Addicus Books –
Stages of Publishing a Book
The following details describe our publication process from the time a contract is signed to the time a book rolls off the press. At Addicus Books, we work swiftly to produce a book. The time it takes depends on the length of time is takes to develop and polish the editorial content of the book. (The average time publishers take to produce a book is typically nine to eighteen months.) After we have a finished/polished manuscript, we can have finished books in four to six months.
We publish every book as a trade paperback (5.5 x 8.5) and as an e-book. (Hard covers are available.) The following are the basic steps involved in publishing an Addicus book:
1. Contract is signed. Our contract is standard author-publisher agreement, granting the publisher the right to publish the book with the copyright belonging to the author.
2. Developmental Editing. The developmental edit is the most important phase of a book’s production. Here, the manuscript is reviewed by our editors. We are relentless when it comes to content organization, clarity, and tone. We have top-notch editors who work with authors to make every book as strong as it can possibly be. The very best of writers benefit from having their manuscripts go through a comprehensive developmental edit.
After editors make suggestions for strengthen a text, the author incorporates these revisions and returns the manuscript. This process may take two to three months, depending how on soon the author is able to respond to our editorial queries.
3. Copy Editing. After the manuscript is complete, it goes to a professional copy editor who carefully reviews the text to bring it in line technically and stylistically in accordance with the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS). The CMS is the standard used by most publishers.
The copy editing process deals with technical issues—proper use of numbers, capital letters, spelling, and punctuation. Often, the copy editor will also have content queries for the author about a section in the text.
4. Cover Design. A professional book cover designer begins work on the book cover soon after the contract is signed. Bar code is obtained.
5. ISBN is acquired. ISBN refers to the International Standard Book Number. It is a commercial numeric identifier for a book, and is an efficient way to find a book. Next, Addicus Books lists a new book with Bowker’s Books in Print.
6. Typesetting/interior design of the book. Once the copy editors changes are incorporated into the manuscript (by the publisher’s staff), the manuscript goes to the typesetter, who does the interior design of the book and typesetting.
7. Proofreading. The typeset pages are sent to a professional proofreader for proofing. Proofreader’s corrections are incorporated into the master PDF.
8. Author’s final approval. A copy of the typeset pages, in the form of a PDF, is sent to the author for a final review. After the publisher receives any final corrections from the author, the book is sent to press. We never send a book to press without approval, in writing, from the author.
9. Printing. The book is sent to the printer—a book manufacturer. Printing of the paperback edition takes about four weeks.
10. Shipping. Books are shipped to the warehouse of the publisher’s distributor in Chicago. Any books the author has purchased are shipped directly to the author from the printer.
11. Publisher submits a copy book to U.S. Copyright Office. (Copyright is in author’s name.) A copy of the book is sent to the Library of Congress.
12. Distribution. Several months prior to a book’s publication, we list the book with our national distributor, IPG Books, located in Chicago. www.ipgbook.com We send the distributor the book’s front cover and data about the book: title, subtitle, author, author bio, book description, price, and ISBN number. In turn, IPG Books feeds this book data to more than 100 databases—those of national wholesalers and retailers, including Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble (B&N.com).
