LDSPMA

Empowering Latter-day Saints to spread light and truth by connecting them at the intersection of faith, creativity, and professional skill

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Why You Don’t Want to Get Your Book Done Quickly

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As a coach, speaker, or business owner, you may have heard that being a bestselling author gives you credibility. After all, having a book helps you:

  • Get more speaking gigs
  • Have another revenue stream to support that platform (from online royalties or selling books at the back of the room after a speaking event)
  • Expand your audience tenfold through a lower-priced product (made available worldwide through online stores and libraries)
  • Increase your opportunities to pitch to media and do interviews on radio, TV, podcasts, etc.
  • Connect with clients and potential business partners by showing your expertise (and don’t forget: you can use your book as a gift!)

Strategies for Fast Book Production

So, how do you get a book out there quickly? There are lots of ways to approach this process.

  • Pick only one small, focused problem and offer the solution for it in fewer than 10,000 words.
  • Compile all of your blogs, PowerPoint presentations, etc., and roughly organize them around a few key ideas.
  • Turn your signature speech into a book.
  • Get together with other like-minded professionals and do a themed compilation book on your individual stories or on how you each solved a problem.

But stop a moment.

What Haven’t You Heard?

While I’m all for helping authors self-publish and build their platforms with quickly produced books, I have learned a thing or two coming from “behind the curtain” of traditional publishing that I think most new authors learn only in hindsight.

Traditional publishers understand the long-term results of good branding.

They won’t take a book that isn’t really compelling in each of these areas:

  • Well organized; each fresh idea builds momentum gracefully and powerfully, convincing the reader of the value and truth of the ideas being proposed (avoiding redundancy, confusing paragraphs, muddy arguments, etc.)
  • Full of emotionally impactful stories that concretely support the ideas the author is developing
  • A strong, unique hook that can get both media and a bookshelf browser’s attention despite all the competition from similar products
  • Good writing—not just mechanically clean writing (with correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, and lack of typos), but prose that captures the stories and ideas with powerful verbs, word economy, precision, and strong voice/compelling style

A publisher wants to make the deepest possible emotional impact on the broadest possible audience: impressed, moved, excited readers mean repeat buyers for future books, converted clients for the author (which means a bigger platform for future books), and excellent reviews and interview requests (which drive book sales). Publishers don’t want to rely on one-time marketing strategies to sell a single book in the short term. They are investing in something; they want long-term buying conversion to that author’s brand.

The quality of the book—from its well-edited guts to its cover to the marketing copy on the back (and even the type of paper it’s printed on)—is a publisher’s best chance to convey the brand experience that will convert readers.

Compromise for the Solution

So, yes, you can jump on the bandwagon and quickly slap your book together, have only one or two other people give you their thoughts, and hire a proofreader to find the typos (which is different from the type of editor who deals with the items in the good-branding list above, FYI).

And you can even sell a lot of books at the back of the room and pay for the kind of marketing that will make it a best seller in some Amazon category. But what’s after that? If someone attends your speech and then buys your signature-speech book, what increased value did you give them? Will they be that interested in the next thing you produce, or will they write you off as a one-hit wonder?

If you want to use your book to grow your business long-term, the smoothest path to success is to have a clear, firm, and impressive book-branding experience in place from the get-go. It will give them more value, more interest in you, and more loyalty as converted clients (and it will be more convincing to any business partners you’re courting). With a higher-quality book, you’ll truly convey the expertise you have.

Do Now

It’s never too late to up-level your branding. If you’ve already published a quick book, don’t sweat it. Let it continue to produce what results it can while you consider if you could take it to the next level. If you’re thinking maybe you should redo the cover or the marketing copy, find a professional in the book industry to help you. Find a good developmental editor (and a deep-line editor) to give you that professional edge. That’s the beauty of self-publishing, after all—you control everything.

If you’re still developing your book, how do you incorporate the lessons of traditional publishing into your plan for quickly producing your book?

