Friday, August 12, 2022

The Dance


 

I heard from my new editor Joanne that the edits I made to SENTENCED TO DEATH have been accepted.  She gave me the pub date of March 2023 and we agreed on a cover.  It would seem that is it, but not quite.  The manuscript now goes to the copy editor.  While the edits deal with the manuscript as a whole, the copy editor is more specific, like words repeated too much, misspellings and such.  I have discovered over time that  copy editors have their own bias.  Words they particularly don't like.  Situations with characters that they find bothersome.  And sometimes they are just wrong.

As in I had a copy editor tell me they pet shops sell pets and don't handle adoptions and that granny squares referred to any crocheted square no matter the pattern of stitches.   In the book that just came out, the copy editor changed the spelling of a foreign word I'd used.  I had gotten the spelling from Britannica online. So, I can't simply give the copy editor changes carte blanche.  I argued the above cases and won.

After the copy edit, the last step is what are called first pass pages which means getting a typeset copy of the manuscript for proof reading.  Only small changes are allowed.  And then it's on to book form.

But there is sort of dance going on with manuscripts and they do-si-do each other.  As in last week, the third book in the Writer for Hire series came out, as I was working on the next Yarn Retreat book  KNOT A GAME until the edits of  SENTENCED TO DEATH danced by and demanded my immediate attention.  The same will happen when the copy edit comes by and pushes KNOT A GAME off to the sidelines again.

It can get a little confusing.  I was looking at the KNOT A GAME manuscript yesterday to try to  pick up where I'd left off.  As I was reading over the last page where I stopped, I drew a blank on the names of the characters.  I had left myself some notes before I went to the edit of the Write for Hire book, but they seemed kind of cryptic.  It'll take a day or so to reorient myself to the plot.

And then dancing in the background are my ideas for the next Crochet book. With all that's going on, my only yarn thoughts are about how to clear out the room with my stash for Jakey.  He has already staked his claim and reminds me I need to make it into his room.  I plan to make the first move on it today.

3 comments:

Linda Osborn said...

I have to admit, I spot little editing errors all the time--even sometimes in your books! Usually a repeat of a word, or a minor misspelling. Right now l am reading an excellent series on the Orphan Trains that took children from the streets and tenements of big cities into the west, for placement with {usually} good, loving families. The books are great, but oh such editing ! Recently l found one book that had chapters 3 and 6 reversed. The editors are not perfect, and l know you do your best. It gets out of your hands though !
Have fun with Jakey--that is most important now.

Betty Hechtman said...

Linda Osborn,
I'm sorry about the goofs. That with a copy editor, then me and someone else proof reading. I am glad we have managed to keep the chapters in order LOL. The series you're reading sounds fascinating. Yes, spending time with Jakey is the most important. It's the last week before he starts school and I imagine everything will change.

Linda O. Johnston said...

I always find the editing process interesting, Betty. I'm a good speller and grammarian from way back, although I admit to occasional errors. But what I've also found is that grammar surprisingly changes--or at least that seems to be the case in how various editors at the same publishing house make changes. Sometimes they even edit each other!