Whisper House Press

Notes from the desk of the editor are offered in the interests of personal posterity and transparency for writers and other potential editors who wish to learn from my experience

– the editor

Today I’m getting underway with the editing—the logistics of the editing, at least. Here’s what’s on the docket:

First up is to ensure uniform file names in google docs, where we’ll do our text edits (design, layout, etc. come much later).

Second is to link each doc to my control sheet where I’m tracking the full process and to add some columns for the initial editing phase.

Third is to “clear formatting” inside all files and delete all information apart from the stories themselves from the text files. This will save me a headache if one or another contributor has spaced things differently or inserted breaks or other oddities that won’t show themselves until much later in the process—this step prevents those pains. (Edit: I’m realizing this step clears authors’ intended italics and such—which may or may not stay, but I absolutely need to know what the original text intended… so I’ll be comparing the originals to my versions when I do my edits to track this.)

Fourth, I’ll begin editing in “suggestions” mode in google docs.

That takes us as far as I can go it alone. I’ll be sending out the suggested edits for contributing author approval at that point. My goal is to have this done by end of August at the latest. We’ll see. In a dream world, I’m done with my initial edits before my research trip to Germany in July. These stories are so well done that not a ton is really required… so we’ll see.

When the editorial notes are done and revisions received, I’ll import the stories into Scrivener, where I’ll arrange them in their intended order and where I’ll insert editorial introduction(s, potentially for topically arranged sections).

Then I’ll do a full text pour from Scrivener into Vellum, where I’ll complete initial interior book designs.

The exterior cover design will likely occur via Adobe Illustrator, presuming I can teach myself and learn what I need to know from experienced publishers and friends like those at Collective Tales Publishing and Timber Ghost Press. If I don’t find success at creating a beautiful cover, I’d hire a cover designer as I did with Max in the Capital of Spies.

On my mind: I think I’d like to get all editorial notes done before sending anything out to anyone, but we’ll see how my thinking on this develops. There are a few stories that need a wee bit more than some others, and maybe this means those should be prioritized. In any case, Authors will be given plenty of notice for edits, and I’ll ask for as quick a turnaround as that for which I can reasonably push.

For those contracts geeks out there (the whole lot of you! don’t sleep on note #11), this raises an issue that I’ll want to address in future contracts once my workflow is more standardized. Here’s the current language about edits

Should I be more specific in the text? I know that in collections in which I’ve participated the edits were expected in 7 days or thereabouts, and I’m wondering if I should insert this specificity into the contract for future publications.

Just thinking aloud here. Open to feedback!

That about does it for now.

For the record: at no point have I disliked or been annoyed with any step in this process. It’s been all gravy so far! I know this may change, but it hasn’t been in any way negative just yet.

Oh! And I’m taking on a high school student as an unpaid intern for ten or twenty hours of work this summer. I am hopeful I can help provide this person with a worthwhile experience and, afterward, write the student a helpful letter. I will always be able to do better and more work on my own than with a student intern, but that student would not otherwise get this experience—so this effort is the product of a conscious choice I’m making to give to my community.

– steve

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