrections. The index is also prepared at this stage.

Printing

The book then goes to the printer. The printer supplies the publisher with digital proofs (once known as "blues"). The digital proofs represent the output of the final corrected file supplied by the typesetter. The production editor does a final check of the title, author name, ISBN numbers, continuity of text, and figure quality, among other details.

Final Review

After the printing is done, the production editor reviews the F&Gs (folded and gathered sheets), which represent the actual printed signatures (blocks of pages) run off by the printer. This final check provides an opportunity to catch disastrous mistakes (misspelling of an author's name) or horrible printing before the book is bound.

Bound Book Date and Publication Date

One fine day, you'll receive a shipment of sample copies of the book. This is referred to as the "bound book date." Typically, six to nine months will have elapsed from the time your manuscript entered production to the time you receive the bound book. About five weeks after the bound book date, all the books will be in the publisher's warehouse, ready for purchase. This is the official publication date, and ask your colleagues and friends to come celebrate at your book party.

Glossary

For a better understanding of the process just sketched, more information may be helpful on the differences between the various types of editors, like copyeditor, developmental editor, and so on. These terms can be confusing; there is no general agreement about what some of them mean, and there are also differences in usage between trade and textbook publishing. Thus the following is only a rough guide.

Acquisitions editor, acquiring editor, or sponsoring editor.  Makes contact with authors and recommends manuscripts for publication; sometimes suggests editorial changes to authors to make manuscripts more publishable (these terms apply only to textbook and scholarly publishing; agents carry out the corresponding functions in trade or commercial publishing)

Book doctor.  A self-employed editor or writer (not an in-house employee of a publishing company); functions like a developmental editor in helping an author improve the organization, style, and many other aspects of a book

Copyeditor. Corrects grammatical, spelling, and other mechanical errors; puts the book in the publisher's house style or other appropriate style (APA, MLA, and so on); reads for clarity; eliminates any obvious inconsistencies and factual errors; sometimes takes care of developmental problems if these problems were not detected earlier

Developmental editor.  Primarily used by textbook publishers; works with an author to improve a manuscript before it goes into production by recommending organizational, stylistic, and other changes that can make it more competitive with similar books

Editor. Any of the types of editors listed here; in trade publishing, often denotes a line editor

Line editor, content editor, or substantive editor.  Has the same role in trade publishing that a developmental editor has in textbook publishing; line editor is also sometimes used synonymously with copyeditor, but line editor has more of the connotation of going through the manuscript line by line and reading for sense and other aspects of the "big picture" (not just for grammar and other mechanical problems)

Production editor or project editor.  Oversees most aspects of the actual production of a book, from coordination with the author to the selection or hiring of the in-house staff or freelancers—copyeditor, proofreader, designer, and so on—who will work on the book; also coordinates with the typesetter and printer (project editor sometimes has broader connotations than production editor and can include aspects of the project other than the production phase)

Proofreader.  Reads the page proofs against the manuscript; marks typos, omissions, and other errors on the page proofs (with unusually complex or messy books, a second proofreader is occasionally used and may read the page proofs "cold," without the benefit of being able to refer to the manuscript)

Typesetter or Compositor.  An individual or firm that typesets and/or formats a manuscript, creating or revising the electronic file that will go to the printer

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