We wanted to get to know Karin Beery (NAIWE’s Fiction Expert) better, so last month we sat down with her. Here are some thoughts she shared with us.

What role do editors play in the publishing process?

Editors are the diamond cutters of the publishing world–they see the potential in a manuscript and help their authors cut and polish their books until they shine.

What role do agents play in the publishing process?

Agents are often called the gatekeepers–authors need to go through an agent before they can reach many publishing houses–but they’re more than that. They’re almost like an older sibling. They’ll fight with you and support you to see your project succeed, but they also need to be brutally honest (regarding your manuscript and the publishing process) to help you do it.

Can the same manuscript be published in the different publishing methods? (self, traditional, hybrid)

That depends on the contracts you’ve signed. Who owns the rights and for how long? It’s possible to self-publish a book, then have it picked up by a traditional publisher. It’s also possible that a traditional publisher will release the rights of a book back to the author, allowing him/her to self-publish. Hybrid publishers also have contracts, so make sure you know what you’re agreeing to before you sign anything.

——————

What’s the difference between a freelance editor and an acquisitions editor? Do you need an agent? If you do, how do you find one? How do you decide between traditional publishing, self-publishing, and hybrid publishing? With so many options available to authors, it can be confusing (and frustrating!) to figure out the best route for your book. In this webinar, we’ll take the confusion out of editors, agents, and publishers and help you figure out which options will work best for your publishing goals.

You can join in this conversation on March 21, at 2:00 pm eastern, when NAIWE will host a discussion on the publishing process. The cost for NAIWE members is only $10! Nonmembers can join for $30. Register today!

We wanted to get to know Jennia D’Lima (NAIWE’s Creative Nonfiction Expert) better, so last month we sat down with her. Here are some thoughts she shared with us.

How do historical details add depth and context to nonfiction manuscripts?

Just like in a work of fiction, details contribute to immersing the reader in the story. They can also be used to heighten the emotions at a given time. For example, a manuscript may be primarily focused on examining the life of a frontier family in depth. A surviving diary entry from one of the members of this family may state a child came down with a disease that would not seem worrisome to contemporary readers. Including statistics for the mortality rate by age, prevalent issues for those who survived the disease, and typical length and severity of the illness would give the reader a better understanding of how the parents may have reacted to this diagnosis. Without this information, an included diary entry along the lines of “Mary was stricken with a fever; we believe she has scarlet fever” may not be given its due significance.

In some cases, these details may also add credibility to the author and any stances taken in the manuscript. This is especially true when making a claim or speculation based on little-known facts. Essential historical background to back up these positions will help decrease the reader’s skepticism while also creating a richer narrative.

What type of historical details should be added to nonfiction manuscripts?

Only those details that are relevant or will add to the reader’s understanding should be included. It is vital to remember that, unless the manuscript is being marketed as a history textbook, there is no need to provide more than the basics. As will be discussed in the webinar, the key is learning how to identify those areas that will most benefit from these inclusions.

Are authors also adding historical details to nonfiction manuscripts to educate readers?

Some are, yes, but this depends upon the author’s original intentions and the larger scope of the work. With a memoir, the focus may not be on education so much as sharing and providing a unique viewpoint. It could be argued this alone is a form of education though it may not be from a historical perspective. However, there will often be ways history naturally and logically incorporates itself even when that isn’t the main goal. For instance, when explaining a medical procedure performed even a decade in the past, providing details may be necessary to give the reader the required information for understanding how it was performed, why it was considered risky or not, and so on. The reader’s knowledge base has now grown despite the author only including this information for clarity-related purposes.

——————

Want to find out how historical details can add depth and context to your creative nonfiction manuscript? Apart from bringing credibility to your topic, these details have the benefit of helping your reader better understand the context surrounding your subject. This session shows how to sift through research and facts to find what will have the most impact and meaning as well as how to identify which areas of your manuscript would most benefit from these additions.

You can join in this conversation on February 27, at 7:00 pm eastern, when NAIWE will host a discussion on adding some history to your manuscript. The cost for NAIWE members is only $10! Nonmembers can join for $30. Register today!

We wanted to get to know Yateendra Joshi (NAIWE’s Research Paper Expert) better, so last month we sat down with him. Here are some thoughts he shared with us.

Everyone wants to communicate a message; how can design clarify and reinforce the message?

A well-chosen typeface can complement the message; an effective layout can clarify it; and the overall design can entice readers to begin reading a document — before the writer’s prose has had a chance to make an impact on the readers.

What are some ways to make layout more appealing to the eye and be effective across platforms?

By establishing a clear hierarchy of headings that reveals the underlying structure of the document, by choosing the right typeface, and by keeping the design simple.

Is there a rule on how many font sizes can be on a page?

More than two are too many: you can always use other cues such as weight (normal or bold), posture (normal or italics), and color.

——————

Research and academic papers – the mainstay of journals – rarely make easy reading, given the typically dense subject matter, rigid conventions imposed by academic writing, and, let’s face it, unappealing layout and design. Also, the layout and design must work across different platforms and devices: traditional print, HTML (with different browsers), PDF, desktops, laptops, tabs, smartphones. . . .

The design must also take into account how research papers are accessed because rarely are they read from the beginning to the end at a sitting. Readers skim the titles; if any is interesting, the next stop is the abstract, after a glance at the names of authors and their affiliations; if the abstract is promising, then maybe a quick scan of the results — and thus the process continues. A research paper has layers of information, and it is the job of typography and design to make those layers distinct and easy to access.

This webinar touches upon legibility and readability of type, choice and use of fonts, layout of different layers, design of tables, typesetting of references, and so on, illustrated with examples taken from a range of journals.

If you are involved in any way in text-heavy documents, this webinar will be of interest to you. More specifically, this webinar will help you to

• appreciate reader-friendly design
• notice the choices made by typographers and designers
• avoid some common but poor design choices
• explore resources on design
• enlist typography to reinforce your editing.

You can join in this conversation on November 18, at 2:00 pm eastern, when NAIWE will host a discussion on typography and scientific journals. The cost for NAIWE members is only $10! Nonmembers can join for $30. Register today!