From manuscript to published textbook

Joe McVeigh

Valerie Kelemen

Brenda Wegmann

Our experience

• Joe McVeigh – freelance development editor

• Valerie Kelemen – Publishing Manager, McGraw-Hill ELT

• Brenda Wegmann – published author of 14 books since 1974

Your expectations

• Why are you here today?

• What level of experience do you have in writing or publishing?

• What don’t you know that you’d like to learn about?

Outline of the session

• Overview of the publishing process

• Focus on the production phase from when you submit the completed manuscript until when the book is published

• Questions

The people who contribute…

• Authors (royaltied partners)

• Publisher or Editorial Director

• Sponsoring Editor (SE) • Designers• Project Managers• Development Editors

(DE) • Writers for hire• Copyeditors• Artists

• Photo Researchers• Proofreaders or

Production Editors• Cold Readers• Compositors• Sales and Marketing

Reps • Reviewers• Indexers• Printers• Correlators• Audio Team

The Publishing Process in Four Phases

RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT

PRODUCTION MANUFACTURING

Research involves…

The author

Classroom feedback from students and teachers

The sponsoring editor and publisher

•Listening to teachers and students•Preparing a proposed project brief•Scouting for authors and commissioning samples•Concept testing with sample chapters that authors have written•Focus groups with sample chapters•Researching at conferences/conventions•Competitive analysis•Feedback on sample materials•Author contract negotiation

Research activities…

• Publisher commissions designed prototype

• Designed prototype is piloted in the classroom

• Teachers give feedback

• The publisher develops full prototype unit and guidelines

Research continues…

Financial research

• Sales forecasts: how many copies of the book will we sell?

• Budgets: how much will this project cost?

• Royalties: how will the author’s royalty contract be structured?

Development: Writing the book

Author

Author writes draft 1

Development Editor provides feedback

Prototype and guidelines from research phase

Author writes draft 2 (possibly 3)

Final manuscript, art log, and book map ready for production

copyeditor

Development begins…

Production

•The manuscript you wrote in Microsoft Word or Adobe In Copy goes to the publisher•This is where all the pieces of the puzzle come together into book pages•Demystifying this phase is our mission today!

Manufacturing

• Final files, in perfect condition, are released to the printer

• The book is printed (It takes about a month)

Production

How it all comes together on the page

permissions

manuscript

publisher feedback

design

schedule

photos

front/back matter

pagecount

market feedback artdirection lines

level

overmatter budget

ongoing creative ideas

appropriateness of content

index

2nd pages 3rd pages Final pagesLayouts

Flowchart of work in production…

PDFs

Manufacturing

Final disc

The Sponsoring Editor (SE) is responsible for….

• Overseeing all phases of the project• Ensuring the series is appropriate for students and

teachers• Developing prototype and guidelines• Conducting research• Scouting for authors• Finalizing the component array• Contracting with entire project team• Determining the look and feel of book• Monitoring the quality of content• Scheduling all components to come out on time

The Development Editor (DE) is responsible for:

• Working with the authors to ensure readability and flow• Making sure the manuscript adheres to guidelines• Applying pedagogy to all pieces of the manuscript• Making sure topics are market-appropriate• Checking that all the activities work• Approving the art and photos and editing the art log• Managing the art and photo approval process• Keeping to schedules• Ensuring that text will fit on the page• Creating the book map• Communicating with the author(s) about progress

The author is responsible for…

• Having a clear picture of the market for the series

• Writing explanations and activities

• Creating the art log to go with the text

• Responding to publisher and market comments with changes or rejoinders

• Writing drafts (usually 3) until the manuscript is production-ready

In addition, the publisher relies on the author to:

• Read 2R pages and write comments, which the publisher will incorporate

• Provide feedback on art/photos

• Give creative input throughout the process to ensure best quality

• Adhere to schedules so that the series comes to market on time

• Be the creative voice of the series

Our focus today: the production phase

• The magic moment: “Turnover to production”

• Copy edit

The production phase

• “Turnover to production”

• Copy edit

• The “design” of the book

• Role of the typesetter or “comp”

• Coding for design

Coding the manuscript A

6aThe Simple Past Tense: Regular VerbsFORM BOXForm[Art s1 SS38002.JPG]EX Erika worked in a hospital last year.She helped a lot of people.PRESTo form the simple past of regular verbs, add –ed to the base verb. The past form is the same for all persons.GCHART

GCHARTH SubjectBase Verb + -ed

GCTX I worked.

You

He/She/It

We

They

[listening icon][B]1 Practice[DL]Complete the sentences with the simple past tense of the verbs in parentheses. [Art s2 22289197.jpg ][ATX]1.It __rained__ (rain) yesterday.2.Peter ___________ (wait) for the bus for 30 minutes.3.He ___________ (walk) into the office at 9:10. He was late.

The production phase

• “Turnover to production”• Copy edit• The “design” of the book• Role of the typesetter or “comp” • Coding for design• Rounds of pages• Art program• Proofreading

Pedagogical considerations / Consistency within a series

• Focusing on words from the Academic Word list.

• Strategy boxes

• Self-assessment log

• Focus on testing

Not enough space

• The concept of signatures

• Widows and orphans

• No blank pages

• Chapter opening locations “recto – verso”

• The book map

The book map

Time crunch

• Publishing schedules and deadlines – what’s the big deal?

• Need a rewrite – the author is on vacation – help !

• Art turns out to be inappropriate

Religious, political, moral, and marketing considerations

The eight forbidden topics:PoliticsAlcoholReligionSexNarcoticsIsraelPorkStereotypes

Religious, political, moral, and marketing considerations

• Female infanticide

• It’s not South Korea, it’s just Korea

• Sergio Aragones cartoon

Permissions

• The permissions process

• Calling Dr. Phil

• Arab culture and medicine

• Time magazine

The art program

• The art log

The art program

• The art log

• Photo research

• Digital image libraries

• Cartoons

• Sorry, Farley Mowat

• Edgar Alan Poe: The Tell-tale Heart

The art program

The art program

Alternatives

The art program

• The art log• Photo research• Digital image libraries• Cartoons• Sorry, Farley Mowat• Edgar Alan Poe• The Mona Lisa

What questions do you have ?

• Thanks for coming.

• Please help us clear the room for the next presentation. Give us a minute to get our stuff out of the way and we’ll be happy to talk with you out in the hall (back where there’s a little more space.)

• Remember you can download the PowerPoint slides at www.joemcveigh.org