  • Get your content together quickly and, by all means, team up with the marketing power of other professionals if that makes sense for you; but in traditional publishing (where quality equals long-term success), that’s called a draft. It’s not what you go to press with.
  • Get lots of feedback—not from close friends, your mom, or a single mentor. Use whatever networks you have (including social media and/or the audience for any online courses you’ve created) to refine your ideas by beta testing them to see what gets engagement and interest. (You’ll want to find readers who are actually facing the problem for which you’re providing a solution.)
  • Hire a professional developmental editor—don’t just get a copyedit or proofread; these latter services are both types of professional editing, but they are final steps. A developmental editor is trained in developing ideas, making sure your book is well organized, and in helping the audience connect with your voice—in short, his/her job is to make sure the market you want to speak to is going to understand your message and be moved by it. If you’re writing a memoir (or a narrative-driven inspirational/how-to), find out if your nonfiction editor also has extensive training in story structure, thematic through-lines, character development, and so on.
  • When you go to self-publish, hire individuals or teams that have experience in the traditional publishing industry so you can apply that experience to producing a quality book—one that will look as good as what the traditional industry produces. For instance, you want a team who knows what makes a good cover and why. Is the marketing copy actually marketable (has a good hook, covers reader pain points and desires, is well-worded), or is it just a general summary of your content? Does the vendor insist your cover, tagline, and image tell a cohesive genre story and hook your ideal target market? (Most won’t.)

Sound Like This May Take a While? 

Actually, we’re talking about adding just a couple of months to your timeline if you bring in professionals to help. In the grand scheme of things, adding two to three months to your release date isn’t much of a bump in the publish-quickly road. (If you have a pressing deadline that’s non-negotiable, just get what you have out and then up-level as soon as you can after that; you want the best version of your book available for bigger audiences as your business grows.)

If speed is your priority, or you’re really starved for time, you can even give your content to a ghostwriter who can spin gold from it, capture your voice, and have it all done within a couple of months.

Spun gold—that’s the kind of book that’ll have your readers coming back for more. That’s the kind of book a traditional publisher may consider picking up after you’ve made a self-pubbed success of it. That’s the kind of book that can be your legacy.

In short? Get it done fast, but get it done right.

This article was written by Angela Eschler and was republished in this condensed form with permission from Eschler Editing. To read the full version, click here.

How to Master the Apostrophe

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Apostrophes are one of the most diverse punctuation marks in the English language. They can be used and placed in various ways to change the meaning of a sentence. You’ll want to make sure you’re using them correctly, so that your writing reads clearly. In this article, we’ll outline simple rules that will bring confidence and accuracy to your apostrophe use in the future.

This is an apostrophe: ’ It is also known as the right single quotation mark.

This looks like an apostrophe but is not: ‘ It is the left single quotation mark, which can’t be interchanged with an apostrophe.

Apostrophes are used for three main reasons: signifying possessives, replacing missing letters or numbers, and—rarely—to form plurals.

1. Signifying Possessives

This is the most complicated use of the apostrophe. Possessives have a handful of nuances based on singular or plural form and, in some cases, the pronunciation of the individual word. But don’t let that scare you. We’ll lay out some simple rules you can follow so you’ll get this down in no time.

Singular Possessive

This is the easy one. To show that a singular person, place, or thing possesses something or someone else, add an apostrophe and an s to the end of the noun.

The cat’s paws were as pristine as a white carpet.

A student’s book was in the street.

My toddler’s red balloon sailed into the sky.

The same rule applies to singular nouns that end in s. Add both the apostrophe and the s at the end of the word.

James’s dog chases Chris’s ball.

Arkansas’s capital has a booming industry.

Agnes’s report said that her crocus’s petals were as vibrant as ever.

Note: Not every style guide agrees on the treatment of singular nouns as possessives. For example, in the Associated Press (AP) style, the noun being proper or common will determine whether to use an apostrophe or the apostrophe s. However, the majority of style guides, including Chicago style (CMOS), American Psychological Association style (APA), and Modern Language Association style (MLA), agree with the rule above.

