How many times is a route description read before it reaches the final reader? The truth is, I don’t know. I write route descriptions ‘on the hoof’ using a battered old Psion palmtop, small enough for my pocket. I don’t like scribbling notes that need to be transcribed later, so it saves me a lot of time, and I prefer to spend that time outdoors, rather than indoors tied to a computer and a desk.
I write my route descriptions at the very point the reader will use them, rather than dredged from memory days, weeks or months later. They’re written at a point where I have my map in hand, and I can see everything around me. In the evening I read everything, break it into paragraphs and format it the way my publisher wants. I save the file, back it up and forget about it. The next day is a whole new day’s walk.
During the course of a month’s route research, I’ll come across sundry bits and pieces of information which will either find their way into the introduction or one of the closing appendices. By the time I’m finished with my route research, the book is virtually written, leaving me with the simple task of ‘topping and tailing’ the opening and closing pages, sorting out and captioning the pictures, and dealing with maps.
I think I probably read my text half a dozen times before it reaches my publisher. Once in the office, it gets a quick skim through before being passed to an editor. The editor’s job is to ensure it all makes sense. If anything is ambiguous or unclear, I have to clarify it. The edited manuscript is returned so that I can agree or dispute any changes. At this stage, illustrations have been selected and the manuscript is marked at intervals with ideal positions for pictures, maps and diagrams.
I send the edited manuscript back to the office and it is checked again before going to a designer, whose task is to put everything on the pages in the best possible way. Full-colour page-proofs are printed and an editor will read through them and mark any queries before passing them back to me. This is literally my last chance to spot anything that needs changing, because once it leaves my hands, the editor and designer make those final changes before signing the project off to the printer.
I’m told that laying out pages on huge sheets of paper, printing back-to-back, guillotining and book-binding, are processes calling for great skill and accuracy. In the meantime, other projects pass through my hands until the postman brings my presentation copies. Even after receiving more than 40 guidebooks this way, it still feels great to hold the finished product and smell the fresh ink on the pages!
New books delivered to my door this year include - GR5 Through the French Alps and Walking in County Durham. I’m expecting more soon - Walking in the Isles of Scilly and Walking in Madeira. The next edited manuscript due for checking is The Reivers Way. The last manuscript delivered to the office was Walking in the North Pennines, and the next in line for delivery is Trekking through Mallorca. It’s been a busy year on foot, but the proof is ultimately in the proofreading!
~
Paddy Dillon is author of The National Trails, several Cicerone walking guides, and more... Read our interview with Paddy Dillon to find out more.
Paddy's website: www.outdoorwriter.freeserve.co.uk
Author: Paddy Dillon
Date: 4 November 2008
Add a comment