~How to Send Me Edit Changes~
Dick Claassen
WHAT TO DO WITH
THE Word DICK SENT YOU AFTER HIS EDIT:
1. Regardless of which type of computer you use, you will be able to read it if you first start your web browser--it doesn't matter if starting it connects with the Net--then go to File, then Open and Browse for the file.
2. As you read through the Word file, note where you want changes to be made. Then list those changes in a Microsoft Word document. To show me where a change should go, give me a LEADING PHRASE and an ENDING PHRASE that encloses the error. In between these phrases give me the phrases or sentences that should replace the error. Be sure to Copy the leading and ending phrases from the Word file. That way I will be able to find those phrases by a simple search and replace. Also, please color code the text. Use Red for the leading phrase, green for the fix, and blue for the end phrase. VERY IMPORTANT: If you see a space after a hyphen in this copy, DO NOT note this in the correction list you make for me. It occurs when the Word document is converted into Word file, and is time consuming to remove at this point in the process. Rest assured that it will be taken care of when the final version of your book is formatted.
If you send me an error sheet in Word as described above, you can be certain that I’ll fix the errors accurately. Just remember to give me leading and ending phrases that encloses the "fix". It’s the only way I can find the places in my Word document (of your book) that needs to be corrected.
Look at the example below to help you get a better idea of how to make the error sheet. The example is from an actual error sheet entry an author sent me. (It's from Rebecca Vinyard's book, 'Sinful Rain'.)
| paying you to get drunk." Reed's voice sounded almost prim as Roy set the flaming |
The RED leading phrase and the BLUE trailing phrase exist in the book and will stay the same. The GREEN text is the change you have inserted. The GREEN text is what you add, or change. But remember, YOU ARE NOT MAKING ACTUAL CHANGES IN THE BOOK. You are simply copying the text of the leading and trailing phrases from the book into a separate document, then writing the change in GREEN. (Beware of the color coding because it's the only way I will know what you mean.) Don't bother to tell me where to find phrases. Authors, meaning to be helpful, will give me instructions like, "Chapter Two, third paragraph, fifth sentence." Instructions like these, although well meaning, are useless to me. I will find where to insert your fixes by the text you give me in our correction sheet.
Why won't I let you just edit my edit? Because I would have no guarantee that you'd leave my edits alone. We often have problems with word processors and computers talking cleanly to each other. I could end up with embedded paragraph markers inside of paragraphs, or spaces and tabs where they shouldn't be, or you name it. We pride ourselves in our clean edits. Allowing the author to jump into an edit can really complicated things. Sending me a list of errors in Word without actually making those changes in Word guarantees that my original edit will stay in place and YOUR fixes will be added.
The sooner you can send me your error sheet, the better off we’ll be. It's important that Kathryn send your book to the reviewers as soon as possible. Reviewers have been very slow as of late, and getting a book to them early will help insure that you get reviews. And nothing sells a book better than a good review.
When you send me your fixes, send the Word document attached to the email. Do not send me the errors as part of the email message. I must receive it as a Word document.
Thanks.