SUBSTANTIVE BOOK EDITING • COPY EDITING • WRITING AND REWRITING • GHOSTWRITING
At The Laurus Company, our goal is to help you publish your book with the best quality available for the most economical cost. With a history spanning over 30 years, our staff has helped many authors, writers, and business people bring their publishing dreams into reality. From refining your manuscript, to designing a book that attracts buyers, to distributing the finished product, we will guide you through this challenging and exciting process in the most economical way possible. There are many variables in the editorial process. Pricing, therefore, will be quoted on a project basis according to content, time frame, and the specifics of your manuscript.
WHAT DO EDITORS DO?
“An editor is an advocate for both the writer’s true intentions and the reader’s needs.”
The editorial process is the most important step in publishing a book. The editor you choose can make or break your book. Writers can be tempted to take cost shortcuts by trusting their manuscripts to friends, relatives, or others who are not professional book editors, and the results are usually very evident. A poorly edited and designed book will rarely ever pay for itself and will end up cluttering up shelf space.
We regularly encounter people who claim to be editors and are not. Being a professional book editor requires more than an English or journalism degree. It is more than being a good proofreader. More often than not, a great book editor has a God-given gift and sixth sense when it comes to refining a manuscript for a book. We strongly encourage writers not to shortcut on this crucial step.
Most editors do it all. An editor’s job is primarily to turn a writer’s words into a finished product that communicates the message intended by the writer. But editors can also act as project managers, either handling everything themselves or hiring writers, designers, illustrators, photographers, indexers, proofreaders, and other contractors as needed. Editors may also handle the actual production of your project—design, desktop publishing, printing, proofing, fulfillment, or any part thereof.
The editorial function is so broad that many editors are specialists:
Substantive or Line Editing
Improving a manuscript in any or all of the following ways:
• identifying and solving problems of overall clarity or accuracy
• reorganizing paragraphs, sections, or chapters to improve the order in which the text is presented
• writing or rewriting segments of text to improve readability and flow of information
• revising any or all aspects of the text to improve its presentation
• consulting with others about issues of concern
• incorporating responses to queries and suggestions
• creating a new draft of the document
Copy Editing (Basic)
Any or all of the following:
• correcting spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax (grammatical arrangement), and word usage while preserving the meaning and voice of the original text
• checking for or imposing a consistent style and format reading for overall clarity and sense on behalf of the prospective audience
• querying the appropriate party about apparent errors or inconsistencies
• noting permissions needed to publish copyrighted material
May also include:
• preparing a style sheet that documents style and format
• preparing a manuscript for the next stage of the publication process
• cross-checking references, art, figures, tables, and other features for consistency with their mentions in the text
Proofreading
• check the typeset text for errors, including typographical errors
• check for adherence to typesetting specifications and page makeup
• compare the latest stage of the project with earlier stages to make sure changes have been made correctly
Other types of editing
Developmental editing
These editors work closely with an author to develop a book or other project from the initial concept onward. They work closely with the author or client to study competing works and create a product that stands out.
Project Editing
Also called project managers, they see a project through from start to finish. They supervise and coordinate the editorial process and may, when necessary, hire contractors such as illustrators or proofreaders to complete certain phases of the process.
Production editing
These editors see the manuscript through the production process, starting with the edited manuscript and ending with approval of the final product. Production editors often hire other editorial staff, such as proofreaders.
Picture editing/researching
The job of a picture editor is to arrange for photographs, drawings, maps, and other illustrations, and to negotiate permissions and fees for the art work that is used.
Indexing
Indexing is a very specialized field. This person creates the index that is usually placed at the end of a book. An index is an alphabetical list of references to important terms and concepts within the text. This work is usually done near the end of the project when the final layout is available.
WHAT DO DESKTOP PUBLISHERS DO?
Desktop publishers create high-quality, digital layout pages on a personal computer. They use professional software that is compatible with the equipment used by the printing company that will print the project. The client often (though not always) provides the text copy in a program such as Microsoft Word. The desktop publisher then creates a design, lays out the pages according to the design and printing specifications, formats the text, manages the illustrations and photos, and creates the final product that is ready to go to the press. Most books, magazines, newsletters, brochures, newspapers, and other publications are now created using desktop publishing.