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The process
Author: Bev Vincent
This is my first time working on a book, so I thought I'd add some notes here about the process my manuscript takes from my computer to the book stalls in about a year from now.
As I mentioned before, I sent the first draft in at the end of July and I'm now working on revisions that will go back to my editor at the end of the week.
The production crew, meanwhile, has been putting on their thinking caps. Today I received some notes about their proposed cover copy (text for the front, back and spine). I had no idea that things like that were going on in the background and it excites me to no end to think that there are people beyond my editor who are working on my book! I guess I thought that stuff might start a few months down the line.
Author: eta6
As an avid reader, I have to admit I never think about the work people put in to design and cover art. I suppose I just take it for granted. But if given pause to think, one realizes that it is really quite an important part of a book. Whether one should or not, judging a book by its cover can make a difference in sales.
Author: Rache4173
Strangely enough, that is exactly how I purchase some of the books I read. Thankfully, I've found quite a few very good reads that way.
'Sleepers' by Lorenzo Carcaterra is one that comes to mind. The cover caught my attention so many times I finally bought it. I wasn't disappointed.
That has to feel really cool Bev - knowing that people have jobs that directly affect YOUR book!
Author: Bev Vincent
Okay, the next stage in the process. My editor has passed the manuscript along to the copy editors, who will look at my writing from a technical point of view. A little like turning a paper in to be graded, I think! This stage could take as much as a month, so some time in February I should get my report card back.
In the interim I'll be taking a last pass at THE DARK TOWER and making notes for revisions. My editor has a few comments about places where he suggests that maybe a little more could be said, but he called the book “very clean.”
I'm happy!
Author: DTUK
Author: Rache4173
WOOHOO BEV!!!!
Author: Bev
Another thing that happens during this part of the process is that my editor has approved payment of the second part of my advance. The advance was split into three parts: roughly 43% on signing (last year), 43% on acceptance (now) and the remainder on publication.
The process takes up to a month from the time my editor files the request for payment. The publisher sends the check to my agent, who removes his commission and then issues me a new check for the remainder. Then I promptly figure out the taxes due (a huge chunk) and record it to send in as a quarterly prepayment to the IRS.
It's called an “advance” because it is money that anticipates income from royalties. If the book sells enough (including things like sales of subsidiary rights to the Book of the Month club, for example) to offset the amount the publisher has paid me in advance, I start earning royalties on everything sold after that. If it doesn't sell enough (called “earning out” your advance), I don't have to pay anything back but it doesn't bode well for future books!
Author: CRinVA
And I suppose that once a pb is issued that the royalties continue? Sound like a good deal and there are so many DT junkies out there that I suspect that you will easily surpass the “advance!” I would suspect that the real financial achievement from this book is in the residual effects - getting the book published and under your belt - that has to help with #2 and beyond!
Speaking of pb's - in the case of the Borderlands 5 publication do you get continued royalties with the paperback issuance that you recently announced? Or just a whole bunch more publicity. Either way I don't think you can lose. Just keep writing till BV becomes a household name!
This is my first time working on a book, so I thought I'd add some notes here about the process my manuscript takes from my computer to the book stalls in about a year from now.
As I mentioned before, I sent the first draft in at the end of July and I'm now working on revisions that will go back to my editor at the end of the week.
The production crew, meanwhile, has been putting on their thinking caps. Today I received some notes about their proposed cover copy (text for the front, back and spine). I had no idea that things like that were going on in the background and it excites me to no end to think that there are people beyond my editor who are working on my book! I guess I thought that stuff might start a few months down the line.
Author: eta6
As an avid reader, I have to admit I never think about the work people put in to design and cover art. I suppose I just take it for granted. But if given pause to think, one realizes that it is really quite an important part of a book. Whether one should or not, judging a book by its cover can make a difference in sales.
Author: Rache4173
Strangely enough, that is exactly how I purchase some of the books I read. Thankfully, I've found quite a few very good reads that way.
'Sleepers' by Lorenzo Carcaterra is one that comes to mind. The cover caught my attention so many times I finally bought it. I wasn't disappointed.
That has to feel really cool Bev - knowing that people have jobs that directly affect YOUR book!
Author: Bev Vincent
Okay, the next stage in the process. My editor has passed the manuscript along to the copy editors, who will look at my writing from a technical point of view. A little like turning a paper in to be graded, I think! This stage could take as much as a month, so some time in February I should get my report card back.
In the interim I'll be taking a last pass at THE DARK TOWER and making notes for revisions. My editor has a few comments about places where he suggests that maybe a little more could be said, but he called the book “very clean.”
I'm happy!
Author: DTUK
Author: Rache4173
WOOHOO BEV!!!!
Author: Bev
Another thing that happens during this part of the process is that my editor has approved payment of the second part of my advance. The advance was split into three parts: roughly 43% on signing (last year), 43% on acceptance (now) and the remainder on publication.
The process takes up to a month from the time my editor files the request for payment. The publisher sends the check to my agent, who removes his commission and then issues me a new check for the remainder. Then I promptly figure out the taxes due (a huge chunk) and record it to send in as a quarterly prepayment to the IRS.
