Preparing Your Book

When you submit your manuscript to Bluebird’s production team for editing, layout, and design, you are one step closer to publication. And that means that you want to insure that you have prepared your book for the editing process and beyond. Click here to download our editing survey.

Before handing your book over to an editor, be sure that you have done the following:

  1. Prepare all parts of the book to the best of your ability. Is there anything that you plan to include in the written part of your manuscript that isn’t there (besides the index)? Your editor should see your book in its entirety—including your title page, dedication, acknowledgments, preface, table of contents, captions for illustrations, footnotes or endnotes, and credit lines for reproductions of texts or illustrations that don’t belong to you. (All books will not have a number of these elements.)
  2. If you haven’t already, secure permissions for texts and illustrations (line art, maps, photos, etc.) that are not in the public domain and for which you do not own rights to reproduce. There are many stock photo websites on the internet where you can purchase images that are royalty-free. Just Google “stock photo images” and browse. While many of the sites are geared to ad agencies and design firms, individuals are able to purchase one or a few at a time. If you can’t locate the specific image you need, you may want to use The Permissions Group to search and secure rights for you. See http://www.permissionsgroup.com/home.
  3. Proofread your manuscript thoroughly. Have you used names and terms consistently? If your work is one of nonfiction, have you rechecked your facts? Reading aloud is a good way to spot mistakes because it makes you read more slowly.
  4. Complete the Editing Survey, to be given to your editor with your manuscript.

Editing Survey Click here to download.

  1. How can you best be reached in case of questions? When is the best time to reach you?
  2. Would you like edits to be marked on a hard copy or electronically, using the Track Changes function? (If you prefer hard copy, please submit your manuscript double-spaced with 1-inch margins all around.
  3. How many pages are in your complete manuscript?
  4. What do you want out of the editing process? (Do you need help with development of the content? Do you need help with sentence structure and grammar? Do you need small errors fixe-just typical punctuation and spelling caught in proofreading?)
  5. Is there any part of your manuscript that you consider sacred or untouchable, in terms of the editing process?
  6. What is your timeline for completion of the editing process? Do you have any conflicts during this time?
  7. Who is the target audience for your manuscript?
  8. Please specify if editors need to use a style guide other than The Chicago Manual of Style.
When your book comes back from your editor, do the following:
  1. Review the suggested changes and proofread carefully. If you disagree with any changes, please mark the hard copy or the tracked changes in the Word document. Return to the editor.
  2. When the corrected version comes back from your editor, check the new version against your old marked version, making sure that every change was made.
  3. Proofread one more time.

Before you turn your book over for layout and design:

  1. Proofread your manuscript thoroughly and make final changes.
  2. Make sure that your manuscript is saved as a Microsoft Word file.
  3. Make sure your photos/illustrations are saved in the exact size they should be reproduced at, as high-resolution JPEG files (300 dpi).
  4. If you have not already done so, complete the Marketing Questionnaire (the questions regarding design are mandatory).
  5. Be sure that you have a personal version of your manuscript saved as a backup.
  6. Get your manuscript into Bluebird’s hands by doing one of the following: email your book in its entirety to Bluebird (good for smaller files without images or “zipped” files); save your book on a compact disc or flash drive and either mail or drop it off at Bluebird’s offices; use a service called Dropbox or upload to Bluebird’s FTP site (for especially large files). For more help with any of these options, contact us for more information.

When your book comes back from your layout designer, do the following:

  1. Proofread carefully, especially watching for words that might have been dropped when moving the text into layout.
  2. Proofread carefully again, making sure that you catch all errors. Mark all errors for the designer to fix.
  3. When the book comes back from your designer, proofread the corrected layout against your marked corrections, making sure that all corrections were made.
  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 as necessary until the book is ready to be sent to the printer. Remember, spend plenty of time proofreading early on, as more time spent with your designer equals additional expense.
When your book cover comes back from the designer, do the following:
  1. Check that everything—your title, your name, the information on the spine and back jacket—is spelled correctly.
  2. Make sure that your title and last name is easy to read on the spine.
  3. Make sure that your title on the front cover is easy to read and stands out. Also consider that, depending on how the book is displayed, you typically want the title to show up toward the top third of the book.