RavenCon: Production Process

The process of producing a book goes:

1. R&D
2. Write
3. Send it to Publisher
4. Substantive Edit
5. Copy Edit (almost always done by freelance)
6. Typeset
7. First Proof
8. Proof and Index (freelance)
9. Print
10. Fold and Gather (book without covers)
11. Print Cover, Bind and Package
12. Deliver

There's an Editor Association where you can find freelancers to look over your book. An editor should ask for a sample from the middle of the book (the beginning and end have had more people look at them and are more likely to be clean). The editor will decide how much work she thinks it needs, and quote a price.

What you look for in an editor:

• experience in the genre
• experience in a publishing house, vs only as freelance
• compatibility and trust
• compatible technology--you need something with Track Changes, and preferably MS Word.

What the editor will want:

• word count
• sample pages
• time limits, whether "required delivery date" or "will be away from email from X to Y"
• don't make changes once you've sent the manuscript
• make note of fictional or foreign terms
• put everything in writing

A copy editor is more expensive to hire than a proof reader; but a copy editor's changes are made at the MS Word stage, whereas a proofreader's changes mean changing DTP and layout. 

The most frequent criticism is "show, don't tell". You will find it helpful to have a writer's group.

Find out what style manual your publisher wants to conform to.

Part of what a publisher looks at is whether you have a blog and a Facebook presence.