Plural Possessive

Most plural words in the English language end in s or es to show more than one person, place, or thing. For those plural possessives, add only the apostrophe after the end of the word.

The knives’ sharpness made even the most experienced chefs take precaution.

My sisters’ shoes always look pristine.

The boxes’ angles interested the children.

For plural nouns that don’t end in s or es, we revert back to the original rule. Add an apostrophe and an s.

The children’s toys were sprawled across the room.

The mice’s tails whipped behind them as they ran.

The women’s discussion enlightened each member of the room.

There are a handful of words in English that end in s both when they are singular and plural. Examples are leggings and politics. For these kinds of words, just add an apostrophe like you would for plural words ending in s, even if they are used in a singular sense.

The headquarters’ main office had cubicles.

The crossroads’ intersections both needed to be cleared of debris.

The tweezers’ prongs were sharper than necessary.

Similarly, words that have a plural form ending in s but are singular in meaning, like United States, follow the same rule of adding only an apostrophe.

Beverly Hills’ homes are some of the most expensive in the country.

Longwood Gardens’ woodlands contain over 100 floral species.

Portland Academy of Writers’ meetings are extensive and informative.

Joint Possession

When a noun is owned by two or more people, this is called joint possession. The placement of the apostrophe (or apostrophes) in joint possession will change the meaning of the sentence. If two or more people own the same item, only one apostrophe is used with the last written owner’s name. If two or more people own separate but similar items, apostrophes are used with each written owner’s name.

For example, if we wanted to talk about dogs that were owned by both Jim and Pam, we would write, “Jim and Pam’s dogs.” The apostrophe is placed only after Pam’s name to show that Jim and Pam own the same dogs. If we wanted to talk about dogs that were owned separately, some by Jim and some by Pam, we would write, “Jim’s and Pam’s dogs.” The apostrophes after both names signify that Jim and Pam do not own the same dogs but have their own set of dogs.

Chancy, Noah, and Clara’s parents celebrated their 28th anniversary.

(Chancy, Noah, and Clara all have the same parents.)

Emma’s, Anthony’s, and Sawyer’s parents shop at the same grocery store.

(Emma, Anthony, and Sawyer all have different parents.)

Halley and Stuart’s bakery is located on the corner.

(Halley and Stuart own the same bakery.)

Josie’s and Caleb’s bakeries are across the street from each other.

(Josie and Caleb own two separate bakeries.)

Last Names Ending in S

Here’s a little bonus section for you. Sometimes last names that end in s can make the plural and the possessive complicated. But if you follow the rules stated above, you can figure out the correct way to write each last name in each situation.

Let’s say the last name is Leavitt. If we want to talk about one Leavitt (singular) in the possessive form, we would add an apostrophe and an s. “Sophie Leavitt’s nails were painted red.”

If we want to talk about all the people in the Leavitt family (plural), it would be Leavitts. Now, let’s add the possessive form with the plural. Like we mentioned above, for plurals already ending in s, simply add an apostrophe. “The Leavitts’ car is brand new.” Simple enough, right?

Here’s where the confusion comes in. What if the last name ends in s already? Let’s take the last name Roberts, for example. In the singular possessive form, we would say, “Ignacio Roberts’s house is the quaintest on the block.” Making that last name plural, it’s Robertses. Now, follow the same rule for a plural noun already ending in s: add only an apostrophe. “The Robertses’ cat dashed under our porch.”

2. Replacing Missing Letters or Numbers

Sometimes apostrophes stand in for letters or numbers. These are called contractions. For example, in the contraction don’t the apostrophe stands in for the missing o in the phrase do not. Here are more examples:

won’t for will not

’twas for it was

gov’t for government

rock ’n’ roll for rock and roll

cookin’ for cooking

Apostrophes standing in for numerals have less variations. They are mainly used to signify the year. So, instead of 1994, we could use an apostrophe to replace the numbers 19 and simply write ’94.

