Allow me a few brief
clarifications before fully explaining how a book is made. Both the entry on
the scandal and the editorial calendar mention the editorial services necessary
to publish a quality book. Those editorial services shape the publishing process
of a publication.
Some of the processes
are consecutive and are subject to the previous one. On the contrary, there are
others that overlap or can be done in parallel. In such cases, I make due
clarifications.
It should be noted
that the processes for publishing a novel differ from those used for publishing
complex books, such as commissioned books.
Of course, text
editing, proofreading, design, and layout are common services. However,
publications that include illustrations, maps, photographs, etc., require the
intervention of more professionals and, therefore, more editing steps.
Until there is
progress in a global publishing methodology, with a single base and different
output formats, this is how most publishers and serious publishing companies currently work.
In this entry I
explain how to make a simple book whose content is basically text. That is,
works such as novels, stories, stories, poems, and some essays and biographies.
How to make a book step by step
Next, I describe the
processes that an original must go through to become a book. It does not
include the hiring of authors, the work of literary agencies or the valuation
of works.
This is because the
content of this entry does not deal with the process of selecting a manuscript
to be published by a publisher.
In the same way, I do
not include the alternatives for the distribution of copies or the promotional
actions that can be carried out.
I do include the
review by the author, the zero reading and the professional one because I
consider the first one essential and the other two contribute quality,
directly, to the content of the work.
1. Author review
The author should review what he has
written as many times as necessary to feel comfortable with what he reads.
The self-corrections can be two or
ten, although I suggest putting a limit, since time can evaporate between so
many self-revisions and not progress (I know from experience...).
2. Zero reading
It is a non-professional, or
semi-professional reading, since some writers act as zero readers for other
authors (beta readers or beta readers).
The goal is to receive an opinion
from a reader's point of view. And it can be one or several people who read the
work and give their opinion.
3. Professional reading report
From an editor's perspective it is a
useful tool to assess the literary quality of a work, its real potential and
the author's writing.
For an editorial commercial, the
commercial potential that the work may have is analyzed; that is, if it is a
salable product.
For an author, the most useful type
of report is one that points out the strengths and weaknesses of his work and
his writing. This type of report makes a narrative and literary review (for
fiction) or structural and functional (for non-fiction).
4. Table Edition
He is the one who
edits an original and analyzes it with the eyes of an editor. If the editor
works for a publisher, moreover, they will look at it through the eyes of the
publisher.
Often this work is
combined with proofreading. Or that the editor requests certain changes in the
text that will then be executed by the style corrector and later verified by
the orthophotography one.
This publisher is also
likely to request changes from the author or work closely with the author
before moving forward with the process.
5. Style correction
Among the tasks of a
style editor are those of applying the grammar of the language; increase the lexical
richness; monitor syntax and change incorrectness; manage syntactic resources,
etc.
6. Design of covers
It is the composition
of the outer part of a publication. Includes cover, back cover, spine and
flaps. Also the shirt or dust jacket and the belt, when the book has them.
This task can be done
in parallel with the editing of the content, the style correction or the layout
of the interior; It depends on the rush and the availability of whoever does
it.
7. Gut layout
It is the composition
of the interior of the book (gut); It is the page setting of the contents.
Some basic principles
are followed that are related to grids, harmony, proportion, the golden
section, and legibility among other issues.
In a simple book,
interior design is combined with the task of layout, they are integrated
processes; in a complex book they would go a different way.
8. Proofreading/first proofreading
At this point in the
editing process(*) spelling and punctuation errors are removed; accent marks
and the use of quotation marks, bold, italics, upper and lower case letters,
among other tasks, are reviewed.
This correction is
already done on layout pages —and, ideally, on printed paper— and the layout
designer will be in charge of introducing the corrections in the layout of the
book.
When text editing and
style correction are dispensed with, this correction is made before layout, on
the text document.
9. Proofreading/Second Ortho Typing
It is a review that
ensures that all corrections (style and ortho typography) have been included.
It is an extra correction that represents one more quality control.
The proofreader, in
this phase of the editing process, places special emphasis on typographical
issues that may arise due to composition. For example, the appearance of a page
number on a white page.
10. Creation of the digital book
It is the process by
which the content of the work will be transformed into an electronic book. Once
all the corrections have been introduced, and with the final text, we proceed
to create the ebook.
It can be done by
different procedures: from InDesign with some code tweaking or with markup
language using Markdown and scripts. Even with a well-edited Word document you
get a MOBI file for Amazon.
11. Publication in different formats
It alludes to the
formats in which the book is presented: printed and digital. In this case, for
the printed book the publication is synonymous with printing copies and for the
digital book the fact of being available in online stores.
With the rise of audiobooks, this format would be another addition to online publishing, since audiobooks are an eminently digital product.