The publishing industry can seem opaque for those of us looking in from the outside. How exactly does it turn these loose-leaf sheaves of paper into a printed copy, ready to be shelved in bookshops? ArtsHub asks seven publishers, both small presses and large multinationals, to demystify the process so authors – especially new ones – can have an idea of what happens once their precious words leave their hands and are entrusted to a team of publishing experts. It can take a long time before the final version is delivered – and there are good reasons why this is so.
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Cate Blake, Affirm Press
“When you submit, your publisher and editor will be able to give you a rundown of the schedule ahead of you – structural edit, copyedit, proofread, publication. If anything’s unclear, speak up! Publishers want you to have as much information as you need to do the best work possible and are always happy to answer any questions about processes, which are so variable – dependent on author and editor and retail market etc – that I’m hesitant to be any more specific as it could be misleading.
“And most important at this stage? Celebrate! Publishing a book is a long game and you need to celebrate all the wins along the way, and submitting your manuscript (MS) to your publisher is a big one. Take a moment to mark this milestone and feel proud of yourself.”
Jane Pearson, Text Publishing
“Everyone at Text is involved in the acquisitions process. We’re all reading like mad all the time, looking for the next exciting book. If your manuscript stands out as a possible acquisition, there’ll be lots of discussion among various Texters about its potential, what we love about it, how we’d position it in the market, and what we’d hope to achieve for you, its author. The discussion is usually led by an editor and that editor – should we make an offer for publication and it be accepted – will work with you right through the editorial and publishing process.
“The first stage in the editorial process is usually a conversation between editor and author with general feedback, perhaps involving suggestions for developing various aspects of the manuscript. Then there’s redrafting in response to that feedback. This may involve fairly minor revisions or, sometimes, quite a shake-up – whatever the case, you, the author, are in charge: you’re making the decisions, with the guidance and support of your editor.
“Once the manuscript has been resubmitted, there’ll be a more detailed edit, either a pencil mark-up on hard copy or a digital version using track changes, along with further discussion. Once again, you, the author, have control over how the edits are incorporated, or not.
“The next stage is typesetting – an exciting stage as now the text is starting to look like a book! The typeset pages are then reviewed by the editor and author and corrections taken in. And then the almost final file goes off to a proofreader, who, having never seen the text before, has fresh eyes for picking up any typos that may have been overlooked.
“Then, typos fixed, we have a file ready for printing.
“While the editorial process is underway, lots of other work is going on: cover design, sales and marketing campaigns, publicity planning and pitching to reviewers and festival programmers etc, pitching and submitting to international publishers for potential rights sales, and to audio publishers – just as a very general overview. You’ll meet more of the team, if you haven’t already, and be kept informed of plans and progress. We’re a small close team and there’s lots of input across all departments in how we put a book into the market.
“Printed books arrive in the Text office two to three weeks later. At the same time, stock hits the warehouse, and a month after that it’s publication day and your book will be on new-release tables in bookshops and online across the country. Then, there’s ongoing promotion, reviews to nervously await, and possibly interviews and festival appearances. And as much social media splash as you and the team can muster.”
Jo Rosenberg, Black Inc
“The process will be different at different publishers. This is how we do it at Black Inc.
“Once you submit your MS to your publisher, they will read it to see if it can be formally accepted. Sometimes a publisher will let the author know further work is required; otherwise they accept the MS and the delivery advance can be invoiced. This should happen within a month.
“Once the MS is formally accepted, the publisher or an editor will assess what editorial work is required and what the schedule will be. The schedule will depend on whether your book is being submitted for rights sales, how much editorial work is required and the publication date. A quick turnaround from delivery to typesetting is about two months – some books take a year or more.
“Usually we undertake three main editorial stages:
The structural edit: we address all the big-picture elements and get the manuscript into solid shape, ready for copyediting. This can include the order/structure of content; effectiveness of arguments; tone and style; pace; length; character; plot; and so on. Some books don’t really need a structural edit; for others, this is where the biggest leaps are made. The structural edit could take anywhere from two weeks to a few months, and then we give authors as much time as the schedule allows to do the big-picture work we’ve asked of them – sometimes several months.
The copyedit: we narrow our focus to the line level and help the author shape and polish their writing. This is also where we look at style, consistency, accuracy and all the details like references, captions, chapter headings. We usually allow six to eight weeks for copyediting, and give the author around three weeks to review and respond to the edit. Once we have a complete, edited manuscript, it will be typeset – this usually takes around two weeks.
The proofread: another editor (a fresh pair of eyes) reads the typeset pages looking for errors, inconsistent style and typesetting issues. The author also gets a chance to review the pages, but at this stage we’re ideally just looking for errors rather than doing any rewriting. This stage takes two to three weeks.
“From there we usually have another round of pages and indexing (if required), then final checks and off to print!
“The cover process is on a different timeline to the editorial process. We generally need a finished cover ready six months ahead of the publication date, for sales purposes. We like to leave at least two months for the design process, so we tend to get started about eight months ahead of publication. We often ask authors to let us know if they have any thoughts about the cover before we get started, or any images we should consider.”
Anna Solding, MidnightSun
“Depending on if your manuscript is a picture book or a novel you can expect very different timelines. For a picture book, you need to wait for the publisher to find an illustrator (which can take a long time as many illustrators are booked up for months or even years). Then the illustrator needs at least six months, often 12 months, to do the storyboard, roughs and the final illustrations. At MidnightSun, we decide on the publication date only when we have the final illustrations, to reduce stress for everyone. The edits for a picture book are usually few, but they can happen late in the process to make the flow perfect on the page, so it fits with the illustrations.