3. Forming Plurals

This is the least common use of the apostrophe. In fact, it’s pretty rare. An apostrophe can show the plural form only when adding an s or es would make the meaning ambiguous.

For example, if we’re talking about lowercase letters of the alphabet in the plural form, it would be confusing to read “The teacher wrote xes on the chalkboard.” The reader may not know if the teacher wrote more than one x or xes. Instead, to be very clear, we would use an apostrophe. “The teacher wrote x’s on the chalkboard.” This applies to lowercase letters, but capital letters are pluralized by adding only s. (“She got all As on her report card.”)

You may also see this same usage being applied to numbers, but it’s not as common. (“The algorithm required we use only 0’s and 1’s.”)

Apostrophes are diverse, but you can master them if you review the guidelines outlined above. The more you practice using apostrophes, the more confident you’ll be that you’re applying them correctly. To learn more about apostrophes, you can read the Chicago Manual of Style, sections 7.5–30 and 5.20. And if you’re ever confused, you can always refer back to this article.

We would like to thank Breanna Call and our friends at Ever Editing for allowing us to share this article with you. To read the other great articles they’ve written, click here.

10 Writing Tips to Make Your Writing Glisten 

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I’ve always been the bookish sort, hanging out with imaginary characters in the library while my peers went out to recess, reading about adventures instead of going on them, and scanning the dictionary for sophisticated zingers to wield in future (and unlikely) debates. It wasn’t that I didn’t have many friends—though that is also true—but I believed I had a firm grasp of language arts from a young age. However, it wasn’t until I set out to write a novel that I discovered I’d been making some rookie mistakes. Through my study of the craft, suggestions from editors, and earning an MA in English and creative writing, I’ve compiled a list of tips you might find helpful. While no one wants their artistic endeavors stifled by dos and don’ts, incorporating these suggestions to align with your style will make your writing more effective, engaging, and concise. 

