You Turn in Your Manuscript. Then What?
I realize that I’m jumping from writing a proposal to what happens when you turn in your manuscript. Bear with me - I will talk about the in-between stuff, too. But I’m excited because I just got my hands on my very first solo book, Wine Style (pictured above), and it is a very, very cool feeling. It’s a month before the book is available everywhere books are sold, so in the meantime I thought I’d explain what happens in the in-between times from when authors hand in their manuscripts to when authors hold physical books in their hands.
In this post, I’ll go over the editing side of cookbook making, from what happens after you turn in your first draft to when the book is finished and sitting on your shelf.
Once you get your book deal, you are also on the clock for submitting a finished manuscript. It’s a date to take seriously, and if there’s any doubt that you won’t make the deadline, it’s best to negotiate before signing the contract or, if you realize this later on, several months before the editor is expecting the manuscript. Editors juggle several books in production, and if you tell them the week before your manuscript is due that you need more time, it can mess up their schedule for months.
So let’s assume you turned in the manuscript, and hopefully on time. Here are the steps that come next:
(Pro tip: Before I turn in the manuscript, I ask my editor for a production schedule so I can fill my calendar with the dates I need to spend on editing and proofreading.)
Developmental Edit. This will be when you get your first round of feedback to your editor. It’s the big-picture edit, so expect to answer questions such as: does the book have a cohesive story throughout? If it was all about sandwiches, does the chapter on charcoal grilling need to be edited down to a sidebar? Do you have too many recipes that require a certain expensive ingredient? Are the headnotes 2x as long as they need to be? Are they too short or inconsistent? (See this post on writing great headnotes). Are any recipes missing? If the book is 20,000 words over the expected word count stated in your contract with the publisher (good grief!), an editor may ask you to think through what chunks of text to take out and/or make recommendations even before she/he/they finish the developmental edit. If there are missing sidebars or information that helps contextualize recipes, an editor will note them here, too. Typically you’d have 2 weeks to go through the manuscript and make the necessary changes. If the manuscript is in need for a lot of re-writing, however, it may be longer and could mean delaying the publication of the book and/or hiring someone to help you get it into shape.
But don’t be scared of a good structural edit. It’s all about making your book better, and I find that the time spent away from the manuscript helps me see it with fresh eyes and makes it way easier to see what needs to be fixed.
Copy Edit. Once the developmental (dev) edit is turned in and the editor has accepted the changes, the manuscript goes to a copy editor. For cookbooks, this portion of the editing process is often the most time-consuming for the author.
You will get the manuscript back with loads of questions you may have never thought of — like why did you say 1 red onion, sliced, in this recipe but 1 cup sliced red onion in another? Was this intentional, and why? A good copy editor will point out discrepancies in style (as in, are all recipes written according to the style guide from the publisher) and recipe structure. They will even fact-check names and statements. I’ve had some who say they cooked one of the recipes to see if it lived up to the headnote, which is an awesome level of thoroughness. They’ll also clean up lingering grammar and spelling mistakes.
Generally you have 2 weeks to review edits, and expect to spend a good amount of time going over every query and change recommended by the copy editor. (In other words, don’t think you can go through it the night before the manuscript is due back to your editor.)
If you don’t like a certain change that the copy editor is recommending (maybe you have a reason for calling out sliced red onions in different ways), keep a list so you can review it with your editor. In general, copy editors are the unsung heroes of the book world. If you work with a good one, count yourself lucky and please add their name to the acknowledgements page (along with everyone else who helped you make your book better than you could have on your own).
First Pages. Essentially, what publishers call “first pages” is exactly how it sounds: the first time the book is put into the layout with photos and all design features.
For first pages, a publisher will send you the entire book printed out in 2-page spreads and you’ll be asked to make changes directly on the pages. I use pencil because I often have to erase/rewrite my changes as I go.
Receiving first pages is when the book starts to feel real. But it also can be overwhelming because you’ll see text that doesn’t fit into boxes quite as you had pictured or you’ll notice a recipe is hard to follow as it’s laid out because it’s broken into too many pages, etc. It’s also your last opportunity to request changes to the text, like if a headline isn’t working or a sidebar feels repetitive in the context of the entire book.
When you get first pages, read every page and note any typos. If a photo is misplaced, mark that and explain what photo should be there. If a section is running too long to fit on a page, recommend words or sentences to delete. It’s a good idea to make a photocopy of first pages after you’ve added all of your edits so you have a record of the changes you are requesting and in case the manuscript gets lost in the mail after you’ve sent it back to your publisher. If you have been working well with your editor through the developmental and copy edits, the first pages should go smoothly and there shouldn’t be any notable surprises.
Second Pages. This is the second round of edits in the layout, so all the edits from first pages should be reflected here. Not all publishers automatically show second pages to authors, but I request them so I can review the changes made. Second pages will be a PDF (not on paper like first pages), and the only changes you can request at this point is fixing typos and those kinds of things. Expect about a week with second pages before your editor requests them back.
Answering Proofreader Questions / Resolve any Follow-up Queries. While you’re looking at second pages, a proofreader as well as an editor and designer who have never seen the book before will read it with fresh eyes to see if they catch typos or anything that feels off. Your editor may then email you their queries if anything has come up that you need to answer from this review. If all is going well, this list should be small and easy to answer in a short time frame.
Waiting for Advanced Copies. Once you’ve answered all your editor’s questions, the book is officially out of your hands and all you can do is wait for it to be printed and shipped. And this takes months! Expect to get an email from your editor saying that the advances (the first copies of the book) are in, and you can then expect to get your book in the mail. This will happen a couple of months before the books are in warehouses ready to be shipped to stores and buyers. The photo at the top of this post? That’s my very first copy of Wine Style, and I’m eagerly awaiting receiving more soon. The feeling of holding your book in your hands for the first time NEVER GETS OLD. And if the editing process can be grueling, the time away from the book makes it feel fresh and fun again.
What to do during the waiting game? Start PLANNING YOUR BOOK LAUNCH—if you haven’t started already. Think about doing guest posts on popular blogs, aligning yourself with influencers who like your work, planning a virtual book tour, and working with your publisher’s PR and marketing team on a outreach strategy.
And that’s it! There’s a lot more nuance that goes into each step, but this sketches out the broad outline for what to expect. As far as timeframe, it varies book to book, but for a small-ish one (under 200 pages), expect to be working on edits, on and off, for about 3 months.
Want more cookbook writing inspiration? See this post about mining for cookbook ideas and 5 questions to ask yourself before writing a cookbook.