I’ve got a non-fiction book coming out this summer. After I submitted it to the publishers I thought they’d come back and say it’s awful and I need to make loads of changes. Instead, they said ‘yeah fine’ and sent it off to the copy editor. I freaked out as it was suddenly a real book that I alone was responsible for and it was going to published as it was!
So I suddenly find myself at the first proof stage, and I’ve made far more changes than I should have just because I don’t want it to be rubbish. Nothing major but it all adds up to more work for the publishers and I’m not sure how they will take it (they know there are going to be quite a few changes but the red pen on the pages may still come as a shock…). I am hoping they won’t want me to foot the bill but we will see.
Anyway, I guess what I am asking is whether this sort of author madness is something they deal with regularly or if I’ve broken a cardinal-rule? I hate the idea that they think I am the most unprofessional debut author who has ever lived but on the other hand I want the book to be good more than I want them to like me. I know the proof stage should be correcting minor errors, not cutting/adding whole sentences because I am losing my mind with terror that it's just not good enough.
So, has anyone else freaked out completely upon realising their book is about to be published and made an idiot of themselves in front of their publisher? In my entire pre-writing career, I never had an emotional breakdown over my work like this!
So I suddenly find myself at the first proof stage, and I’ve made far more changes than I should have just because I don’t want it to be rubbish. Nothing major but it all adds up to more work for the publishers and I’m not sure how they will take it (they know there are going to be quite a few changes but the red pen on the pages may still come as a shock…). I am hoping they won’t want me to foot the bill but we will see.
Anyway, I guess what I am asking is whether this sort of author madness is something they deal with regularly or if I’ve broken a cardinal-rule? I hate the idea that they think I am the most unprofessional debut author who has ever lived but on the other hand I want the book to be good more than I want them to like me. I know the proof stage should be correcting minor errors, not cutting/adding whole sentences because I am losing my mind with terror that it's just not good enough.
So, has anyone else freaked out completely upon realising their book is about to be published and made an idiot of themselves in front of their publisher? In my entire pre-writing career, I never had an emotional breakdown over my work like this!