End Notes: A Letter from the Editor

EndNotes: A Letter from the Editor

Writing is a solo act, right? Of course it is! And yet every author knows just how much input, insightful comments, and feedback from various individuals helped to shape their writing and inform the final manuscript. Editing also has its solo moments. I have days where I read, mark corrections, read some more, do a bit of fixing, keep reading, and repeat. Those days are what dreams are made of for editors, especially when accompanied by a foamy latte, but let me pull back the curtain to the long view of the editorial process—from the moment a book proposal lands in my inbox to that final click of the button that sends the manuscript to the printer. The process is anything but a solo endeavor.

When I receive a book proposal, a team of us—select editors, publishers, and marketers—gather and discuss it. After we decide to move forward with the idea, the team meets again, usually with a slightly higher share of marketing people. The team projects sales numbers of the proposed book and then communicates these numbers to a host of individuals responsible for selling the book across the globe. I then kickoff a contract request. This request gets personally signed by individuals in publishing, marketing, and managing, and then it is sent off to our contracts department. Our internal administration also stays in the loop so that the future author is set up in our database and benefits from all the Zondervan Academic perks!

When the author finishes the manuscript and it arrives in my inbox, I review it carefully and give it a macro edit. When it’s ready to move on, I pass the manuscript off to our in-house stylist who preps the manuscript for typesetting. In the meantime, our visual editor checks to make sure supplied images meet our publishing standards. Once the manuscript is styled, the copyediting begins! Here’s where I read, correct, sip on my coffee, keep reading, etc.

When the manuscript is ready, I send it back to the author and to an outside academic proofreader holding a PhD in the field. After their review, I send the manuscript to our typesetter to create a design sample. Elements of this sample are inspired by the drafted cover, which editors and marketers would have already generated in connection with our cover designer. Once the sample design pages are approved, our typesetter flows the entire book. This is when we all start getting excited. Typeset pages are the best! I then send the manuscript back to the author one last time and have a different outside academic proofreader review it. After this, we are getting close. Our marketing team may send out the typeset pages for early promotion and endorsements, and we also create indices from these pages.

The last stages involve final formatting checks with our managing editorial team and some last-minute tasks from me and the author. Meanwhile, the front and back covers are being routed through our team for individual approval. And then we hit the file-tovendor date, when the manuscript and cover, with one last click of the button, are sent to the printer. Coveted copies then await arrival at our doorsteps.

By my estimate, more than twenty-five individuals from our team have had an important role in getting a book into print, and most of those individuals interacted with the content multiple times! The long view of the editorial process with Zondervan Academic is a masterclass in collaboration and care. It’s built into our process—many hands yielding excellent and thoughtful work. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to my solo act. The foamy latte and my reading glasses are calling. Nancy Erickson, PhD Executive Editor Biblical Languages, Textbooks, Reference Tools, and Seedbed Resources

Do you have a question for Zondervan Academic? Email your question to Matthew.Miller@harpercollins.com.