Frequently Asked Questions
WE BUILD BOOKS hears these questions:
"I'm going to publish my book myself. Why do I need a professional edit?"
Here is an excerpt from a recent professional review of a self-published book:
" . . . and while Donald can be a fine spinner of yarns, he seems at times to be
straining for effect. He repeatedly reminds us how important his sailing life is
to him, but often fails to make it come alive, to allow us to 'feel' the people and
places and boats that constitute the texture of his voyage.
The book could benefit from a tighter, more organic inner structure and better editing.
There are too many clichés, misspellings, grammatical errors, and too inordinate a use
of adverbs for someone conversant with the magnificent Persian poetry of Omar Khayyam."
Good Old Boat,July/August 2002, p. 62.
Here is an excerpt from another review of a recently self-published book:
"When Good Old Boat editors asked me to review this mystery novel, I happily
agreed because mysteries are my favorite junk food. But the editor/proofreader in me
is always on duty, and it took me five tries to get past the first 20 pages. . . .
It didn't help that there were editing and proofing errors. . . this was like biting an
M&M peanut and finding no peanut; the next few M&Ms are eaten with a measure of distrust."
Good Old Boat Newsletter, December 2002, p. 4.
It really comes down to respect for yourself and respect for your reader.
You all deserve the best.
"My computer program has Spell-Check and Grammar-Check. What do I need with an editor?"
Here is an example of an actual manuscript run through Spell-Check and haplessly submitted to a
publisher:
"My father was always hauling us off to some dessert island in search of chards of pottery."
(Spell-Check passed "dessert" instead of "desert" and "chards" in place of "shards." )
"[The] lieutenant . . . was horse from screaming nonstop blasphemy . . . "
(It should have been "hoarse," of course.)
"Make absolutely sure we don't have any lines in the water that can fowl the prop."
(What a foul!)
"Everyone who has read this manuscript loves it. Why should I bother with an edit now?"
Are your friends going to put up money to publish this for you?
Did any of them pay you for the privilege of reading your manuscript?
It's becoming increasingly more difficult for a newcomer to get that first book into print.
Publishers must lay out thousands of dollars in formatting, cover design, and printing costs
to produce a single title. As the field becomes more competitive, they are increasingly reluctant
to gamble editing money on a newcomer. The novice who comes in clean and "ready to pour"
(into a book designing program) and send to the printer, has a distinct edge over the competition.
"I have an idea how I'd like the pages of my published book to look. Should I format it that way
(double-column, single-space, bold-face font, whatever) when I submit my manuscript to a publisher?"
No. Manuscripts submitted for publication should be single-column text
double-spaced in normal 12-point font, with italics used only for words requiring emphasis,
titles of publications, ships' names, foreign expressions, or possibly to express the thoughts
of a character. All text should be double-spaced, even subheads and long quotations.
This allows room for editor's or proofreader's marks.
You are expected to follow this convention.
When your book is accepted for publication, the book designer will establish
the specialized format you envision.
Click here for a sample of what your opening page should look like: Sample page
"How much will it cost me for a complete edit of my manuscript?"
That cannot be estimated until we see your work. Every manuscript presents with its own needs,
which determine the amount of time a careful edit will require. Although ten pages an hour seems
to be an average, your manuscript may require more attention or it may need less. As an example,
a recent manuscript we edited ran 308 pages and required 42 hours (7.3 pages per hour). Another
manuscript that went to 284 pages required only 30 hours (9.5 pages per hour).
The best strategy is for you to decide how many hours you would like us to spend on a first encounter.
We'll start at page one and work until the predetermined time has been invested. Then we'll advise
you as to how far we have come. At that point you can decide to go on or stop there, paying only for
services received to date. The choice and the control are always yours.
Consider: Any progress made puts you ahead of where you were and contributes to your learning.
Consider also: Even at seven pages an hour, our economical rate of $30.00 an hour pencils out to a
little over $4.28 per page, well below the rates you will see quoted elsewhere.
"Do I need to sign a contract or send you a deposit?"
No in both cases, but if you prefer to be billed in increments and pay as you go, that can be arranged.
"Do I need to copyright my manuscript before I send it to be edited or before
submitting to a publisher?"
No.
1. WE BUILD BOOKS is a team of professionals. We abhor plagiarism.
No one here is going to steal your work.
2. See #1: remarks apply double-strength to legitimate publishers.
3. Your unpublished manuscript is already protected by elements of
copyright law, whether or not it is marked "copyright." According to
the Berne convention, "in the USA, almost everything created privately
and originally after April 1, 1989 is copyrighted and protected whether
it has a notice or not."
(Brad Templeton, www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html)
Further reference: "The Copyright Act of 1976 provides that copyright
begins at the moment the work is created. Registration with the
Coyright Office is not required in order for a work to be
protected under U.S. copyright law."
from Questions and Answers on Copyright for the Campus Community,
The Association of American Publishers, October, 1993.
If you are still concerned about this issue, you can always put the
© symbol on your cover page. You do NOT need to file this with
the copyright office.
"What book do you recommend for someone who wants to learn to write
more effectively?"
At the very least, every writer should be familiar with Strunk and White's The Elements of Style.
"No book in shorter space, with fewer words, will help any writer more than this persistent
little volume." The Boston Globe
"The work remains a nonpareil: direct, correct, and delightful." The New Yorker
You can find this small gem of a manual online if you click here.
Use the Back button on your browser to return to WeBuildBooks.