The Evolution of a Book: From Idea, to Draft, to Manuscript, to Print

Great Potential Press
Janet L. Gore, M.A., M.Ed.
Acquisitions Editor

Great! You want to write a book. You probably would appreciate some information about all of the things that have to happen before a book finds its way into print. You may be surprised to know that it usually takes more than a full year from the time a publisher receives a complete manuscript to the time the book is in print. If the manuscript is in rough form, it may take two years or more.

This document was written at the suggestion of one of our first-time authors. It explains the various steps in publishing to other prospective authors.

From Idea to Words on a Page

The more you have thought about answers to the following questions and can articulate them, the easier it will be to write, organize, edit, and later market your book. Here are some of the important questions to ask—and to keep asking yourself throughout the writing process:

What do you want your book to say? What is its purpose? To teach? Inform? Persuade? Advocate? Lobby? Change public opinion? Be provocative? Entertain?

Who is the book for? Who is your audience? Is it children? Adults? Parents? Teachers? Any special niche within any of the above? Teachers of all children? Teachers of young gifted children? Teachers of gifted children in middle or high school? Teachers or parents of gifted children with learning disabilities? Homeschool parents? You get the idea. The broader the audience, the broader the selling market.

How will you write if you don’t know where to start? Many writers keep a notebook in which they jot down ideas. Start your book anywhere that works for you. Some authors work from an outline, beginning with a list of chapter headings and writing one chapter at a time. Some like to use a mind map or “web” of ideas and begin writing about one or more of the ideas in their web. The writing process is different for every author. Don’t pressure yourself to write a perfect chapter for the first draft. The important thing at this stage is to get some ideas down on paper. When you have notes for several chapters, you can begin to write.

It’s probably not a good idea to submit your work to a publisher at this stage, even though you may be tempted. Instead, take a good hard look at the first draft and ask yourself the key questions below. Then go back and write some more, and revise. You may be surprised at how much you need to further develop your ideas.

Questions to consider:

Do I have a clear working title that describes what the book is about?
Is there a subtitle that explains the book further? Is this the first title that came to mind, or is there a better one? Note: A working title can always be changed later.
Have I made the purpose clear? Do I need to work more on that?
Are the chapter headings clear, and do they describe the content?
Would my table of contents entice a buyer to look further at the book?
Do the chapters seem to move logically from one to the next?
Are the chapters the right length? None too short or too long?
Do any of the chapters need to be split into two or combined into one?
Is there something else that would add consistency or clarity to the book?

Note: The above questions all relate to the organization or development of the book. The critical analysis or editing used for this process is called developmental editing. Your publisher will expect to do some developmental editing to your book, but you will improve the chances of getting your manuscript accepted if you do some of this kind of editing prior to submission.

Generally, it is fine to submit to more than one publisher simultaneously, but look at the types of books that each publisher produces to make sure that yours fits with their niche. Your manuscript should be mailed to the publisher with a cover letter explaining what the book is about and the estimated length in words or number of chapters. You should include a table of contents, a sample chapter, and a chapter outline (a few sentences to describe each chapter).

Your submission allows the publisher to see what you have in mind and to respond in some way, perhaps by contacting you for more information. If interested, the publisher may want to see the entire manuscript or may want to ask questions before making a decision or offering a contract. For example, the publisher may want to ask whether you would be willing to make certain changes or if you would be willing to wait six months because the current publishing schedule is full.

Don’t be surprised if you wait two to three months to hear from a publisher concerning your manuscript. The publishing company staff is usually busy working on deadlines for other books and may be unable to take time right then to read your proposal. If you haven’t heard anything in two months, you may follow up with an email to inquire. If your manuscript is rejected and no reason is given, it often is because your book does not fit with the books that the publishing house prints, or the publishing schedule is simply too full at that particular time. It’s fine to request feedback; comments from a publisher are often very helpful for improving the book for the next submission.

Financial considerations: What about an advance? Royalties?

Forget about an advances unless you are a famous person or your book is accepted by a large, well-known publisher. Often, advances are tied to your royalties. In other words, you get an advance that covers some of what the publisher expects to earn from the book. As for royalties, don’t expect to get rich with your book unless you write a best-seller. John Grisham might earn 20-30% of sales as royalties, but most small publishers offer only about 10% because they have to recoup the costs of printing, which include editing, layout, cover design, and marketing. At 10%, if your book sells 1,000 copies in a year, you might expect to earn between $600 and $1,500 in royalties.

