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The Manuscript Plus. . .

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Blogger: Wendy Lawton

Don’t you love those scenes in the movies where the writer wipes away a tear and types “The End,” ties a big stack of manuscript pages with a  piece of twine and sends it off to the editor? Yeah, that would be fiction. Would that it were that easy.

Manuscript plus, right? So what is the plus? What actually needs to go with the finished manuscript?dreamstime_xs_25782587

Marketing information (for both fiction and nonfiction authors): Many a publishing house requires the author to complete an in-depth marketing profile to be sent with the manuscript. This includes much of the same information that you included in your proposal but they may also ask for any contacts you have in media, your local news and radio stations, your alumni magazine contact info, etc. It’s important to start thinking about media contacts and influencers.

Nonfiction Books: 

  • All permissions. These would be signed permission letters* from any person mentioned in the book
  • Model release forms* for anyone appearing in a photograph
  • Release forms* for each interview
  • Endnotes, citations and references  (Each time you quote someone you must cite where that quote comes from in classic endnote style. In some cases permission must be obtained as in the case of any portion of copyrighted lyrics or poems; as well as any quotes that fall out of the Fair Use* parameters.)
  • Resources, if those are part of the book
  • Book club questions for the back of the book if requested
  • Possible endorsers
  • Disclaimer* (Your publisher may use his own disclaimer)
  • Acknowledgements
  • Dedication
  • And anything else the publisher may request. Check your contract.

Fiction Books:

  • Your editor may request a timeline to help with the editing process.
  • He may ask for a character list (and if it is a family saga your editor may need a family tree)
  • Maps, if it will help with editing
  • You may be asked for reference photos of possible character types to help with cover design. (And this request may come long before you turn in your manuscript.)
  • Possible endorsers
  • Disclaimer* (Your publisher may use his own disclaimer)
  • Acknowledgements
  • Dedication
  • And anything else the publisher may request. Check your contract.

It may sound overwhelming but it is part of being a careful writer. some of these elements may be part of your proposal but don’t count on the proposal and finished manuscript ever meeting again. Include those details again with the finished manuscript. Your editor will love you if you provide the manuscript plus these things without them having to run you to ground to get these.

So my question to you is this: Does this sound overwhelming? Or did you already plan on having the whole package ready?

* Samples of Permission letters, release forms, disclaimers, explanations of Fair Use, etc. can all be found in The Copyright, Permission and Libel Handbook by Lloyd J. Jassin and Steven C. Schechter. This is a book every writer needs to have and read carefully.

Photo Credit:  © Sueharper | Dreamstime.com – Manuscript From Author With Red Twine Photo

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  1. So helpful, Wendy!Have thought to include many of these, but not necessarily at the manuscript submission point(s) in the process you suggest. Could feel overwhelming for sure. At the same time, one of my New Year ‘perspectives’ is to focus on completing the bits and pieces that together move things forward step-by-step. Thanks again. 🙂

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  2. Doesn’t sound bad at all, and preparing this stuff is a nice break from editing.

    The use of chapter notes in nonfiction is, when skilfully used, a great addition to the appeal of a nonfiction work, in that the notes can shed additional light on the text…kind of a “director’s cut”.

    A splendid example of this is found in Parshall and Tully’s “Shattered Sword”, a narrative of the Japanese view of events at the Battle of Midway.

    The chapter notes are a delight, because they include nuggets of information that enhance and illuminate the text in such a way that it gives it something of another spatial dimension.

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    • Love your attitude, Andrew.

      Notes, especially back notes, are a great opportunity for the author to tell the reader details he wished he could share.

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  3. It probably would have sounded overwhelming to me several years ago, but I think I’ve gotten used to the idea of all the work that goes into successfully writing and publishing a book. Thanks for this, Wendy! I’m saving this article for future reference. 🙂

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  4. This doesn’t sound overwhelming, though I wasn’t aware that all of these pieces need to accompany a manuscript. Knowing ahead of times gives a writer time to prepare them before submitting the manuscript.

    Thanks for sharing this post, Wendy. I like starting the year off learning more about how to plan for and be successful as a writer.

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    • Of course there’s lot less work if you write fiction. It’s the nonfiction folks that have the greatest amount of work.

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  5. “Would that it were that easy” … I love that writing. Sends me soaring. 🙂 Your post takes me back to Little Women. And my heart remembers that regardless of the requirements, women may write. We don’t have to hide our names. Shelli Littleton doesn’t have to be cloaked with Sheldon Littleton. Amen? 🙂

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  6. Like Jennifer Smith, this would have overwhelmed me a few years ago, but now I know it to be par for the course.

    And I have made VERY thorough research of Pinterest for my cover art suggestions. Yes, we’ll call it that, won’t we? *Research*

    Fans self.

    I’ll be later with something intelligent to say.

    Okay, MORE intelligent, let’s not get carried away.

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  7. Thanks, Wendy. One thing I did was to keep a Pinterest board http://www.pinterest.com/adminsdk/nitpicky-corners/ of pictures inspired by my MG novel- the creepy corner bench where the kids meet the mysterious elephant man, the church relics (crosier and mitre), and the secret societies. People seem to like following the themes – especially the flashbacks to Tsarist Russia and Anastasia. The novel prominently features a Regalia Museum, and some folks don’t understand the regalia – so the photos really help.
    Anything I can do to drum up interest in my story is time well-spent.

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  8. Thanks so much for the book recommendation! I went to Amazon and reviewed the Table of Contents. I ordered it right away. I need this and it can’t get here soon enough. I am getting tired of trying to find what I need in various places on the Internet and even then it can be overwhelming.

    Happy New Year everyone!

