Book update: What happens after you finish the manuscript?

All about production

It’s been a while since I shared a book update. You might think I haven’t been working on it since I achieved that book writing milestone and holy grail of reaching the transmittal phase. But the hustle never stops. We are now in production. Production involves an entirely different kind of work than writing: gone are conversations about chapter structure, decision-making over when to streamline examples and when more are needed, and discussions about whether that one chapter should live here or there in the book. Now, we’re talking details instead of big picture: where to move a comma, trim final fat, and the like. We’re digging into what the page looks and feels like, not just what it says. (Le vibe.) Next to writing the manuscript, this type of work is positively easy, but it is still work. (Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.) Here’s what my last two weeks have entailed:

Color.

My book includes illustrations, and as exciting as it is to get to see them in print, it is SO HARD to pick the right color. Of course, there are the colors I originally intended for the book, but then there is the reality of working within a printer’s constraints, not to mention the fact that color looks different on every monitor, screen, browser, and in print! Any designer will tell you this is a struggle — I remember my design peers at Twitter resetting ALL the monitors in the studio just to make sure we were looking at their work in its purest, most unadulterated form, and I get it now. So yeah, color. Time to pick a shade and stick with it.

Decisions, decisions. I guarantee that wherever you’re reading this, you and I are not seeing the same colors.

Interior layout.

Because my book includes illustrations, there’s a lot to think about in terms of how to put each page together. Every element — whether it’s a header, body text, an illustration, exercise, table, or chart — must. be. perfect. But it’s not enough for these to look good in isolation — when you have a lot of elements to work with, it’s important that none distracts from or overshadows the other. They have to come together and sing on the page in unison (like a chorus, not a bunch of soloists competing for attention). On top of that, the interior of a book should feel connected to its cover, too. So this week I’ve looked at lots of table designs and formatting options to figure out how to keep each page cohesive and connected to the book as a whole. It’s gotta be perfect, right?

A few of the options I looked at this week, but don’t tell me which one you like better —I already chose one and there’s no going back!

File management.

This is boring but I did not promise writing a book was all sparks of inspiration, genius, and creativity. Some of it is administrative overhead and seemingly small but important details like how to best organize your files (drafts, assets, and the like) so that it’s not a TOTAL NIGHTMARE when it comes time to send everything off to the printers. Officially wishing I’d saved my images in an easier-to-edit format and that I’d paid more attention to file organization earlier in the process. Sigh. 

Copy edits.

Seriously, tip your copy editor. It’s not number, it’s amount. That comma is superfluous, but that comma is necessary. Off-kilter needs a dash to survive. And so on. Of course, these edits are helpful, but what I’ve really enjoyed most about this stage are the helpful and kind I-don’t-want-to-step-on-your-toes-but-this-could-be-better suggestions my copy editor has given me, like this one: You switch from 1:1 to one-on-one throughout the book. Would you like to pick one for consistency? (Why yes, yes I would.) Or: You use this term frequently throughout the book. Just wanted to mention in case you wanted to vary language to avoid overuse. (That’s true, and that’s a good idea!) It’s the tone a knowing older sister takes when you’re about to put on an ugly pair of pants that does nothing for your figure — but like, in a nice way.

Copy editing illustrations.

Who knew a misplaced apostrophe or comma could take so long to fix? When everything is hand drawn, even minor changes take time. Next time I’ll ask the copy editing team to review illustrations earlier in the process — we’ll both be thankful.

Apparently “toward” is the American spelling and “towards” is the British spelling. Oops.

Flap copy.

Can you believe it? In another five months, this book will be out in the wild and on real world bookshelves. That means flap copy, the brief summary you read to decide if a book is right for you. (Let’s pretend right now that COVID-19 doesn’t exist and that you actually might go in store and lazily browse like you used to.) It seems like a crime to ask an author who just wrote 75,000 words to try to whittle it all down to just a few paragraphs, but thankfully this is something the publisher typically takes a pass at first. The mark of a good editor is when you read the flap copy and know they got it — your ideas, your goal for the book, its raison d’être— right.

Next up, first pass pages.

First pass pages are coming! Here’s where I’ll get to see the book fully laid out from end-to-end. It is the first version of what will eventually become galleys, which are sent out to select readers in advance of publication. Galleys are what power the burst of publicity commonly associated with a book’s debut, and what makes possible the list of endorsements that grace a book’s cover when it goes to print. When first pass pages come in I’ll be able to make very, very minor edits as necessary (eg: fix typos) — nothing that might alter the flow of the page. Even though this year galleys will be digital only (thanks, COVID), it’s an exciting part of the process. It means the work is ready for readers — not just the family loyal enough to read through rough drafts (and I mean rough) or the editors whose job and mission it is to improve an author’s work— but honest to god, unbiased readers who can ultimately help determine a book’s worth. I really hope you like it.

So there you have it — this is what production looks like. It’s totally different from developing ideas and structure and language on the page — and totally necessary. Each round of reviews should need less and less work, and gets us closer and closer to “final.” More and more, it’s looking like… a book!

All right friends, back to work.