From: Philip Brownell, Executive Editor; Gestalt!; Topdog-g Publishing http://www.g-g.org/gej/index.html Subject: Edited Book
Hi Mark, Here is one way to organize the process of producing an edited book.
Someone suggests the topic/subject. This can be the executive editor, the publisher, or just a number of contributing authors.
An executive editor, or editors, is identified. The person organizes the work, making sure that contributing authors submit chapters that make up a cohesive unit, without duplicating one another, and that the overall product accomplishes the goal originally set out for the book. The ex.ed. also sets deadlines, encourages authors, handles all contracts with the publisher, communicating with contributing authors.
Individual contributing authors are recruited/organized and the work of writing proceeds to each deadline; an overall rough draft is produced, and each contributing author's work is edited by the ex.ed. to make sure it's good writing, easy to follow, makes points it's supposed to make, etc. This is not copyediting for such things as spelling and style; it's content editing for clarify of thought, elimination of examples and metaphors that don't work, guidance into modifications that work better, etc.
The finished draft is edited by a copy editor, and this person examines the manuscript for spelling, punctuation, style and proper format. The copyeditor may also to the page layout, which is to set the text for printing. Depending on whether or not the book will be printed or set up for electronic publishing, the project will have to be put into a .pdf or Quark files, or some other formatting for electronic publishing. This all includes the production and use of graphics, which involves the use of proper graphic file formats.
All these steps are major categories, each of which can take a long time and involved a lot of coordinating among publishers, editors, and contributing authors. The way people are paid for their work is, of course, one of the basic and first considerations as contracts are worked out near the beginning between publishers and executive editors.
Hope this helps. Phil ------------
Mark
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