  • Eliminate Adverbs 
    Stephen King once told me to cut out all my adverbs. Well, he didn’t tell me this personally, but I did listen to him narrate his audiobook On Writing, so it felt like he was speaking to me. This advice confused me at first. Why wouldn’t I want to use a million modifiers to clear up any ambiguity a lone verb might create in the reader’s mind? Well, because adverbs can be condescending and lazy. Strong verbs provide narrative context to allow the reader to grasp your meaning without relying on a plethora of -ly words. Readers are intuitive; go ahead and trust them. Use adverbs as you would cayenne pepper—just enough to give your writing a kick. (I learned this the hard way in writing and cooking—sorry, family). 
  • Choose Your Dialogue Tags Carefully 
    I loved assigning a clever tag to each dialogue line in my stories. One character would “exclaim,” the next would “shout,” and another “declare.” However, these expressive tags distract from the dialogue and narrative flow. Stick to simple tags like “said” or “asked,” but even these aren’t entirely invisible. Mix them with action beats, internal thoughts, sensory details, and body language. If dialogue can be understood without a tag, don’t use one. Don’t reiterate a character’s emotion with a redundant tag. Also, be wary of onomatopoeic words like “grunt,” “snort,” “groan,” or “guffaw”—these sounds are hard to make while speaking. 
  • Avoid Clichés 
    The adage “All that glitters is not gold” is as true now as when Shakespeare coined the phrase, but overuse of expressions degrades their literary impact. In dialogue, common idioms can reflect a character’s voice, background, or personality, but avoid them in narrative and descriptive passages. Don’t say, “Listening to him talk was like watching paint dry.” There are countless other boring things in the world. Create something original to complete the metaphor and make your writing stand out. 
  • Eliminate or Change Repetitive Words and Ideas 
    I try to avoid overusing my favorite words when writing. However, searching for a synonym in the middle of a writing session can slow down creative flow, and in my case, lead to deep dives into etymological rabbit holes and distractions like word games and quizzes on the dictionary app. Instead, wait until the revision process and use your word processor’s “find” feature to search for words you tend to repeat. Then delete them or think of alternatives.
  • Ground Your Characters and Set the Stage 
    Even if readers can reasonably assume the scene takes place in a particular city or country, let them know where the characters are at the start of the narrative. Don’t let your characters float in a void for the first few paragraphs. Provide enough description to ground readers, but be careful not to overdo it. Each aspect of the character’s environment should serve a purpose, like carefully chosen decorations in a room. Include enough key pieces and furniture to make the setting feel real, and avoid littering it with unnecessary details that distract from your purpose.  
  • Be Specific 
    Words like “there,” “that,” “those,” “it,” “this,” “here,” and “which,” along with other vague pronouns, can slip into sentences when you’re not looking. While these pronouns might be convenient placeholders in a first draft, carefully examine them during editing. Pronouns are necessary and effective when their antecedents are clear, and they help avoid repetition of nouns. However, when their reference is unclear, they can confuse readers and weaken the impact of your writing. Specific language clarifies your meaning and helps readers form a complete mental image of the scene. 
  • Avoid Heavy-Handed Dialect 
    Overwrought vernacular can cause readers to stumble over dialogue, pull them out of the story, and frustrate them. Avoid phonetically spelling words to make a character seem ignorant or foreign. Misspelling words to mimic pronunciation can make the text challenging to read and disrupt the narrative. Plus, it’s easy to get it wrong unless you’re very familiar with the region or social group you’re trying to represent. The goal is to enhance the narrative, not create barriers between your story and the audience. I once tried to write all my dialogue in Early Modern English because my book was set in the 17th century. Alas! My readers grew tired of slogging through all the “forsooths” and “prithees.” I left some archaisms in because what fun would it be to remove them all? As my linguistics teacher advised, “Remain true to your characters and their language, but don’t sacrifice clarity.” Use dialect sparingly to give a subtle flavor of a character’s education, background, and regional origin.  
  • Limit Adjectives 
    Oh, how I love delightful, beautiful, intrepid adjectives. Why else would I spend my childhood reading the dictionary but to stuff my prose full of sharp-witted, erudite, and droll descriptive words? Are adjectives your darlings too? Kill them. They cling to a sentence like barnacles and drag down the narrative. Scrape off adjectives that don’t serve a purpose before they sink your story. Keep only those that sharpen the image or add essential information. 
  • Get Rid of Filter Words 
    Perception verbs like “feel,” “hear,” “see,” “realize,” “watch,” “notice,” and “wonder” clutter up the story, create distance between the reader and the narrative, and dilute the story’s immediacy. For example, instead of “I saw the car drive by,” you could say, “The car drove by.” Immerse the reader in the action and setting by showing instead of telling. For example, instead of “She felt nervous,” you might say, “She clasped her trembling hands in her lap.” Let the reader experience the story through the POV character, not filtered through an extra layer of interpretation. 
  • Use Active Voice Instead of Passive Voice 
    Look for words like “had,” “were,” “was,” “have been,” and other “to be” verb forms followed by the past participle of the main verb. For instance, instead of saying, “The food was eaten by me,” opt for the more direct, active version: “I ate the food.” Replace weak “to be” verb forms with stronger verbs. Using the active voice whenever possible will make your sentences more engaging and precise. 

Apply or Disregard These Suggestions as You See Fit! 
Don’t be afraid to write for fear of “breaking” a rule. The key lesson I’ve learned is to put your ideas down on paper, then go back later and make your writing glisten.


Happy writing and revising! 

Headshot of Kami Pehrson.

Kami Pehrson

Kami Pehrson lives with her husband and five teenage children in Stansbury Park, Utah. She recently finished her master’s degree in English and creative writing and has written three novels—but is still trying to figure out what to do with them. She loves editing, reading, and playing word games on her phone. She also enjoys listening to audiobooks while half-heartedly doing Pilates in the living room.

    LDSPMA Member Spotlight: Cathy Lim!

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    Cathy Lim lives in Hoover, Alabama.

