UNDERSTANDING THE LIFE CYCLE OF A BOOK

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SESSION THREE: BOOK PRODUCTION PROCESS
3.1 Introduction
In this lecture we shall discuss the five main players in the business, i.e. publisher, author,
printer, bookseller, literary agents and the consumer/reader. We shall also attempt to
understand the process involved in scouting for a manuscript and designing a book. We shall
end the session by looking at the publishing rights and contracts.
3.2 Objectives
At the end of this session, you should be able to:
1. Identify and explain the main players in the book production business
2. Explain the different ways a publisher may get the manuscript
3. Discuss the process of involved in designing a book in a publishing house
3.3 Partners in Book Publishing
Publishing and book trade is an industry that involves many people each with a very important
role to play. At every level of production there are different personnel involved. In the area
of publishing there are authors, publishers, editors, proofreaders, translators, artists,
illustrators, book designers and production managers.
In the printing plant, there are typesetters, darkroom camera operators, plate makers, machine
minders, binders, quality controllers and trimmers.
In book distribution, you will find booksellers, bookshop managers, bookshop attendants,
purchasing officers and sales representatives. Librarians, archivists and documentalists are
also involved in the industry.
1. Publisher
The publisher has a central position in the production of books. It is the publisher who has to
make the managerial decision on the books to be published. His/her functions are: -
 Directing the whole enterprise of book publishing
 Receives manuscripts from author, evaluates and determines whether it is worth
publishing or not.
 Plays the central role in determining the worth of a publication – whether it will
reach the market or not. Most authors have no capability of publishing their own
works personally. They have to seek the services of the publisher who has the know-
how and the capital. It is thus the publisher who determines whether the book will be

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published or not. They have to determine whether the book will return the invested
capital or not. They may at times refuse to publish a promising book just because it is
by a new author and publish one, which is not too good from a prominent author.
 Provides capital for publishing thus taking the business risk. He /She finances,
editorial, printing, promotion, stockholding and distribution. So, he/she is the
entrepreneur who risks personal capital to start and venture into this business.
 Engages the services of specialists needed for the production of the book. E.g. artists,
translators, editors etc. Each one of these people is needed at different stages of the
book production and the publisher has to look for them and pay them for their services.
 Commissions and supervises the work of printers. The publisher has to get the best
printer for the book at hand, gives instruction as to the type of book and pays the
printer.
 Directs the distribution to the potential market. If the book does not reach the target
market, then it will not be sold and the publisher may lose his/her capital. As
such, the publisher must ensure that the books are distributed to the target market.
2. Author
 Could be employed by an institution, a government or working on his/her own
initiative. Those who are employed to write on certain issues or topics do so on behalf
of their employers. Organizations like the World Bank and United Nations give funds
to individuals or to consultancy bodies to research and write on given areas.
 Creates the ideas to be put in a book. So he/she is the one that initially determines
whether to give the world a publication or not. So he makes a conscious effort to
give the world his ideas in exchange for some compensation
 In most cases, he/she is the owner of the intellectual property
 Is the first-owner of the right to publish the work created unless he gives this right to
somebody else, i.e. is the sole proprietor of the right of publication Copyright- law
protects the rights of the author.
3. The Printer
 Is the manufacturer of the book
 Receives manuscripts from the publisher, composes, prints and binds the edition as
directed by the publisher.
 Takes business risk in general by setting up a printing plant when uncertain how

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much business will be coming in.
 Help in book design, type arrangement, layout, colours and ink, selection of paper
type and binding.
 Printer also influences the design and general presentation of the book, thus
contributing to the appealing nature of the book and consequently to the overall
customer taste and this helps in marketing the book.
4. The Bookseller
The book seller could either be a small retail trader, a wholesaler or even a large
bookselling chain of shops. The bookseller generally;
 Gets the books from the publisher directly at a discount and sell to the reader for
profit. Others like small retailers get the books from the wholesalers and sell to the
readers.
 He links the publisher and the reader. Many publishers are situated in urban centres
but the booksellers are found where the customers are.
 Brings together different books from different publishers in one place for the
convenience of the customer. It would be very difficult for the reader to get books
straight from the publisher because this would mean going to different publishers
before deciding on the one to buy.
 Helps in the marketing, distribution and storage (stockholding) of the publications
5. Literary Agents
 Help the authors search for suitable publishers
 Links the author and publisher with appropriate publishing thus saving his/her time
 Sometimes advices the author on publishable materials
6. Reader/User
 Is the target of the publishing and book trade industry
 Can be individuals or corporate bodies like libraries or schools.
 His/her needs could be professional, educational, leisure or entertainment
 Has to be convinced to spend money on books through promotion
 The feedback he/she gives is very important to the evaluation of the industry
4.4 Scouting for an Appropriate Manuscript

