From Manuscript to Distribution

How a Manuscript Becomes a Distributed Book Pt. 1

There are many more steps that go into play when trying to get a manuscript into a physical book that has been distributed across the world than one might think. From a digital copy to a physical copy, the manuscript goes through many sets of eyes to ensure that it is fully up to par when it goes into printing. But who do those eyes belong to? And how many back-and-forths are there between those eyes until we get to hold the book in our hands? The answers to these questions go as follows.

1. The manuscript is written and completed by the author
2. The manuscript is then transformed into the specific typeset pagers of galleys
   *This first version is called the First Pass
3. The First Pass is then returned to the Publishing Editor who then sends copies to the proofreaders (you!) and author
4. Against the original manuscript, proofreaders/the author read the galleys and look for errors made by the typesetter or copyeditor
   *This is called Slugging
5. All copies are then returned to the Publishing Editor who then assembles all the changes and corrections onto the Master Copy of galleys
6. The Master Copy gets sent back to the typesetter, who then generates the second version and returns it to the Publishing Editor
   *The second version of the manuscript is called the Second Pass

This concludes part 1 of the manuscript to the distribution process of publishing a written work. For the next and final steps on how a work gets published, click here or purchase Sue Gilad’s Paid to Proofread book here.

By Karla M. Cortes
www.karlamarianacortes.com