In my last post, I wrote about how I tackled the dreaded developmental edits for KINGDOM OF SECRETS. What a massive relief it was when I finally hit send on that revised draft and whisked it back to my editor!
That feeling lasted approximately… one week. Then the next set of revisions dropped into my inbox. Apparently, publishing isn’t always slow. Sigh.
Overall, I’ve had five rounds of edits to date, with one more to come. With each round, the feedback has gotten increasingly more targeted, and the turnaround times have gotten smaller. But my stress levels have gone in the opposite direction. As the book has taken on its final form, it has dawned on me that I’ll have fewer and fewer opportunities to make changes to it – that this will be the version that eventually makes it into readers’ hands. And that, my friends, is a panic-inducing thought.
Here’s a breakdown of what the rest of the editing process has looked like for me:
- Line Edits. This was actually a combination of developmental and line edits. It included a few big picture changes in the form of a bulleted list, but it was mostly scene-by-scene feedback from my editor in Microsoft Word tracked changes. I had to rewrite a few chapters for this round, but it wasn’t even close to the large-scale revisions I’d done earlier. One thing I found particularly challenging were the precise language changes. Some of the phrases I was asked to remove had been in the manuscript from the very beginning – my proverbial darlings! But yes, I killed several of them, while digging in my heels and fighting for others. Neither was fun, but the manuscript was better for it. I had about three weeks to complete this round.
- Copyedits. Next, my manuscript moved out of my editor’s hands and into the copyediting department. The copyedited draft also came to me in tracked changes, but this time I had to follow precise instructions about how to format my responses. The copyeditors were even more laser-focused on the details. They made sure I didn’t overuse the same words too often (which I did… a lot) and checked for internal consistency. They created a timeline of all the events in the book and made sure I stuck to it. They even made a style guide for my book, along with a dictionary of people, places, and terms unique to my story. Seeing concepts I had created out of thin air formally defined and alphabetized has been one of the most surreal and thrilling parts of the process. I had a week to respond to copyedits.
- Sensitivity Reads. After copyedits, the publisher sent my book to a sensitivity reader, to make sure the depictions in my book are inclusive and accurate. The reader provided helpful suggestions that I wouldn’t have picked up on my own. I had about a week to address this feedback. I also used this time to re-read and mark up the draft again.
- First Pass Pages. Every milestone on this journey is exciting, but getting pass pages was particularly emotional. Pass pages are formatted for printing, complete with final fonts, chapter header art, dedication, copyright info, etc. What’s more, they incorporate all the changes from the previous rounds of edits, so I was able to sit down and read the book from end to end, without having to stop frequently to make changes. I’ll admit, I teared up when I got to the last lines. It was all becoming real! My story was an actual book! I had a week for this round.
- Second Pass Pages. I haven’t received these yet, but I’ll get one more crack at the manuscript to confirm that all the other changes have been properly made and to make any final, necessary tweaks. This will be the final final version. Gulp.
As if manuscript edits weren’t enough, several other elements of the book were completed simultaneously to get the book ready for publication: the cover, the book jacket, the front matter (everything in the physical book that comes before the story), and the back matter (everything that comes after the story). Here are the notable things I was involved in beyond the story itself:
- Title. During developmental edits, my editor informed me that Delcorte wanted to change the title of my book (originally THE BALLOONIST). I’d always expected to get a new title, so I never got too attached to the old one. I was invited to provide input, and I offered up lists of suggestions that were gently rejected. I quickly realized that title selection is an art I don’t understand in the least. Luckily, the publisher’s marketing team does understand it. They take into account similar titles that have sold well in the past, specific words that appeal to the intended audience, and what the cover art will look like. I discovered that the title’s job isn’t necessarily to describe the content of the book, but to attract the reader. I’ll admit it was jarring at first to think of my book – which I’d been working on for years – with a different title, but I eventually got used to it. Now I can’t imagine it as anything else.
- Cover Art. Along the same lines, I was asked to send over my thoughts on the cover art, including visual descriptions of characters and examples of covers I like and don’t like. A couple months later, I received rough black-and-white sketches of sample covers by the artist and designer. I chose my favorites (with difficulty – I loved them all!). After a few more months, I got the first color sketch of the selected design. That time, I gave more specific feedback, mostly to make sure the details in the illustration accurately reflected the story. I was pleased to see that my comments were taken into consideration in the final cover. I feel very fortunate that this process went so smoothly for me, because I know other debuts who were unhappy with how their covers turned out. The cover is probably the single most important marketing tool there is (yes, people do judge books by them!), so I probably would have fought for changes. Luckily, I didn’t have to.
- Flap Copy. The publishing team wrote the flap copy for the book jacket, which I put in the same category as the title and the cover – best left to the experts. The only change I requested was the removal of one spoiler, which was readily accepted.
- Bio. I was asked to provide a jacket flap bio pretty early in the process. There’s nothing like writing a summary of yourself to remind you how uninteresting you are. Part of me wished I’d taken up a cool hobby before I got a book deal. Oh well.
- Headshots. I’d always intended to get a professional photo for the book jacket, but when the pandemic struck, my husband bought some lighting equipment and took pictures of me with our nice camera. They were… fine. Thankfully, I had time for a do-over with a professional photographer. These photos will stick around for a long time, in all sorts of contexts, so I recommend going with a pro if you can.
- Dedication. The dedication was easy – my daughter is the one who inspired me to start writing again, so the first book was always going to be hers.
- Acknowledgments. Acknowledgements were more difficult. These should’ve been fun to write, but it was actually nerve-wracking deciding where to draw the line. Should I thank my favorite English teacher from high school? Loved ones who didn’t even know I was writing a book? I finally decided to recognize everyone who had a hand in making this book a reality in some direct way, plus anyone who would give me a crippling guilt trip if I left them out (you know who you are!).
And that’s it! The good news is that the book is now essentially done. The bad news is that I still have to wait eight whole months to hold it in my hands.
In the meantime, there’s the little matter of marketing…