The Process of Publication
When I worked at Nortel, a Product Pipeline (it might have looked something like this-but there were many variations depending on the project manager) was often used to monitor the progress of products as they went through various stages of production. Ultimately, each one reached a final production phase which meant they were ready for delivery to a customer.
I’ve pictured the process of publishing a book similar to what used to happen at Nortel. Of course there is a ton of work I’m not privy to, but I thought I’d share what I do know, and what was required of me as an author.
Much of the time, there are many weeks of quiet which is great since I’m working on the new project. Every now and then though, I’ll get an email from someone at Kensington. This is always thrilling because it’s an indicator the book is moving along in their publication pipeline.
So, starting back in April of last year, here’s what’s happened so far:
- Answered Author Questionnaire (April)
- Received/signed/mailed copies of contract (May)
- Author photo (May)
- Completed edits – two kinds, red pencil and revisions to story (July/August)
- Received “cover copy” or back flap copy, to hyperventilate over (October)
- Publicist assigned (October)
- Bound manuscript sent out by Kensington to collect “blurbs” or quotes from other Authors (October)
- Completed changes/updates for Copy Editor (November)
- Received book cover .jpg to ooh and ah over (December)
- Blurbs/quotes from authors started coming in and were shared (February)
- Publicist recommends early promotional work such as a web site update, claim Goodreads Author page, create Author Facebook page, etc. (February)
- Book became available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and eventually Indiebound and the Kensington site itself. (February)
- Publicist created a Press Release (February)
- Page proofs – this is the step I’m at now. So, this week, the Production Editor at Kensington contacted me to let me know I would be receiving “page proofs” for DIXIE DUPREE. They will arrive today. Page proofs are a Big Deal, as they are the final step, as I said over on my Author Facebook page (www.facebook.com/donnadaviseverhart ) where I – or the proofreader- can make any last minute corrections to spellings, or fix errors. These changes need to be fairly limited. One point of emphasis was to “try to avoid adding or deleting word(s) that will change the number of lines in a paragraph.” This is because the book has already been typeset by a printer, and a change like that would be costly, and the publisher reserves the right to decide in the end. (March)
- Advanced Reader Copies (ARC’s) will be printed, and sent out for reviews to national reviewers of all sorts. Think Netgalley, Goodreads, etc. (Spring/Summer?)
- The First Edition printing takes place, which includes any/all reviews received via the ARC’s as well as earlier Author reviews. (late Summer/early Fall?)
- The book now exists and is sent out via distribution channels to stores – and a box is sent to me! Pre-orders can be shipped October 25!
- Enter the sandwich board promotional efforts by author! Official release/launch November 1, 2016
I have found every part of this fascinating and of course, that has everything to do with the fact it’s my book, but I thought you might like to have a peek behind the scenes.
Right now, it’s a bit like the lull before a storm because I know once I start promotional efforts, it will be all consuming. I’ve received some “insider” advice on what to do to begin early promotion of the book, so, I plan to spend the Spring and Summer visiting local bookstores to introduce myself, among other things.
Bottom line? I can’t wait to see DIXIE DUPREE “out and about!”
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