Production is the process whereby your typescript (perhaps in a rather dishevelled state) is transformed into the finished product.  It covers everything from editing, through design, to printing.

In a professional publishing environment, there is a fairly rigid process that the typescript goes through.  At the start of this process, the text should be sent to a copy editor.  In a publishing house, for journal or magazine publishing, this editor may have a different job title, but the work they do to prepare the text for typesetting is the same.

Making corrections to grammar, spelling and punctuation, is only part of their job.  They also make a set of notes, ready for the handover of the text to the typesetter.  These notes will explain how the text ought to be set out on the page, which is vital for reader understanding of the material as well as enjoyment of the product.

Contents

The professional copy editor’s notes include instructions, such as:-

Headings – The editor looks at the headings and works out which should be chapter headings and which are just subject headings.  If they are very long, the titles may be split at a particular point, so that a single word doesn’t trail onto a new line all by itself.

Illustrations and other visual material – Are any illustrations too big to be printed portrait?  Should the page be turned so that they can be reproduced in landscape?  If there are captions, how should these be displayed?  Will each illustration be numbered?

Displays – If there are sections of poetry or long quotes, how should these be displayed?  Should lists be bulleted or numbered?

Special text – Unusual figures (like maths symbols, scientific measurements, or Greek letters or those from other non-roman alphabets) are called ‘special sorts’.  If there are any of these they are flagged up in the editor’s notes.  This is particularly important in medical publishing, where inserting the wrong symbol could lead to someone possibly receiving the wrong dosage of a medicine.

References - They will make notes about how references should be displayed – as footnotes or endnotes?

This level of editing is far beyond most companies’ requirements.  Many firmswant to produce promotional or instructional material for clients or staff, but they decide many of the above matters in house.  Their text then needs proofread rather than copy edited.