First Pass
I just finished up the first pass edits for REVENANT and sent them off to my new editor at Pocket Books, which means we’re now officially in the home stretch for publication next March. For the technically curious, the first pass is the actual typeset copy of a book as it will appear in its final form–kind of like a sneak preview. I’m always jazzed at this stage of the game, because it means the book is really coming together. All that’s left is to get a look at the cover art, which should be appearing shortly.
The first time I went through this, way back during the editing phase for HAMMERJACK, I was most surprised by how old-fashioned the process really is. I just assumed that most of it got done electronically and that I’d be e-mailing all the changes back and forth. Believe it or not, though, it still involves a lot of paper. First of all, there’s the all-too-painful marked-up copy that you get after the initial edit (you know, the one with the red ink that points out all the screw-ups, clumsy passages and continuity goofs). After that, the line editor gets a whack at it, combing out whatever spelling and grammar errors might remain. Line editors are like the drill instructors of the publishing business: rarely do they get much glory, but nothing would work without them. Also like a DI, they can really get in your grill about doing things their way (which, in my case, usually involves the creative use of punctuation). Fortunately, authors get to strike back with the all-powerful stet–which I’ve used to save the lives of helpless commas on many an occasion.
The line edit is a very important copy, because from that point on the paper manuscript becomes the publishing master, containing all the marks for the typesetter for things like italics, dashes and scene breaks. At this point, the author’s job is to check the line edits, stet out the stuff he doesn’t want changed, and make whatever last-minute changes come to mind–all on the paper, so there isn’t a lot of room for monkeying around. Once the publisher gets this copy back, it gets released to production, where a typesetter actually goes in and retypes every word of the manuscript and formats it into the first pass. And here I thought it was tough doing it the first time around. I don’t know who you are, valiant typesetter, but I salute you!
So as you can see, getting a book to market involves a lot more than cocktail parties and press junkets–although those are kinda fun too. By the time it hits the shelf, a lot of people have worked very hard to get it there. Let’s all give them a hand, shall we?
Posted on December 11, 2009
14 comments | Permalink
December 11th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Congrats, Marc! How exciting for you.
I didn’t go through the paper revisions however – Juno sent me everything in various Word documents, and we tracked changes all over the place. It was intense, lemme tell you. The most humbling part was when I literally recruited 6 or 7 people from my writer’s group to go through the final draft looking for typos and stray quotation. They found something like 150 things I missed.
Then the copy editor found like *65* more. it was astounding…
Can’t wait for the new book – may it sell 150,000 copies or more.
December 12th, 2009 at 1:16 am
Thanks, Matt!
I once had a journalism professor that said the best way to line edit a piece was to read it backwards. Damned if it didn’t work, too. Of course, that was with an eight-paragraph news story…
December 16th, 2009 at 1:04 am
So…rereading through Hammerjack…we do get another Alden book after this right?
December 16th, 2009 at 10:00 am
Well, there’s PRODIGAL, which is the sequel to HAMMERJACK, but right now those are the only two books in the series. Let Bantam Books know if you’d like another one!
December 20th, 2009 at 12:50 am
Oh I’ve read Prodigal as well…which is why I want another Alden book. I mean that ending? Come on!
Who at Bantam do I need to pester?
December 21st, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Try Chris Artis–he’s an associate director of publicity at Random House.
December 22nd, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Congrats Marc! Looking forward to the release. I hope all is well with you and yours.
December 25th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
I emailed him, but it said fail.
December 31st, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Guess he’s not there anymore, either! You could also try the main publicity e-mail address: bdpublicity@randomhouse.com.
December 31st, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Thanks, Derek! Hope you and the family had a great holiday season! Any inside info on your book?
December 31st, 2009 at 7:49 pm
This was interesting, learning what it’s like to actually get something published. Thanks for posting this.
I haven’t spent a lot of time on this site, but I’ve visited it here and there. I’ve read your novel “Hammerjack” and really enjoyed it (so glad to see that cyberpunk isn’t dead!). Still need to read “Prodigal”, and I’ll have to check out this “Revenant” book too.
What I say next, I’m hoping you’ll take as a compliment. What got me interested in this site, after reading your book, was the fact that you’re not yet as well known of an author as, say, J.K. Rowling, but you have published and you do have some fans already. That’s a boost of confidence for those of us hoping to someday publish…like, it *can* actually be done (if that makes any senes).
Well anyway, I’m looking forward to reading “Prodigal”. I guess you should also know that Avalon is, in my opinion, one of the most awesome characters in all of cyberpunk. (Yeah, I know, I’ll be sad when I read “Prodigal”; I had a bit of the story given away for me. But I’ll read it anyway.) Good luck with your next book.
January 1st, 2010 at 7:06 pm
Hi, Rachel! Glad you enjoyed the post. Ah, to be as well-known as Miss Rowling…a guy can always hope, right? Although truth be told, I always had a hard time envisioning any of my characters with a fast food tie-in. And you thought those Avatar Happy Meals were weird…
And yes, it can be done. It ain’t easy, but if you have the talent and drive, you’ll find a way to get your stuff published. It’s a bit of a two-edged deal these days, with things being so tough in the print media; but on the other hand, there are also a lot more venues for you to publish your work these days. Just remember one basic rule: never pay anyone to evaluate or publish your stuff. Money should flow to you, not vice-versa. Even if it’s a modest sum (as most first-time contracts are), it’s a professional credit to your name.
In the meanwhile, though, just keep working and keep getting better. And above all, have fun with your writing. If you enjoy writing it, chances are that people will enjoy reading it!
January 2nd, 2010 at 4:28 pm
Hey, thanks for the advice! (Especially about the publishing and evaluating, that was news to me.) Yep, “Hammerjack” seemed like a book that was fun to write (certainly was a fun read). Looking forward to “Prodigal”. Thanks again!
January 6th, 2010 at 4:39 pm
Marc, yes yes…will drop you an email shortly.