|
|
|
|
Solving your writing problems since 1998! |
|
| |||||||||||
|
SO YOU WANT TO PUBLISH A NOVEL? By Alastair Rosie So you want to publish a novel? It’s a daunting prospect and not quite the glamorous undertaking you might think. Forget the media interviews and book signings, the publishing world is not for the faint hearted. Contemporary history is filled with disenchanted authors whose artistic talent was sacrificed for economic gain.
Nevertheless, in spite of the pitfalls many writers brave the twisting trails and at the end of the journey surface with a bound hard copy of their work and hopefully, the admiration of their critics.
THE DESIGNER The designers are in charge of the overall layout of The Midnight Hour. They work with the illustrator, paste-up artist and typesetter. A decision is made as to the final layout, number of pages, type of paper and cover. This is factored into the cost and added to the price of the book. Ever wondered why hard cover glossy books with lots of illustrations are so expensive? Now you know why. THE TYPESETTER Now we come to the nuts and bolts of publishing. Don’t worry, everything is running smoothly, your book is well on the way. The typesetter lays out the final proofs - called 'galleys' in the industry or 'galley proofs'. The blank is checked for errors here. A word of warning here. Your accidental typo ‘adn’ is not corrected here. If it wasn’t picked up during the extensive editing process then it stays in, so make sure your work is the best it can be. The only errors that are corrected here are design issues, colours, layout, number of pages etc. THE PRINTER The final stage is when your manuscript is turned into a printed book. The printer takes the final proofs, production schedule and prints it according to the instructions they have received. The printer is already familiar with your work as they printed out your first proofs. The glossy cover may not be printed in the same place as your manuscript however, it’s often cheaper to print covers elsewhere and bring them in for binding. The printer prints what is called a ‘first run.’ The first copies are sent to the publisher for checking and advance copies are sent to various departments and reviewers before the final run is printed. SOUND EXHAUSTING? It is exhausting but a whole lot of fun. As the author however, your only job is to approve corrections, sign the contract and sit back and collect the royalties. The whole process can take anything from twelve months to three years before you receive your first royalty cheque; now you know why many writers have a second job! Your royalties are a percentage of the total price of the book once the other links in the publishing chain have received their share of the profits. (Copyright Alastair Rosie 2000)
Alastair Rosie is a freelance writer and the editor of Bayswater Inside Out, a small newspaper that is distributed to residents of Bayswater. As a webpage designer he has worked on the Australian Jodie Foster Web Site, the Professional Writing Webpages at Box Hill Tafe and was a founding member of the Divan team, (1998) Australia’s first online poetry journal, recently archived by the Australian National Library. His most recent project is the online publishing house and bookstore, Bard-list where he has taken on the dual roles of editor and layout artist. Fred Gillen is the programming brain behind Bard-list. He hopes to use this site as a vehicle to bring Australian authors onto the world stage and overseas authors to the Australian literary community. "It’s my way of making a difference in my small corner of the world."Feel free to email him at: Click here for more articles about writing and publishing.
|
|
Home | Contact | Order | Site Map |Subscribe Copyright 2009 Jennifer Stewart Write101.com
|