    What are some names of the books or other media you have created?
    RatedReads.com is my web creation; I love books and words, and I love to share suggestions with others. Rated Reads is unlike the many other book review websites out there in that I give ratings to books for content: “none” or “mild” for fairly clean books, and “moderate” and “high” for those with more profanity, sexual content or violence. It has almost 2,000 reviews now. I’ve also written all kinds of articles over the past few decades about lots of topics; one set I’m really proud of is a series about plastic surgery for KSL.com.
    What inspired you to become a creator of media?
    I went into journalism in college because I love being able to learn and write about … everything! What I was particularly passionate about right from the start was editing. I’ve primarily done copy editing over the years, and it allows me not just to “fix errors” but to really bring out the best in someone else’s work. Sure, I do clean up copy so their stories and characters can shine, and I often suggest better phrasing or words so their ideas are expressed just as they intend. It’s a collaborative process that results in the best creation.
    What has been the highlight of your career so far?
    After 30 years in the journalism/writing/editing business, it’s really hard to pick one thing. I’d say I’ve enjoyed most working for LDS Living and with Deseret Digital Media as a copy editor because I get to collaborate on producing inspiring and uplifting articles. I’ve met wonderful people. Moving more into editing book manuscripts has been something I have wanted to do for a long time, and I’ve enjoyed working with the authors I’ve edited for so far. I’m liking the trajectory of my career.
    What was the best advice you’ve ever been given in your creative journey?
    Love what you do and do what you love.
    What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?
    Don’t be afraid to show how passionate you are about something. You don’t have to always present yourself in a dry, professional manner. Show that spark of excitement and passion you have for what you do and the job you may hope to have.
    What keeps you inspired in your daily creative work?
    I think just reading and learning keep my brain active and my creative juices flowing. I get excited by learning new things and reading something that’s really imaginative, well-written, or thought-provoking. That stimulates me to go out there and similarly create.
    What would you like others to know about you or your creative process?
    Words are currency. Using precisely the right word is a passion of mine. I love how we have tens of thousands of words at our disposal. I love the thesaurus. It’s a wonderful tool. I’ll sometimes sit and stew for five or ten minutes over something I’m writing or editing, clicking through options in the online thesaurus, pondering and searching for the exact word I know is out there to express a thought, an intent. Synonyms don’t often mean words are exactly alike; they have shades of meaning, and I won’t settle for the wrong one.
    In what ways do you feel you have been able to be a voice for good in your creative pursuits?
    I think my book review website, Rated Reads, is a particular force for good. It provides crucial information to thousands of readers (and parents of readers) If we’re seeking after works that are virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, it helps to have pertinent information about the millions of books that are available at our fingertips. Some, it’s pretty easy to tell we won’t find content that’s of good report, but others … it’s a complete mystery until we get into the pages and run into things we’d rather not find. My site is a great service.

    You can learn more about Rated Reads at https://ratedreads.com

    Cathy’s copy-editing site is at https://cathycarmodelim.com

    Member Spotlight: Devan Jensen!

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    Our member spotlight this week is Devan Jensen of Orem, Utah. He is the current President of the Latter-day Saint Publishing and Media Association.

    What are the books/products you’ve created?

    As an author, I have written about fifty articles on people and topics in church history. These include Philo Dibble, C. C. A. Christensen, Shoshone history, and the Utah War. In addition, I also wrote God’s Greatest Gifts: 10 Reasons to Rejoice. I compiled Best-Loved Poems of the LDS People, Poems That Lift the Soul, Gradguide, and Latter-day Saint Essentials. I’m working with Rose Ram to write a book called Saints of Micronesia. (I served as a missionary in Micronesia.)

    As an editor at the BYU Religious Studies Center, I have edited thousands of articles and chapters. I also manage social media for BYU Religious Education, BYU Religious Studies Center, Church History News, Religious Educator, and Pohnpei Church History.

    What inspired you to become a writer/editor?

    My parents and elementary school librarians hooked me on reading and inspired me to become a writer. Only later did I realize that editing could become a career.

    What has been the highlight of your career so far?