It's called an “advance” because it is money that anticipates income from royalties. If the book sells enough (including things like sales of subsidiary rights to the Book of the Month club, for example) to offset the amount the publisher has paid me in advance, I start earning royalties on everything sold after that. If it doesn't sell enough (called “earning out” your advance), I don't have to pay anything back but it doesn't bode well for future books!
Author: CRinVA
And I suppose that once a pb is issued that the royalties continue? Sound like a good deal and there are so many DT junkies out there that I suspect that you will easily surpass the “advance!” I would suspect that the real financial achievement from this book is in the residual effects - getting the book published and under your belt - that has to help with #2 and beyond!
Speaking of pb's - in the case of the Borderlands 5 publication do you get continued royalties with the paperback issuance that you recently announced? Or just a whole bunch more publicity. Either way I don't think you can lose. Just keep writing till BV becomes a household name!
Comments
The Road to the Dark Tower is going to be a trade paperback and I doubt that there will be a mass market paperback unless something unexpected happens. If that DID happen, though, the way it would affect me is that I would get mass-market royalty rates for that edition, which are somewhat different than for the trade paperback.
With publishers where one company handles hardcover and another handles paperback, there is a sale of rights from one company to the other. The hardcover publisher buys the paperback rights from the author and resells them to the paperback publisher. Contractually, usually half of that sale of rights goes to the publisher and half to the author. That's what happened with King when Doubleday sold the paperback rights to CARRIE for $400,000 -- half of it went to King. Initially the author's income goes to offset any outstanding advance money, the rest goes to the author directly if the advance is earned out.
But you're right -- one of the unmeasurable revenues from this book is that it gets my name out there and gives me a little currency, a track record to use when trying to sell a second book, whether it be fiction or non-fiction.
It's a similar situation to what I mentioned above. Borderlands Press is selling the paperback rights to the book to Warner Books. They receive the advance, which gets split among the editors and individual authors. We received a nominal payment up front for our contributions to the anthology. Any income from the sale of rights received by the publisher goes first to repay them for that advance. Anything in excess of the advance comes to us according to the terms of our contract (normally each author receives an equal portion). Royalties from the paperback accrue and, once the Warner advance earns out, more money flows to the authors.
Borderlands is also exploring the possibility of selling foreign translation rights, which would work exactly the same way, though the advances tend to be about an order of magnitude smaller than for US domestic sales.
With Road to the Dark Tower, I retained foreign translation rights so my agent is the one who explores the possibility of reselling it to other countries. This has the advantage that ALL of the advance comes to us (instead of just 50%) but on the other hand that money doesn't go toward the NAL advance.
Author: Bev Vincent
So, here we are, still nine months away from publication, and things are starting to come together. The book is with the copy editor, I've gotten my first blurb for the cover (but I won't say anything more about it for the time being) and by next week I should get my first peek at a draft of the cover art. I can't wait! I have no idea what it is going to look like or who did it. I e-mailed my editor with a description of an idea I had a few months ago, but I have no idea if they're using it or if they went in a different direction.
Stay tuned...
Author: CRinVA
we will be the first to see this cover art - right!
sure is a long process isn't it!
Author: Bev Vincent
Definitely. I'm not sure I'll be able to post the draft copy, but once things get settled and approved, you'll see it here first.
It's a long process, but perhaps artificially so in the case of this book since my publication date is tied to external events. We could have been done with the book sooner but we couldn't publish it sooner, so we were a little more leisurely with it than might otherwise have been the case.
On Saturday I finally did what I consider to be the most difficult part of this entire process.
I had my author photo taken!
It's been on my calendar to do since December, but I've found various reasons to procrastinate since then. I'm not a big fan of sitting in front of a camera.
I found a local photographer who does location shooting with digital equipment. No stuffy studios. We did the shoot at a little lakeside park in my community. He took probably twenty or thirty shots in a number of different poses and locations around the park. It wasn't as dreadful an experience as I'd been anticipating. The photographer was a former military intelligence photographer, but he had a good touch and he knew his stuff.
I should see the proofs by the day after tomorrow to pick one -- if any are presentable -- to send to my publisher. I sure hope I don't have to endure a reshoot! The photographer was confident that he'd gotten the picture about halfway through the shoot, but we kept on going for a while longer anyway.
Author: CRinVA
Say Cheese!
Author: Brautigan
Hey Bev - Long time no chatroom talk!
So, no word if the release date changes to SOS & DT will change the release date of your much anticipated work?
Author: Bev Vincent
I just heard from my publisher -- The Road to the Dark Tower will now be out in October. No specific date yet, but this is better. I was hoping for September, but this gives people a week or three to read The Dark Tower VII before I spoil the ending.
Author: Rache4173
“Bev... the new face of GQ.”
Nice news about them moving the publication date up. I think it will work out splendidly.
Author: Bev Vincent
I wasn't far off in my time estimate. My agent told me on Friday that he had received the payment from my publisher. I'll receive the check from my agent sometime this week.
Author: CRinVA
WooHoo!
I am sure it's nice to be recognized for a lot of hard work with a bit of the green stuff!
I am sure you are nearing that moment when you can quit the day job and take up writing full time! (@)
Author: Bev Vincent
Only in my dreams.
Author: DTUK
It's through dreams that reality is born
Author: Bev Vincent
'Tis true. Part of my proposal to King back in '02 contained the words in my wildest dreams ...
Author: DTUK
The wilder the dream the better