After the Contract, Then What? Part 2

After the first or second major rewrite, you’ll receive a copy-edited manuscript with editorial comments —and a deadline. Editors work under tight deadlines so authors have to follow suit. The manuscript will pass between the editor and author a few more times, each with a deadline. With each subsequent pass, you will be allowed fewer changes. The best policy is to be thorough with each revision.

On the last deadline just prior to going to press, I read THE RIDDLERS, my chapter book about 30 times, looking for any errors, especially grammatical or punctuation. This is time consuming but worth the effort.

 

Picture books, fiction and nonfiction, go through a similar process, but the primary difference is that the illustrations have to be considered as well. If something doesn’t work well, it is usually easier to change the words than the art. When I was working on FORTY WINKS, the editor asked me to add back matter, information that complements the story. In this case, I added a list of discussion question, a glossary of terms for “Talk Like a Pirate Day,” “How to Dress Like a Pirate,” and a fun chart to figure out ye pirate name. Back matter is intended for a much wider audience, including adults, primarily parents, librarians, and teachers, as well as the young readers.

I enjoy the “After the Contract” revisions. That’s usually where I learn the most about writing. 

Next week, children’s author Ev Christensen is visiting this blog to discuss her new children’s book, THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS IN KENTUCKY. In the meantime, Ev and I will be attending the Kentucky Book Fair. We hope to see some readers of this blog at the Fair. Happy reading! 

Call for submissions for Young Writers:

Cuckoo Review. The word limit for all pieces is 500 words. If you’re writing a feature article then the word limit will be set when the piece is assigned.

All submissions should be emailed to contactcuckooreview@gmail.com as an attachment (.doc). Please ensure that all reviews include YOUR NAME and:

BOOK REVIEW
*Title of book
*Author
*Publisher
*Date of publication (if not already published)
*Link to author website

ALBUM REVIEW
*Title of album
*Band/ Musician
*Record Company
*Date of release (if not already released)

Submission guidelines at http://review.cuckoowriters.com/what-is-cuckoo-review/submission-guidelines/ 

Call for submissions for Adult Writers:

MOMENTS BOOKS: Send your personal articles! Take a look at previous Moments books that Grace Published has released, particularly the first one, Divine Moments, to see what we accept. The article length is anywhere from about 500-2000 words or so. I’ve even included poems and some written by children. So the guidelines aren’t strict. The main point is the context of the article. I like them sent as an attachment to an email, times new roman, 12-point type. Include on the article: name, mailing address for the one free copy,
and email address. Send to Yvonne: yvonnelehman3@gmail.com 

Nancy Kelly Allen has written 40+ children’s books and a cookbook, SPIRIT OF KENTUCKY: BOURBON COOKBOOK.