What sort of processes do books go through to be published?
NOTE: The following steps are specific to Dreaming Big Publications (DBP) and do not necessarily represent the editing processes at other publishing houses. Each company likely has its own procedures and timelines.
- After you submit your manuscript, it will likely be read by at least several people. At DBP, one of our jobs as interns is to read new submissions and then recommend to the editor-in-chief whether or not we believe they should be accepted. If we all agree that your manuscript should be accepted, great! You’re on to the next step.
- You’ll work out a contract with the publishing company. This includes details about the rights to the book, royalty shares (that's a fancy term for how profits are shared), and what jurisdiction the editor and author have over the publishing of the book.
- Your manuscript will first be given to a content editor, who will check your manuscript for “big picture” edits (see the ‘Editors and Authors’ page for more information on content editors and their role in editing a manuscript). The editor will add suggestions and comments to your manuscript using red font in Microsoft Word. Once the manuscript is returned, you can discuss these suggestions and work with the editor until you come to an agreement on everything. (Or you can passive-aggressively disagree with each other's suggestions until you come to a dead-end. But that might slow down the process a bit.) Content editing may take anywhere from several weeks to several months.
- Now your manuscript moves on to a copy editor, who will check your manuscript for grammatical, spelling, and consistency errors, primarily. This process will likely take much less time than the content editing and will require less back-and-forth conversation between the editor and author. Personally I enjoy copy editing because it allows my brain to obsess over all the nit-picky aspects of someone's writing.
- Your manuscript is now ready for formatting and cover design. A formatter will adjust your book for print and eBook readability, including making clickable links in the eBook version, among other things. A designer also will work to create a cover for your manuscript. At DBP authors typically have input on the cover design for their book, although the ultimate decision rests with the publisher and designer, as they have a better idea of what is logistically possible. You may want Voldemort and Darth Vader dueling it out on the cover, but that may not be possible for, you know, copyright reasons.
- Finally, your book is printed—although DBP deals primarily in eBooks, paperbacks copies of our books are also available, which are printed through Createspace. Your book will be available from Amazon, DBP’s website, and certain retailers who have access to books from Createspace. Yep, this is it—your book has become, a living, breathing (well, not breathing) reality. The next step is marketing—but that’s a whole other story.
Keep reading for more information on what a manuscript needs to be selected for publication.
What does a manuscript “need” to be accepted?
I’ve heard a lot of my writing friends ask what a book “needs” in order to be accepted by a publishing company, and, well, I’m not sure. If I knew I probably would have a few of my own books published by now. What I can tell them is that, from my own experience reading submissions at Dreaming Big Publications, there’s no one quality that makes a book publishing material. Instead it’s a collection of many qualities that form a unified whole. We look for stories that speak to us in some way, whether that’s through excellent characters, eloquent verse, or a relatable narrative. I will typically recommend the acceptance of a manuscript if I can connect to its protagonists in some way, understand the plot without difficulty, and read through the manuscript without finding too many large errors. Besides that I just listen for the voice in my head that says, Yes, this is good, and when exactly that voice will appear I’m not always sure.
Those guidelines are not too specific, but they’re the same qualities I look for when I’m editing my peers’ stories in my fiction-writing classes at NAU. In that sense my coursework at NAU prepared me for the reality of the publishing world—my literature and writing classes have all taught me to study the character development, plot, and language of a piece of writing and ask, What do I like about this piece of writing? What don’t I like, and why? The same principles apply to submission readings at Dreaming Big. That all being said, if I had one piece of advice for anyone who wanted to submit their manuscript to DBP or any other publishing company, it would be to follow the submission guidelines—it may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s important.
Finally, here's an important statement from a DBP introduction for authors: “Publishing is a partnership with mutual risks and rewards and the publisher has just as much interest in seeing your book succeed as you do. To avoid a potential conflict or ‘creative difference,’ read other books the publisher has produced and research them before signing a contract with them. Be sure this is the home for your work before signing a contract.”
Those guidelines are not too specific, but they’re the same qualities I look for when I’m editing my peers’ stories in my fiction-writing classes at NAU. In that sense my coursework at NAU prepared me for the reality of the publishing world—my literature and writing classes have all taught me to study the character development, plot, and language of a piece of writing and ask, What do I like about this piece of writing? What don’t I like, and why? The same principles apply to submission readings at Dreaming Big. That all being said, if I had one piece of advice for anyone who wanted to submit their manuscript to DBP or any other publishing company, it would be to follow the submission guidelines—it may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s important.
Finally, here's an important statement from a DBP introduction for authors: “Publishing is a partnership with mutual risks and rewards and the publisher has just as much interest in seeing your book succeed as you do. To avoid a potential conflict or ‘creative difference,’ read other books the publisher has produced and research them before signing a contract with them. Be sure this is the home for your work before signing a contract.”
My experiences with the publishing process
When I first began working at Dreaming Big, I was surprised by how relatively easy the publishing process seemed. I’d always pictured the publication of a book as being an interminable process, but at Dreaming Big it seems to happen with considerable speed. Of course, there are always things that can slow it down—the contract may take a while to agree upon, or the editor and author can have disagreements that take time to work out—but
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overall the process is faster than I initially assumed. For instance, content editors are asked to complete their initial edits and return the manuscript to the author within two weeks of receiving the manuscript. Then the collaboration between the content editor and the author is expected to take another two to four weeks, although that’s typically dependent on how quickly and efficiently they can communicate.
I was also surprised by the variety of manuscripts that are submitted for consideration at Dreaming Big and subsequently published. Our books include everything from poetry collections to memoirs to fantasy to children’s books. Although Dreaming Big focuses on books that deal in some way with mental health and social justice issues (our editor-in-chief is a social worker) we publish anything that strikes us as a great read. I found this surprising at first, because I expected small press publishers to remain in a sort of restricted niche. I was also surprised by the variety of submissions we receive—some manuscripts are well-written and free of errors, and others are full of mistakes and circuitous writing. Some don’t even follow the submission guidelines. Perhaps these were honest and overlooked mistakes, but I was surprised that authors would submit manuscripts that were anything less than perfect. Or, maybe my idea of perfect is a bit unrealistic...
I was also surprised by the variety of manuscripts that are submitted for consideration at Dreaming Big and subsequently published. Our books include everything from poetry collections to memoirs to fantasy to children’s books. Although Dreaming Big focuses on books that deal in some way with mental health and social justice issues (our editor-in-chief is a social worker) we publish anything that strikes us as a great read. I found this surprising at first, because I expected small press publishers to remain in a sort of restricted niche. I was also surprised by the variety of submissions we receive—some manuscripts are well-written and free of errors, and others are full of mistakes and circuitous writing. Some don’t even follow the submission guidelines. Perhaps these were honest and overlooked mistakes, but I was surprised that authors would submit manuscripts that were anything less than perfect. Or, maybe my idea of perfect is a bit unrealistic...