Mechanical Editing

One of our editors will mechanically edit your manuscript, using The Chicago Manual of Style as our guide. By mechanical editing we mean reading the manuscript to improve consistency of spelling, capitalization, and hyphenation; agreement of subjects and verbs; correction of grammar and punctuation; and other such mechanics of written communication. Dorrance will perform no rewriting; reorganization; or improvement of presentation, content, or literary expression. If questions arise during the editing process, we will communicate with you directly. We work closely with you on all aspects of the subsidy publishing process. Your manuscript may require only occasional corrections of typographical errors and minor lapses in punctuation, grammar, and consistency. Incorrect sentence structure or other details of the mechanics of writing may need attention. Whatever the case, you are given an opportunity to approve the revisions before we proceed to the next stage of publication.

Production

When your manuscript is ready for production, our book designer takes into consideration any preliminary specifications agreed upon and the nature of the manuscript. The designer then determines the typographical style; physical placement of any illustrations, drawings, tables, charts; and other particular elements which need to be planned for in producing your book. The manuscript is then given to a typesetter.

The first proofs the typesetter prepares are called "galley proofs," in which the content of the manuscript now appears in print but has not yet been broken down into individual book pages. In a very complex project, a set of these proofs may be sent to you for your review. With new computer technology, however, the typesetter now often eliminates this stage, immediately preparing page proofs for review.

As the name suggests, page proofs show each page and section of a manuscript exactly as it will appear in the finished book. A set of these proofs is sent to you for review. At this point, you see precisely how all the pages will look. After the typesetter has made any final corrections, the book is ready for printing.

While the typesetting is being done, creative details concerning the book jacket or paperback cover are worked out. The mechanical editor prepares "about-the-book" and "about-the-author" copy, which will appear on the flaps and/or back panel of the jacket or cover. Every Dorrance book jacket or cover is designed in an effort to convey the theme of the work in a way which we hope you will feel is attractive. We believe that our jacket and cover design efforts are quite professional, and our authors tell us they are pleased. The proposed copy and jacket or cover sketch are submitted to you for your review. After all of your questions have been answered, the necessary materials (including a photograph of you, if available) are prepared and sent to press. Most jackets and covers are printed in two colors, but the option of four-color printing, which will increase the subsidy fee, is available to you.

If illustrations, drawings, tables, or charts are to be prepared by us, we assign an artist to the task. The book illustrations are submitted to you for your approval. They can be printed in black-and-white or, for an additional fee, in color.

Next the books are printed. Typically, under our traditional subsidy publishing program, we print and fold 500 to 1,000 copies of a book. The final stage of production takes place at the bindery, where 500 copies are trimmed, bound, and covered. (If unbound copies remain, they are retained for future use.) It is always exciting to see an attractive newly bound book which the author and our staff have worked so hard to produce. Author copies of your new book--the result of your long and hard efforts--are then shipped to you.

The Copyright of Your Book

Upon publication two copies of your book are filed in your name with the Register of Copyrights of the Library of Congress to obtain a Certificate of Copyright.

The year in which your book is copyrighted appears on the copyright page of every book. The copyright law now mandates that for works created after January 1, 1978, the copyright runs from the time of the work's creation, through the life of the author, and for fifty years thereafter.

Manuscripts and unpublished works are protected by common law and statutory law. As a reputable subsidy publisher, Dorrance will not use material submitted to us without your written permission.

Warehousing

Dorrance Publishing takes delivery of your newly produced books and stores them in a warehouse convenient to our offices. Your books and unbound copies are boxed and stored for order fulfillment during the two-year period following the date of completion of your book.