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  9. I tend to get asked for some of this at different points in the editing process, which I appreciate. I have created a time line, but it’s better to wait until after the content edits to do that, because major changes in the timing of story events could happen. In my experience a time line has been needed at the copy edit stage. But since I am about to turn in another manuscript in a few days, it’s a good time to mention that a thing called an Author Questionaire needs to go along with it, and much of the information you mentioned will be contained in that. As a matter of fact, that’s my work for today. It’s a little like doing the proposal all over again, so some information I’ll have. Some I’ll have to work up.

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    • And it’s easiest to do things like the Author Questionnaire when the book is fresh in your mind. If you are immersed in the next book and have to go back to a previous story, it feels like pulling teeth, doesn’t it?

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      • Oh my goodness yes. I’m about to dive into a whole new book and new research. What’s filling my head right now will fade, so I’d rather do as much of this early in-house marketing stuff now for my 2016 release. Of course, once content edits come back to me it will all (have to) become fresh again, but that won’t be for a few months yet.

  10. Thank you for the detailed information, Wendy. I’ll join the chorus of Jennifers and admit that it would have been overwhelming just a couple of short years ago. I was a little surprised by the request for a map, but I would love to write a book that necessitates that someday.

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  13. There is a strong parallel here to movie births, where the mother gives birth in full makeup to a clean three month old. lol!
    Thanks for the post! I’m going to save this list!

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  14. All these things do seem a bit overwhelming, but I was pleased to find out that for my first novella the publisher just had several handy online forms that you were required to fill out before they started the editing process. Seemed to make things easier.

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  15. Thank you, Wendy, for this information. I don’t feel overwhelmed because you keep preparing me, step-by-step, with what I need to do. It’s wonderful! I’m sure I still won’t be entirely prepared and will be surprised by something if I am ever offered a contract by a publisher, but I feel you keep doing all you can to arm me. 🙂

    There were a couple of things on your list that just made my heart sing. I have a map of my story world (on my computer, actually, as I drew it using a computer program). I had to draw the map for myself early on just so I would know where each place was in relation to another and know how a character would get from here to there and how long a journey would be. I also have pictures and photos of my characters. I have two Powerpoints that include paintings that I’ve done and photos of both characters and some significant places. The Powerpoints were done primarily for my critique group who have gone through the process of my writing the novel chapter by chapter. They were interested in knowing more about the world and the characters, so I did the Powerpoints for them. The second one was tremendously helpful for me because I’ve had a three-part series in mind and the information in the presentation (the main character’s important female ancestors and a bit of her world’s history and politics) helped me in coming up with a clear story arc for the three books. The process of doing that presentation helped me understand my own characters and their motivations better.

    The second Powerpoint (and some tips you and Janet had given in posts about book covers) made me design a book cover. I know it won’t be the one used (and, if the book is published, the cover will probably look vastly different), but it was fun having a visual of my story as a book. It helps me remember what I’m working towards. 🙂

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  17. One of the things that helps me so much now that I’m facing the JOY of back-to-back deadlines is having a place–physical file folder or computer folder–to “dump” bits of this information as I go along so I’m not desperately searching for it at the end. I’ll have a flash of inspiration about someone who needs to be recognized in the acknowledgements while I’m cleaning lint out of the dryer and will go stick that tidbit of info into the folder while I’m thinking about it, rather than assuming I’ll remember later. When a marketing idea that seems tailor-made for this book appears–sometimes in as odd a place as the jewelry aisle–I’ll make a note on my phone app and add it to my folder that day. Sitting down to create these elements when you’re exhausted from having reached The End means I’m bound to neglect some gem. I may change directions someday, but right now, I use physical files. I pull out my file drawer and literally dump in that scrap of paper on which I wrote the idea while going through the car wash. Ta da! It’s there when I’ll need it months from now.

    I also have grown to (as in matured) copy every online reference into one file, one place. Even if they aren’t used in the book, they can eventually become added value I incorporate into radio interviews or blog posts.

    Thanks for opening this discussion today, Wendy. I needed it…today. 🙂

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    • Love that, Cynthia. I do the same … for my memory. If I think of something, I better write it down. There is nothing worse than coming to the realization the following day that you had a great idea or important issue to remember, but because you didn’t write it down, it’s gone forever. ugh!! 🙂

      Reply

  18. . . . and don’t forget: The publisher will also ask you for a comprehensive and exhaustive listing (usually an Excel Database File) of all the “little people” who helped you write your novel.

    In the publishing world, a little person is usually 4-feet tall or less but not always.

    Reply

  19. Do authors have limited space for their acknowledgements?
    I love reading this section at the back of the book. It highlights the symbiotic nature of publishing and the long term relationships that are built in the process.

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  20. Great information to have, Wendy. Some of these things, like character list, possible endorsers, acknowledgements, and dedications are usually running through my brain or written down anyway. I don’t find it overwhelming as much as time consuming; but it’s part of the job and I hope I do it well.

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  21. Thanks for the book recommendation. So timely for me. My recently completed historical fiction takes place in a real place, and I’ve included some real people, but I don’t want to get in trouble. Sounds like this is exactly what I’ll need.

    Wishing you blessings for a marvelous new year, Wendy, as you continue to bless so many of us.

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  22. Thank you so much for giving us this important information, Wendy. I had no idea these were all requisites for the publisher. Blessings upon you!

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  24. Thanks for the reminders, Wendy and company! When I am immersed deep in Novel Land, I tend to conveniently forget all these very real facts. Then panic strikes as I finish, when I am inspiring and flavorful as yesterday’s coffee. With your help, I will fare better with this book!

    Reply