    A repeated highlight has been traveling with friends to research or to present papers, especially on Pacific history. My favorite places to travel have included New Zealand, Samoa, Tahiti, Guam, Chuuk, Taiwan, and Washington, DC.

    Another real highlight is working with Pacific scholars to write a history of Micronesia that will go in the Yigo Guam Temple.

    What was the best advice you’ve ever been given in your creative work?

    A grab bag of many years of advice:

    • Find the empty spot on the shelf and write for that audience.
    • Ask good research questions.
    • Pluck the low-hanging fruit of the internet and libraries. Then visit archives to dig into original research.
    • Network with other scholars and refine your work through informal peer review and then formal peer review.
    What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

    Pay the price of learning to become an expert in your field.

    What keeps you inspired in your daily creative work?

    Traveling with friends to research or present papers is a huge motivating factor. I hope to travel to New York in 2021 to present at the Mormon History Association conference. I would like to visit the Yigo Guam Temple dedication.

    What would you like others to know about you?

    Like so many of you, I have a voracious appetite for learning, and for challenging my preexisting assumptions. My Facebook page shares my aspirations: As a writer and editor, I’m shaping a more just and sustainable community, nation, and world.

    My wife, Patty, and I live in Orem, Utah. We have four children and an adorable granddaughter. I like to ride my electric bike all over Utah Valley. I perform magic tricks and like to sing and play the piano and ukulele.

    Tell us about your work!

    I enjoy helping authors to publish and helping promote their work. I have more than thirty years of experience working with books, journals, magazines, newsletters, websites, and social media. I’m volunteering as the president of the Latter-day Saint Publishing and Media Association (LDSPMA), which I helped to found.

    I was hired in 2001 at the BYU Religious Studies Center. Since then I have led talented teams to edit about 250 books or book-length projects, which has garnered many awards.

    I have been an adjunct instructor of business writing, editing, and religion for BYU and Utah Valley University. Also, I have been an editor for the Ensign magazine, Church Publishing Services Department, and Deseret Book Company. I have presented at BYU Education Week, Latter-day Saint Publishing and Media Association, Mormon History Association Conference, Sons of Utah Pioneers, Pacific History Association, and Utah State History Conference. As a National Merit Scholar, I received my BA (cum laude) and MA degrees in English from BYU.

    Do you have a website?

    BYU Religious Studies Center, my personal blog and the Pohnpei Church History Blog.

    Where can we find you on social media?

    Estimating Time for Editing

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    By Devan Jensen

    When authors turn in a new manuscript, they usually want it printed now. How long does it take from manuscript to printed book? We typically plan on one year from the time the rough manuscript arrives to the time it is peer reviewed, edited, proofread, designed, sent to authors for approval, proofread, indexed, and printed.                                                     

    You can estimate how long it will take to edit a manuscript by looking over all its parts. How many typos do you see on each page? How complete are the notes? Does it have an appendix? How many photos will be used? Are they scanned? Will you edit on hard copy or electronic copy?

    The following guidelines also apply:

    The Chicago Manual of Style, 2.49     Estimating editing time. Estimates for how long the job of manuscript editing should take—a figure generally determined by the publisher and agreed to by the manuscript editor—usually start with the length of the manuscript. Because of inevitable variations in typefaces and margins and other formatting characteristics from one manuscript to another, the length is best determined by a word count rather than a page count (though a word count can be derived from a page count for paper-only manuscripts). A 100,000-word book manuscript, edited by an experienced editor, might take seventy-five to one hundred hours of work before being sent to the author, plus ten to twenty additional hours after the author’s review. This rough estimate may need to be adjusted to take into account any complexities in the text or documentation, the presence and characteristics of any tables and illustrations, and the degree of electronic formatting and markup that an editor will need to remove or impose (see 2.77). If in doubt, edit a small sample to serve as the basis of an estimate. An additional factor is of course the publication schedule, which will determine how many days are available for the editing stage. Also pertinent is information about the author’s availability to review the edited manuscript, amenability to being edited, propensity to revise, and so forth.

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