I realized the other day that sometimes I tweet about stuff that is, perhaps, opaque if you don’t write books or are still working toward publication. Certainly, a lot of the stages in books coming out were invisible to me once upon a time, some of them until I was several books in. So to celebrate just having turned in THE FRAME-UP and its officially being declared “D&A,” I thought I’d walk through those quickly, including what the heck does D&A mean? If this part bores you, then skip ahead to what I’ve read so far this year and mine and Christopher’s Romancing the February movie watching project!
How many times do you turn in a book?
Now, this might vary wildly, so caveat that the steps I’m going to walk through are generally always there, though there might be more or less of them.
This is THE FRAME-UP:
Announced, as it says there, May 18, 2022. I turned in a proposal and the first 50 pages for the submission and—since beginnings are HARD for me—that was a helpful chunk to have. Also, I revised the initial version of THOSE pages before the book went to acquisitions (and I’d revised them to my agent’s notes before any of that).
I turned in the first full draft of the book in late August 2022. This is the point where I’m relieved to have finished a draft, but have lost most perspective and fear that my editor is going to look at it and see it for the monstrous nonsense it is.
(Editor on left, draft on right. SOURCE.)
In late September, I got my edit letter, which had lots of praise things and also lots of room for improvement. Nine pages of specifics! This is my love language. I was thrilled.
Editor and I went back and forth; I made a revision plan. I also made a hasty promise that I’d have the book back in by Nov. 1. Jump forward and we lost Puck, life happened in many other ways, and I eventually promised — to great understanding — that I’d get it in by the end of the year. I spent the next months really digging in on this revision.
(Editor: Let’s get you back on your feet. I think we can polish you up into something special, beast. SOURCE.)
Revising is my favorite part of the process. Still, this one was particularly hard. Because writing heist books is devil hard! And this one is a mash-up of magic intersecting with the real-life art world, so it needs to work on both levels.
I turned the book in — again — or I should say: I turned in the revised book on Dec. 28. I totally met that end of the year goal! And then I waited/turned in earnest to the next book I’m writing (which I already had a start on)/got sick and languished on the couch and read research books for half of January.
So, for those keeping score, that’s twice turned in. I got the book back with a day’s worth of minor edits but otherwise a clean bill of health on Wednesday (and a cover concept!).
(Hang on, this beast is actually pulled together now. Look at those SHOES! So much more vivid! WE LOVE HIM! SOURCE)
So I did the minor edits and sent it back in yesterday. Book turned in the third time! (Now, this revision part is where you might have many, many stages. My revisions tend to go pretty much like this — one big one, from 1.0 to 2.0, then a tweak round or two. Some people might not have the tweak round, some do drafts so clean the revision stage is short and sweet. Others need more rounds.)
Today I made one last small change and sent the book back and then the magic stage was hit! This whole process up until now might be called the developmental edit stage.
Now we’re moving into the march-to-publication stage. My editor wrote back to confirm that the book is officially Delivered & Accepted (D&A) — which is contract language that one of your book advance payments is tied to (normally), aka you get paid some money, yay! — and had been transmitted. What does that mean? It means that the manuscript has been sent off to Production, who will assign a copyeditor and start the other in-house stages that happen once a book is in hand and in good enough shape to circulate.
Now, I will certainly revisit the manuscript in copyedits — which is when a magical human who knows everything or is willing to look it up goes through and marks up your book for everything from grammatical no-nos you might have done accidentally to hair and eye color changing or bigger things that somehow slipped past earlier. That will be another turning in of the book.
After that is usually first pass pages, the first time you review your book all laid out and designed. This is typically what Advance Reader Copies are printed from, though not always. You aren’t supposed to make major changes at this stage, but you can make minor or smallish ones and, of course, corrections. Then you turn it in. Again! Depending on the house’s process, after this, there might be second pass pages or there might be queries from a proofer on certain pages and lines or… anything like that.
But, by and large, I think the “D&A, off to copyedits” phase is the “I FINISHED A BOOK” for me.
This is also the stage when you and your team might start circulating it for early reads and potential blurbs, aka the time to stick your head into writing the next book sand and pretend nothing is happening.
When can you read THE FRAME-UP? STAY TUNED.
I was going to put a Beauty and the Beast dance party scene in here, but couldn’t find one. Disapprove!
Reading Update!
I’ve tried various ways to keep track of my reading over the years, even getting to April with a notebook last year… But it never sticks. So this year, I’m just embracing Goodreads reading log function. We’ll see if this lasts.
So far:
As you can see, lots of nonfiction reading in there for the book I’m now focused on finishing — aka apothecary, witchy Regency series.
I discovered Kate Bateman’s Regency books, and highly recommend them! Heroines include a jewel thief and a cartographer doing map subterfuge against Napoleon.
Hell Bent is Leigh continuing to get better and better with every single book, even though she was great already. LOVED. Chef’s kiss.
The Villa is the SAME — my favorite thriller by Rachel Hawkins so far.
Even Though I Knew the End was SO much my shit; deals with the devil and queer romance and magic detectives? SIGN ME UP.
I will read anything Ilona Andrews writes immediately, especially in the Kate Daniels world. Inhaled, loved, can’t wait for novella 2.
When Breath Becomes Air was the first book club pick for a new partnership between me and my yoga instructor — Shala + LWR Book Club. We had a fantastic discussion and Woofie came too.
Annnnd I should wrap this novel-length newsletter up, so I’ll do that by saying that I made a century-spanning list of romance-themed movies for C and I to watch this month. You can find the info and where to watch them here, if you’d like to join. More about my new obsession Elinor Glyn next time, perhaps!
Annnnd the usual wrap-up squawk: MR & MRS WITCH is out so soon, March 7!
Events here! Preorder info here — or get it wherever you like to get your books!
More soon,
G
Filed "D&A" away for the future. I was not familiar with that bit of jargon! Thanks for sharing, as always.