My Spring Publishing Timeline
Transforming a Manuscript into a Book
After polishing my manuscript in full for the eleventh time, my editor and I shared the final version with the copy editor last Wednesday. In turn, I received a concrete publishing schedule. It is now in the hands of the copy editor, who is tasked with catching all the misspelled words, misplaced commas, excessive use of the em-dash, too much spacing between words, and so on.
I wanted to give my community of readers a peek into what happens after the manuscript content has been edited.
March 26: The copyedited manuscript returns, like a child coming back from her first day of school–slightly changed with the marks of yet another’s influence. The pages I once cleared of red ink will again be marred with tracked changes, though only technical ones this time. This is when I’ll see all those embarrassing typos and awkward sentences.
April 2: My window for revisions closes. Seven days to surrender or defend my original word or punctuation choices are over on this day.
April 4: The typset PDF arrives–my familiar words now dressed from head to toe in regal attire, looking strangely foreign and more legitimate than they ever did in my drafts. This is when I will finally see my manuscript transformed into its final, formatted version, ready for print or digital publication. On April 4, I assume I will finally know how many pages my book is.
April 14: Ten days to catch anything amiss in the layout. One last chance. I’m certain it will feel funny, hunting through the pages I know nearly by heart and yet, which will inhabit a new form.
April 19: The final PDF arrives. I can feel butterflies fluttering their wings in my stomach as I type this. The crystallization of three and a half years of work into its ultimate shape before me, font choices, and all.
April 30: The FINAL file goes to press. My words, once only mine, will begin their journey to becoming yours. Some personal priorities make it look like my book may be published a month or so before my official launch event. Stay tuned.
During these days, if I seem lost in another world, now you’ll understand the invisible give-and-take happening between creator and creation, between letting go and holding on.