Fee: Every manuscript needs a different amount and kind of work, and
fees can range anywhere from 4 to10 cents a word, depending on the genre,
the length of the manuscript, and the evel of editing or additional
writing needed. The fee for editing your particular manuscript will
be determined by discussing your manuscript with you and by doing a
free sample edit for you. Once you have agreed on the appropriate level
of editing and fee, your editor will draw up a service agreement and
begin turning your manuscript into the masterpiece it was meant to be.
Linediting
Line-editing is the
lightest level of content editing. It is more than a copyedit, but less
than a substantive edit. Although the majority of manuscripts we see
need a content edit, once in a while we get one that needs only a line
edit. This could well be the case if your manuscript is a revision of
a previous book.
Copyediting
When your manuscript reaches the copyediting stage, our copyeditor will
check the spelling and punctuation and make sure the grammar is sound
by watching for errors in diction (word choice), syntax (arrangement
of the parts of a sentence), and agreement. She or he will check notes
for completeness and accuracy, and if Scripture is used, verify it by
verse and translation. The copyeditor will also look for repetition
of words and phrases and inconsistencies in facts or chronology.
Styles Setting
After your manuscript
is copyedited, your manuscript will be prepared for typesetting by having
style names applied to your text. Style names ensure that the interior
elements of your book are consistent and uniform by telling the typesetter
which text is a chapter title, subhead, quoted material, and so on.
Typesetting
At Abiding Books,
we believe that the inside of your book should be as beautiful as the
cover. Working closely with the cover designer, our typesetter will
design an original interior template for your book, one that offers
you several options for running heads, chapter openers, and fonts. Once
you have approved the template, he or she will typeset your book to
turn the manuscript pages into galley proof pages, and then send them
to you and the proofreader. Once any necessary changes are made and
a second set of proofs generated (and, if necessary, a third set), the
typesetter will make sure that all changes have been made, and then
prepare the final file for the printer.
Proofreading
Once the manuscript
pages become galley proofs, our proofreader will ensure the accuracy
of spelling, punctuation, page numbering, and word division and check
for consistency of style in quotes, italics, boldface type, running
heads, and chapter openers. If the author sends corrections, the proofreader
will collate them and send them to the typesetter. Once the typesetter
has made the changes, the proofreader will check them again and then
insert the page numbers in the table of contents and make sure that
internal cross-references are correct.
Manuscript
Review
Some publishing companies guarantee that they will not reject your manuscript.
In our opinion, it's not in your best interest for us to help you publish
a book we know you won't be able to sell. Our goal is to help you publish
one that will not only sell, but abide. If, after reviewing your manuscript,
we conclude that Abiding Books is not the publisher to help you do that,
we will be honest with you. It may be that your manuscript shows promise,
but that it is not yet in good enough shape for submission. In that
case, we may suggest that you have it critiqued by a professional editor.
Manuscript
Critique
In a detailed, single-spaced, multi-page evaluation, a professional
editor will analyze your manuscript with regard to organization, style,
grammar, content flow, and marketing potential.
Abiding Books
"He who abides in Me, and I in him,
bears much fruit." (John 15:5)
