He's Late, He's Late, for a Very Important Date

I’m starting work on a rush copyediting project today. I don’t mind rush projects. I work best when I have a deadline pressing—I guess because I don’t have time to worry about doing it right or wrong—and the fees are often higher. But that’s just me.

The author was supposed to deliver this manuscript to his publisher several weeks ago. The delivery date was either in his contract or, if this is “option material,” firmly and clearly stated in some other official way. The author just blew it. Luckily, this is his fourth book with this publisher and the first three did well. If this was his first book or the first three didn’t do so well, this might very likely also be his last book with this publisher.

Why? Why are manuscript delivery dates so important? When a project is acquired, among the many things negotiated and agreed upon by the author, agent, and acquisitions editor is the delivery date. Before the contract is even signed and returned to the publisher, the project is “scheduled” based on this date. Whether the publisher is big or small doesn’t matter; all publishers work to their capacity as far as the number of books they publish is concerned. And each of those books has to go through the various steps of the publishing process in a certain order and by a certain date. One book being late can knock all the other books off schedule.

More important, the publishers begin presenting their books to booksellers six months to a year before the book even comes off the printing press, and the booksellers order them two months to a year in advance. Publisher sales reps don’t haul around copies of finished books in their cars, and booksellers don't buy two copies of this and three copies of that, sliding them immediately onto their shelves. Instead, the sales reps verbally describe the books, basing their descriptions on sell sheets and leaving catalogs for the buyers to review and order from when they're ready. The publishers, therefore, need to have their catalogs, sell sheets, and other sales materials prepared a year or more in advance. And this, of course, means that they need to schedule their titles a year or more in advance, with the schedule remaining unchanged after the catalog is finalized.

Booksellers, meanwhile, are also hurt if a book is late. Most have tight budgets, with an allowance for a certain dollar amount of books each month. If a book is released late, many usually cannot fit it into their budget for the rescheduled month. The money allotted for book purchases in that new month has already been committed to other books. Furthermore, the income they expected from the book in the original month is lost. Income is lost all down the line—by the booksellers, publisher, author, and agent.

A late manuscript also isn’t great for the content of the book. The acquisitions editor of this particular book is the best content editor I know, but he didn’t have the opportunity to perform his magic this time. And magic it is, since his editorial recommendations usually not only significantly improve his books but have put several on the New York Times Bestseller List. I won’t have the time to be as careful as I usually am, and I may also not have the time to make a second pass, which is when I read for flow and catch anything I missed on the first pass. The proofreader will be similarly rushed.

Personally, I’m going to have to skip my Sisters in Crime meeting tonight, postpone a doctor’s appointment next week, and put in much longer workdays than usual. I’ll also have to put my own book on the side for now. For the next month, the acquisitions editor will be even more stressed than he normally is, and the production editor will be on pins and needles hoping the proofreader, book designer, compositor, and I all finish on time.

In the end, this book will still be good, because everyone involved will continue to give it the best they can under the circumstances. However, it could have been a better book. It’s a shame.