Turning in my final manuscript

Hi everyone,

Today’s post is going to be shorter than most because, well, it’s been a busy week!

My final manuscript edits were due yesterday, and I spent most of the week finishing them (in addition to teaching, mothering, and all the things). These edits included notes from my copy editor, fact-checker, and sensitivity reader, and they accounted for all the fact-checks I’ve been doing with my sources to make sure I’ve accurately captured their quotes, narratives, research, etc. For this round of edits I also compiled a list of resources and converted about 400 footnotes into endnotes, separated by chapter.

It was a lot to tackle in a relatively short amount of time, but I was determined to meet my deadline. (It’s the journalist in me). I typically write in the early mornings, but when I’m on deadline, I find myself working late into the night. I had to laugh when I sent the final manuscript to my editor and saw that the time was 11:59 p.m. I just made it.

It’s a relief to have turned in this version of the manuscript. From here, the publisher will typeset it and send me the “first pass.” Publishers use first passes to make galley copies — an exciting part of the process.

I’ll share more here as I get deeper into the process and closer to publication. For now, I have a lot of emails (and sleep) to catch up on!

A well-loved, coffee-stained printout of the manuscript, which my husband has read and copy edited throughout the past month. He is my first reader, and my favorite one.