Product Development

Previously I posted information regarding the various steps it takes to turn a manuscript into a secondary science school textbook. In my last post, I talked about the state adoption requirements NASTA guides.

Files/Specifications

Once the composition is complete and the cover design has been finalized, the production editor gathers the final files for the cover and the final files for the interior. She would have also received a hard copy printout of the cover and each of the interior pages. She also finalizes the specifications and details about the product in our computer system to print a manufacturing turnover sheet (MTS) and request the manufacturing purchase order. Various details to be included are size of the text, final page count, type of binding, type of interior and cover paper stock, whether or not the book is to be drilled or perforated, any special effects to be used on the cover, whether it includes any CDs, and so on.

Checksheet

The Production Editor would complete a checksheet. The checksheet is a series of pages showing page numbers and blank lines; roman numerals for "front matter" (title and copyright pages, table of contents, etc.) and regular numbers for the body of the text, all with a blank line for notes. She would do one final check of each page of the book and make notes and/or check mark on each line verifying that each page is included and meets our standards. For a blank page, she'd simply indicate that on the line next to the page number. The manufacturer would use this guide in order to determine the "imposition" of the text. I'll touch base on this further in a different post.

She then sends the package on to the manufacturer.