Books – the production of books is the subject of this blog. The thought has been triggered off by the arrival of the copy-edited manuscript of Marcia's next book. I suspect that most readers have only a hazy idea of how books are produced – not the difficult bit (the writing) but the boring old mechanical bits that follow. So, here goes.

The manuscript (mss) is sent to the writer's agent. The author now sits and sweats until the agent reads it and makes comments. These comments may be negative or in the form of constructive criticism with suggestions as to how the mss could be improved. The author then has to decide whether or not to take notice of the negative comments and whether or not to incorporate some or all of these suggestions.

Once author and agent are as happy as they are going to be (which varies from 'totally' to 'hardly at all'), the mss is sent to the author's editor at the publishers. Now the author sits and sweats until the editor reads it and makes comments. Authors have a wide range of experiences with editors. I think both Marcia and I have been very lucky in this regard – but I have only written non-fiction which is far easier than writing a good novel (OK, that's only a personal opinion but I've tried both and I know which is easier for me). Marcia's editor rarely wants her to make any changes but does often suggest that it would be nice to know a bit more about one or other of the characters. Again the author then has to decide whether or not to incorporate the editor's requirements/suggestions although it should be remembered that the editor can always refuse to accept the mss if they are ignored.

The next stage is for the mss to be sent to the copy editor – in some places these are known as 'line editors'. It is the copy editor's job to check the mss very thoroughly, correct any spelling mistakes or wrong punctuation, check all 'facts' and ensure that everything is chronologically accurate. In this case the 'facts' may be fictional but they are no less facts for that. This is very true of Marcia's books where characters wander in and out – a bit of a nightmare for the copy editor. If a character is a certain age in one book then they must be the 'right' age in the others, if they have blue eyes . . . and so on. The easiest way to explain 'chronologically accurate' is to give an example. There are some very good novelists who write about the Royal Navy in times gone past - and some that aren't so good. I remember reading one book which had obviously been written in bits and pieces for our hero was promoted in chapter two – but by chapter five was demoted to his previous rank only to regain it again a couple of chapters further on. Careless writing: careless copy editing.

There is one other task that the copy editor has to carry out and that is to check the mss against the publisher's 'style sheet'. This is a document that lists the publisher's preferred 'style' including the spelling of words where there are alternatives. Typical is 'realise' or 'realize'. Usually we don't think it makes any difference although sometimes we hate these changes but there is nothing we can do about it – the ‘style sheet’ rules supreme!

Anyway, once the copy editor has finished, the marked up mss lands back with the author and that is what happened this morning. Now we shall work through it – as a team, really. Marcia trusts me to judge what she would be happy to accept and what she wouldn't. I read through, accepting or not on that basis and flagging anything where I have any doubt at all. Then it is up to Marcia to work through the pages that I have flagged and take the final decisions. We have evolved this system because Marcia is (as always) working on another book and does not want to have that interfered with more than it must be. Anyway, we have to have the mss back to the publishers by the end of January which shouldn't be a problem.

Then it will be set and proofed. The proofs will be read by at least two proof readers employed by the publisher and by the author (or, in our case, me!). Even so there is the real risk that there will be mistakes in the final printed work.

Meanwhile the title of the book has to be agreed as does the cover. These are actually the responsibility of the publisher not the author. Transworld always discuss titles and covers with Marcia but have the right to make the final decisions.

Then the book arrives in the book shops and, suddenly, all the hard work and effort – physical, mental and emotional – is worthwhile. Ten minutes later the realisation that there is another book in production and it all has to be done again hits but for that ten minutes, for that precious ten minutes, all is right in the world.

Finally, I want to quote from the letter the copy editor sent to Marcia's editor.  ‘What a lovely read this is: huge good-feel factor and interesting characters . . . I think this is one of Marcia's best novels so far.' That, from a professional, is high praise indeed!

Called ‘The Christmas Angel,  this book is scheduled to be published in  October 2011.