“For novels, the process is more straightforward. However, once you have signed the contract, it doesn’t mean that your book is next in line. So patience is of the essence. While you are waiting for the editing to happen, get your author photos done, perfect your pitch, work on the blurb, ask some people for endorsements, organise your social media and build your networks. You can even start thinking about the launch.
“As a novel writer you can expect your manuscript to be structurally edited first, which means that the editor has looked at the bigger picture and they may decide to ask you to cut or merge characters, to expand certain parts and reduce others, to develop the dialogue and to really tease out what the book is about. After you get the report you get some time (usually a month) to rework the manuscript. This can happen several times if the manuscript needs a lot of work, before it goes to the next stage, which is copy editing, where the editor looks in more detail at the word choices and the sentence structure, punctuation and flow.
“The author then gets the marked-up manuscript back and makes the changes before it goes to proof reading. We ask the writers for suggestions for how they imagine the cover and also want to see examples of other covers that they like, to make sure they love their own cover. The cover can be tricky and sometimes takes many months… But we don’t finalise it until everyone is happy.
“The entire process can take anything from four to 12 months. Then laying out of the book and printing takes another couple of months and getting into the bookshops takes more time. But it’s this leading up to publication that is the most important time, so enjoy it!”
Emma Rafferty, Hachette
“Once your manuscript is accepted, the editorial process varies, but is designed to provide tailored support, keep to schedule and help you deliver your best work. You’ll work closely with your publisher and an in-house editor, with freelance editors also playing a key role. Editorial stages may include:
Structural editing – big-picture feedback on story and style, delivered in a report for revisions.
Copyediting – refining spelling, grammar, style, clarity, continuity and some fact-checking. Edits are made using Track Changes.
Sensitivity/expert reads – ensuring fair, accurate representation of experiences outside the author’s own. Best done early.
Proofreading and legal review – a final check after typesetting, with the author’s last read-through.
“This process takes anywhere from six to 18 months, followed by two-plus months for printing. Your in-house editor will guide you, answer questions and support you throughout. While editing can be challenging, trust your team: they’re passionate about making your book the best it can be. Enjoy the process and make lasting connections!”
Holly Toohey, Penguin Random House
“Since every book is unique, so too is the publishing process that takes it from manuscript to the final printed version, ebook and audiobook. Timelines will vary from book to book, but a rough guideline is as follows.
“Publishers normally require you to deliver your manuscript about a year to nine months before your book’s publication. Your publisher will let you know that they’ve received it and when to expect the structural edit. This is the first major edit of your book and generally takes between one and two months. Depending on the work required, you may have anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to revise the text.
“The next stage is the copyedit – the second, more detailed edit where we get down to the nitty-gritty. This edit generally takes between one and two months. Following the copyedit, you and your editor will spend about one month on page proofs to make sure they are word perfect!
“While all the editorial work is happening your publisher will also be in touch to talk to you about the design of the cover. As a general time frame, publishers like to have the cover finalised six months out from a book’s release.”
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Barry Scott, Transit Lounge
“A major thing I have learned in 20 years of book publishing is that the industry and market work months, even years, ahead. A book contracted now would be scheduled to be released in 2026 and possibly well into 2026. The international market seems to work even further ahead. Overseas publishers often express surprise that we Australians can turn a book around in a year or less.
“New authors often want their book to come out quickly, but so much needs to happen before a book is print ready. A book scheduled for a February 2026 release would ideally need advance copies of it printed by August 2025. A longer period would be required for a book being promoted and sold into the key Christmas market.
“First, there is editing. Does the book need a structural edit and rewrites or a simpler copyedit? Even with the latter, many authors like to consider every editorial change of punctuation, often understandable when years have sometimes been spent writing the book at hand. So, time needs to be planned for the inevitable ‘to and fro’ between author and editor. Permissions for copyright material used in books can often take months and invariably the rights departments of larger publishers don’t share our sense of urgency. Once typeset, the manuscript will need to come back to the author to check for corrections, and once those corrections are made be checked again. And often again.
“Parallel to this process we will be thinking about marketing. What sort of cover should the book have? What should the blurb say? Who may write a commendation? Commendations can take a long time as invariably they are from other authors who are often busy with their own books. We always encourage authors to start early on this process.
“Similarly, with the author photo. When publishers are spending thousands on an individual book a high-quality professional author photo can be critical for marketing. Sure, you may like that travel photo of yourself from a few years back or even that one your partner took of you in the kitchen, but bringing a book into the world is something to be celebrated and the market is increasingly competitive.
“The book cover is a key thing, sometimes an element an author focuses too much on, as they have been dreaming for years about it. It is a critical thing to us too and we want each author to be happy with how their book looks, while also wowing the book buyers at stores across the country. So, the cover is also a process that can take time. It is exciting to work with authors and designers on this element and it helps us all not to feel too rushed.
“Advance information, event planning, media and publicity start to happen before any book hits the shelves. Reviewers need time to receive, read and review your book. And rights submissions for book fairs and other markets need to happen well before this. There is much else I haven’t included here, including the weeks needed to print your book and if it is being printed offshore the time needed for it to travel by ship to the antipodes.
“Thinking of all that needs to happen for a manuscript to become a book a year seems almost like no time at all.”
