(NOTE: This month's installment deals with the actual process of writing the book from an editorial standpoint as well as the author's involvement (or lack thereof) in the art direction of a book. The next installment on the business of writing will deal with how the book is promoted and released as well as how to treat your fans from the author's perspective.)

Being a writer is a lot different than one might think.

I do not have a smoking jacket or strike poses next to the mantle of my fireplace. My wife does have a large leather chair but I can't read a book in it because that chair always puts me to sleep. I don't have a sheep dog either and my supply of large, bulky sweaters is practically non-existent.

Furthermore, I may have my name on the book as author but once it goes to the publisher there are a lot of things that are completely out of my control. Let's follow a manuscript through from submission to publication for a moment and see just what kind of a ride it will be.

You've finished your 120,000 words. Your readers and fans are anxious to see it.

Only they won't get to see it ... not for another twelve months.

It takes a year (as a rule of thumb) to get a book through the 'production process.' It can take longer (more likely) or shorter (far less likely) depending on the need for the book and the schedule, but a year is a good bet. A lot has to happen in those twelve months and not all of it involves the author. There are many, many different departments and people who then get involved with getting the book ready to print and sell. Art Directors, Editorial Staff, copy editors, typesetting, layout and marketing all have a hand in getting the book ready to go out the door. The editor not only edits the book but largely acts as the contact point between in-house publishing people and the author.

The first thing that happens is that the editor reads the book and ... in the case of our current editor ... reads the book several times. Then the editor gives the author 'notes.' These notes are usually in the form of a long letter ... most often several pages in length ... detailing both the general and specific questions they have about the story as it is written. The author then responds to these notes by making changes in the manuscript or answering the questions put to them. This process may be repeated several times until the editor is satisfied that the book is, indeed, acceptable.

Once the editor is satisfied with the book ... and this can take several rounds and months of editor notes, rewrite, more notes, etc. ... then the MS goes to a copy editor. This person reads the book strictly for grammar and punctuation. When they are finished, they may not be able to tell you what the book was about but they certainly can point out how bad a job you did of tell your story in the English language. It's time for another round of corrections at this point.

Oh, at this point, the author is usually paid a D&A ... that's 'Delivery and Acceptance' ... payment. This means that the editor and the publisher's editorial board have determined that your book is, indeed, publishable material. Cha-ching!

Once these corrections are made, the manuscript (or MS) is sent to 'production.' Here the book is usually retyped by a typesetter into the company's typesetting format. This is interesting because in many publishing companies the author writes the book on a computer but is required to send in the manuscript as physical, printed pages. The manuscript must follow a specific format. It needs no fancy fonts; always use a courier font. Double space the pages with approximately 25 lines per page. The beginning of each chapter should start half way down the page.

Don't think you will get any additional attention or extra consideration by using prettier fonts, justified margins or fancy layout; this actually works AGAINST you. Editors are use to working in this format. When they see a manuscript submitted in other forms it actually makes their work harder. Believe me, the LAST thing an editor needs is more work!'

The upshot of all this is that you write your book on your computer, work hard to force your printer to produce pages that LOOK as though they were written on a typewriter, send them to the publisher in a fat, heavy and expensive to ship box so that the publisher can pay someone ELSE to retype the whole thing into their computer.

Would it be easier to just send them the file? Yes, and by even the most modest modem you could send the whole thing to them in a very short time and for practically no money.

Why doesn't it work this way? Because it doesn't, and that's it ... so we just have to get use to it.

Some publishers are making strides toward this relatively modern trend of getting the book electronically but you need to understand that this is an industry that has been around, literally, for CENTURIES. It is better to simply accept it and get your great book published their way.

The typeset pages come back to the author in the form of galley proofs and/or page proofs. Here is where your book actually starts to LOOK like a book. However, since the book is going through several hands and has been retyped, possibly several times, you are now looking for errors in the text. This is painful but necessary work as you are rapidly approaching the point where your story is going to be seen by people who expect your prose to be perfect and without typos or misspellings.

Some time afterward, you may get in the mail something called 'bound galleys.' This is an inexpensively bound (flat cardstock cover) version of your book that is sent out to certain readers for review and quotation. Now things are really exciting because your typed-up pages suddenly FEEL like a real book.

The art director is brought in much earlier than all this and is tasked to come up with the overall look for the graphic presentation of the book, especially the cover. The author MIGHT be asked for suggestions as to what the book cover would be about but usually this is as far as the courtesy extends. In practical terms, this means that the author really has only minimal say in what a cover will look like when the book is finished.

The Marketing Department has been at work all along getting your book sold into book distributors, stores and chains. The author gets very little say generally in this process. Authors also usually have no say in whether the book will be hard back or paperback (unless it is specified in the contract) and certainly have no control over how many copies of the book will be printed.

The Marketing Department also may arrange for a public relations tour for the book including appearances and book signings by the authors. Where these events take place is largely also out of the author's hands. The locations are targeted generally to boost a book's initial sales with an eye on the best seller lists.

Oh, and when your book is published ... it's often time for another one of those contract payments. Cha-ching!

You've had relatively little say on so many things: the cover art and presentation, the look of the book, where the book is sold or how it is publicized. You get the feeling that at some point your book left you and is now in the hands and control of others.

This is, by and large, how it should be. Publishers are in the business of selling your book. The more books you sell, the more money they make. If you get a good publisher who is interested in promoting you and your book, then it is best to let them do their jobs and trust them to be the true professionals they should be. They have been in this business a long time.

After all, when it all works right, they just want you to help your book succeed.

And from long experience I can tell you ... there is NO feeling like holding your own book in your hands for the first time.

Tracy Hickman has written or edited more than thirty novels, had ten of them ride on the New York Times Best Sellers list, designed role playing games and modules, created his own role playing game and in recent years begun to write screenplays. He may be reached through his web site: www.trhickman.com.

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