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• A publisher who wishes to make profit through publishing must look for a manuscript
that will make a profitable book. One that the reading public will find useful and
interesting. One that will enrich the minds of the reader. A manuscript that will make a
book that has more to offer than what is already in the market.
• Publishers at times have to influence their authors to write in those fields, which there
is an apparent need and those that they feel are untapped, but have potential.
• Publishers also use different ways to get the manuscripts they publish. They sometimes
use literary scouts who act on their behalf in finding appropriate manuscripts for some
fee.
• Their editorial staffs also look for good manuscripts and recommend them for
publishing.
• There are times also when the author will approach the publisher with the manuscript
and if it is appropriate, the publisher accepts it for publication.
• Some authors also use literary agents to sell their manuscripts to publishers. Literary
agents receive manuscripts from authors and look for appropriate publishers and even
negotiate terms on behalf of the author. They do this for a fee, which in most cases is
a percentage of the royalty the author will receive from the publisher.
The figure below shows the different people who can get manuscript to the publisher.
Author
Literary Agents
PUBLISHER
Publishers Staff
Literary Scouts

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3.5 Evaluating a Manuscript
• The editorial department of a publishing house handles this aspect of the book
production process.
• The moment a publisher accepts a manuscript for evaluation expenses start to be
incurred.
• It is therefore advisable to minimize these costs by eliminating those manuscripts that
are:
i. Outside their line of specialty e.g. a religious publisher should not incur any
expenses by evaluating a medical manuscript. This is not in his/her line of
specialization.
ii. Not in an acceptable physical condition.
iii. Too long or too short for the type of book they wish to publish.
• Manuscripts could also be rejected if: -
i. That type of book is censored in a particular country.
ii. If the publisher feels that the author has infringed on somebody’s privacy and
could result in a libel suit.
iii. Poorly written
• It should be noted that, some publishers only accept work from known authors and
have a tendency of rejecting new authors, a policy that is not favourable to the
publishing industry.
3.6 Reading the Manuscript
• This is also part of the evaluation process.
• The manuscript is read by the editorial staff of the publishing house or by an outside
specialist to establish whether it is worth publishing or not.
• A specialist’s help is sought to establish whether the facts written are correct.
3.7 Editing the Manuscript
• If the manuscript is accepted for publication, it goes through the copy editing process.
The copy editor helps the author to organize the ideas in the clearest, most orderly and
effective way.
• The manuscript is thus prepared and arranged in such a way that the printer will not
have any problems while printing.

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The following aspects are looked at: -
1. Consistency
• In this case, the copy editor helps the author to harmonize the different forms of
spellings, abbreviations, punctuations etc.
• On spelling, the editor ensures that there is conformity in the use of spelling e.g. if
the author prefers the American catalog or labor instead of the British Catalogue
and labour, then this should be maintained throughout the manuscript.
• Punctuations should be correct and meant to help the user understand what the
user wants to say.
• The editor also helps in the use of uniform style of presenting tables, formulae
and illustrations.
2. Legibility
• The copy editor ensures that the manuscript can be easily read, is clear and this
helps to minimize printing errors.
3. Grammar
• The copy editor must ensure that, the grammar is correct without having to change
the author’s basic style and ideas he/she wants to express.
4. Clarity and Style
• The editor should also ensure that, the ideas conveyed are clear and the style
of writing is acceptable.
5. Factual Accuracy
• Although it is difficult to check the correctness of every fact in the manuscript, the
editor should establish that the facts discussed by the author are correct.
• It is thus important for an editor to be widely read so as to immediately note any
incorrect fact as he/she reads the manuscript.
6. Legality
• The editor must ensure that the manuscript does not contain anything that could
lead to legal action being taken against the publisher.
• The editor should also ensure that, the author has not violated the literary property
rights of other authors and publishers.
7. Propriety
• Every publishing house has a policy on the type of material they undertake to
publish. Most of them will not publish anything that is pornographic or is not

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up to the accepted standards and norms of a given society.
• As such, the editor must make sure that the house policies and standards have been
adhered to.
3.8 Designing the Book
After the editor has read through the manuscripts and the corrections are done, the Book
Designer takes over. The work of the designer is to turn the manuscript into an attractive and
presentable book that will be understood by the target audience.
He/she must give the following details to enable the printer produce the correct type of book.
 Size of the pages i.e. page measurement
 The kind and size of type. To an average person, it is difficult to distinguish between
the different typefaces. But a trained designer knows the best type for a kind of book.
 Margin width
 Line spacing
 Arrangement of chapters
 Numbering of pages
 Illustration and tables
 Type of paper to be used
 Binding i.e. soft cover or leather
 Cover design, which must be attractive to the eye.
When all these aspects are looked into by the designer, one would expect the book to look
attractive to the potential reader, and for it to present the authors and illustrators’ ideas in the
clearest and most intelligible manner.
3.8.1 Printing and Binding the Book
After the designer has finished the work, the printer takes over. At this stage the manuscript
undergoes two main processes.
i. Composition process
• This is the process of arranging the letters which form words that are to be reproduced
on the printed pages of the book - it is referred to as typesetting.
• There are different methods used in this process and the printer must choose the one
to use.
• In earlier days typesetting was done by hand. Today, most people are using desktop
publishing, which enables the publisher to easily compose the letters by use of