Your book is accepted for publication. What next?

Now begins a six-month (give or take) process of editing and “fine-tuning” your book. There are several kinds of editing. Usually a book will need all of them. If work still needs to be done on the organization or developmental aspects of the book, the beginning stage of the editing process is the best time for this to occur. Developmental editing refers to elements such as organization, scope, content, degree of thoroughness, amount of detail, clear purpose, and how well the book is directed to its audience. It is by far the most complex kind of editing. A developmental editor must think broadly and critically about the book, considering all possible audiences, and also must be a good creative problem solver to come up with ways to “repair” any weaknesses in the book. He or she might suggest a change in organization, such as moving chapters or ideas from one place to another or moving paragraphs within a chapter, or adding material or taking material out.

In another kind of editing, line editing, the editor considers each sentence and the logical flow from one sentence to another. He or she checks for clarity, takes out unnecessary words, joins or breaks apart sentences, or changes a word here or there. This kind of editing is also time-consuming, but it results in a smoother, easier-to-read text. Most books go through varying degrees of developmental and line editing. Depending on the length of your book and the publisher’s workload, you should count on about four to six months for editing.

In most cases, you will be communicating via email directly with the editor, who, in the process of doing the developmental and line editing, likely will send you questions asking for clarification of certain parts of your manuscript or requesting that you provide text for information that may be missing or that needs rewritten. Your prompt responses to these questions and requests for additional writing are important. If you cannot be prompt in your answers to the editor, be honest and say so, but be aware that delays on your end can cause costly delays in the production schedule—delays that can hold up production of not just your book, but of books behind yours in the queue as well. Too many delays will cause the publisher to move other books ahead of yours in the production schedule.

A publisher usually budgets a certain amount of time and money for editing. Editors can charge $25 to $50 an hour. A normal range for the cost of editing a book is from $1,500 to $3,000. Publishing companies often absorb this cost, but in cases in which the editor must do extensive developmental editing (or even ghost writing) or do research to add material or to check facts, the extra costs for those services are passed on to the author and are subtracted from author royalties. It is fine to ask your publisher how much he or she plans to budget for editing, as well as how much editing he or she anticipates your book will need.

What else has to happen before the book is in print?

A lot of things still have to happen before the book is ready to go to print. Your publisher is as eager to get the book out as you are, since no one earns money until the book is out. It is to the publishing company’s benefit to get your book ready to sell as soon as possible, but without compromising quality.

Toward the end of the editing process, the title and front and back cover designs are chosen. The publisher works with a graphic arts company or an artist/illustrator for this, which usually takes about a month or two. The designer may charge by the hour or by the project. He or she will usually submit two or three concepts for the cover, from which the publisher will choose one. A cover design can cost anywhere from $1,400 to $2,400. Meanwhile, the edited manuscript, sometimes called the galley, is sent to the Library of Congress for cataloging, and an ISBN number is assigned to the book.

Once the book is fully edited and the copy approved by the author, the book goes to a layout editor, who often needs another two to three weeks for that process. The layout editor lays the book out in an electronic file for the printer, with consistent fonts, tables, illustrations, appendices, and indexes. Layout is another step for which the publisher contracts for outside services and usually costs from $1,000 to $3,000. Once layout is done, the book is indexed by an indexer, and final corrections are made. The book then goes back to the publisher for a final check, and once it is approved, it is sent to the printer.

Four to six months in advance of the official publication date, a pre-publication manuscript or advance print galley is sent to several possible reviewers. The list of reviewers consists of newspaper and magazine book reviewers, as well as Midwest Book Review, Library Journal, School Library Journal, Kirkus Review, and others that require advance copies. Some reviewers will only review the book if they receive pre-publication galleys. Others want the bound book, but they want it two to six months ahead of the official publication date. The publisher often does a “short run” printing just to accommodate the demands of the reviewers. Out of 100 copies sent out for review, a book might get only two reviews, yet every review helps to market and sell the book.

Finally, the publication date arrives. Your book is in print. You can now celebrate and get ready to help market your book!