One of the biggest complaints I hear about self-published books is not that they’re poorly written. Or that the cover design is lacking. The biggest beef is that the books are rife with typos.
When I hear that, I cock my head like a confused dog. I ask myself, “Didn’t the author hire an editor and/or a proofreader?”
When you read the acknowledgement page of a book, you realize how many people it takes to publish a book. Writing groups, writing buddies, editors, agents, designers…it’s a whole team behind the author.
I’m lucky to have an incredible crew working with me on Chasing Sylvia Beach. My writing buddy and editor David Hicks has the manuscript now. He’ll give me a ton of notes on how to improve the novel, and I’ll do a final swipe to make it shine.
Then, the book will go to Jody Berman, a proofreader who will make sure that there are no typos, misspellings, repetitions or mistakes. This may be a challenge, since there are some French words in the book that may or may not be spelled correctly. I’ll have a native French speaker look at those to make sure they’re correct.
From there, the designers, both layout and cover, will do their work turn the manuscript into a book.
I also will work with a book coach to help me strategize, plan and implement the thousand things necessary to bring a book into the world. (People hire me to help them write and promote their books, but I can’t coach myself on such a big project!)
The way things are going, it looks like I’ll need a mental and spiritual coach to help deal with all the issues this process is bringing to the surface. (That would also be me, but ditto above, I can’t fully coach myself through this.)
I have my winter work mapped out for me!
Been there, done that
I went through this process in 2003 when I published my book, Create Your Writer’s Life. I know how involved it is. I know how daunting it is. Which is why I’d never attempt to do it alone.
Anything worth doing requires more than one person. Our greatest creative vision calls for us to reach out, to connect and to share the process with those who have complementary skills.
Even with a team, mistakes, typos and glitches are likely to happen. We do our best to strive for excellence in what we put into the world, and we let it go, trusting it’s as perfect as possible.
What do you do to help make sure your projects are as polished as possible?
What advice do you have to help me make the process smooth?
Great post. I am making a list of the “creative cohorts” I need to help me in the self-publishing adventure I will be embarking on in 2012. There is no such things a solo creator!