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computer.
ii. Presswork
• Involves applying ink to paper by use of a printing press.
3.8.2 Binding
This is the process of folding the printed sheets of paper in the proper and correct order
and then binding them together to form a book and one has to decide the type of binding the
book should have.
The diagram below summarizes the process a manuscript undergoes to the time it becomes
a book
PUBLISHING HOUSE
Evaluation Process
- Eliminating irrelevant manuscripts
- Reading the manuscripts
Editorial Process
Designing Process
Printing Process
Binding Process
3.9 Publishing Rights and Contracts
If the publisher likes the manuscripts and agrees to publish it, the next stage is to set out the
terms of a business agreement between them.
This is a contract between author and publisher underlining all rules and regulations of their
partnership and has the following clauses.
1. Author Warranty
In this clause, the author guarantees that;

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 he/she is the one who has written the manuscript and thus is the sole owner of the
book to be published
 Is legally entitled to grant rights
 Has not given publishing right – to anyone else
 has not copied/stolen the material to be published
 has not libelled or invaded somebody’s privacy
 He will get permission to quote other people work if need be.
2. Grant of Right
In this clause;
 Author grants rights stated above for publication to publisher.
 The rights granted are specified and the geographical area they are valid.
 States whose name copyright is taken i.e. author or publisher
3. Option on Future Books
In this clause,
 Author can give publisher option to publish his/her future books
 But this claim does not give details of contract on future books.
 The author also agrees not to write any other book that would compete with the one in
question.
4. Agreement to Publish
In this clause,
 Publisher agrees to publish the manuscript in a specified time or give it up.
 Publisher agrees to issue the book in a suitable form.
 Agrees to consult with authors on the design of the book if need be.
5. Payment to the Author
This clause states;
 Royalties and mode of payment and percentage
 Time of payment
 Any advance payment to be given
6. Other Rights/Subsidiary Rights
This clause indicate the other rights not mentioned in the ‘rights clause’ mentioned above i.e.
those rights the publisher can handle on behalf of the author and how income from such rights
will be shared. These rights include;

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 Serialization of the book in magazines and newspapers, reports etc
 Translations rights
 Dramatic rights
7. Free Copies
• This clause indicates how many free copies the author is entitled to and what discount
he/she can get for buying extra copies
8. Manuscript and Proof
In this clause;
 Author agrees to present the manuscript complete and ready.
 Author agrees he/she can be called to proofread.
 Can pay for excess author alterations.
 States who is responsible for preparing indexes and any other material
not-author created.
9. Arbitration
• This clause is meant to provide amicable solution in case of disagreement between the
author and publisher.
• Each party is supposed to choose arbitrator and in event of disagreement the arbitrators
will come in and look for a solution.
• The two also agree to abide by the decision made by the arbitrators.
10. Termination
This clause provides for ways of terminating the contract.
• In many cases, a publishing contract can be terminated at the expiry of the copyright
on the book in question.
• The author can also terminate the contract if the publisher does not publish the book
or does not reprint it when required thus allowing it to go out of print.
4.10 Summary
We have identified and discussed the different parties involved in the book publishing
process. They are the publisher, author, printer, bookseller, literary agents and the consumer
or reader.
We have also noted the different ways a publisher may get the manuscript. The author can
directly contact the publisher or use the services of a literary agent.
When the manuscript is received, it has to undergo the process of evaluation to establish

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whether it is worth publishing or not. The editorial staff then reads it or an outside specialist
who can be relied upon to establish whether the facts are correct or not.
If the manuscript is accepted for publishing it goes through the editing process before it is
taken for printing.
We have discussed that after the editor has passed the manuscript as worth publishing,
the designer takes over and works on it so as to ensure that the end product is up to the set
standards and also appealing to the customer.
We have also discussed the contract that must be signed by both parties before the book is
published and noted the different clauses it contains. It should be noted that, the contract acts
as a document that settles many issues that would be raised in the course of the partnership
between the author and the publisher.
3.11 Revision Questions
1. Explain the role played by the different partners of the book publishing industry.
2. Explain the different ways that a publisher can get manuscript for publishing
3. Discuss the role of the editor in a publishing house
4. Explain the role of a book designer in a publishing house
5. Discuss the rights of an author as given in a publishing contract.
3.12 Further Reading/References
1. Clark, G.N., & Philips, A. (2014). Inside book publishing. Abingdon: Routledge.
ISBN: 9780415537162
2. Greco, A.N. (2013). The book publishing industry. Routledge. ISBN-10:0415887240
3. Samuel, A. O., & Duro, M. J. (2020). Book production processes: A practical guide.
SG. ISBN: 978-978-55905-0-0
4. Townsend, B. (2011). Publishing. Edina, Minnesota: ABDO Pub. Company. ISBN:
9781617148033
5. Journal of Library Administration (Taylor & Francis online) ISSN:1540-3564