Catching the glitches. Non-fiction authors have checking duties right up to the wire - Moira Butterfield

I’ve spent some days the last week working on a non-fiction book that I finished writing nearly a year ago, for the 8+ age group. There’s careful pre-press checking to be done, and it’s a very vital stage of illustrated non-fiction writing.

I've been pre-flight checking my book this week. 

 The book I’m talking about has spread headings, captions and labels that work closely alongside the illustrations, like an orchestra of musicians playing different instruments to create one piece of music. There’s a glossary, credits section and contents spread, too.

An illustrated non-fiction book for the 8+ age range has a lot of different features that work together. 

It’s up to the non-fiction writer to be available at the right time for checking duties leading up to press date. That means consulting with your editor so you are aware when you are likely to be needed, and not disappearing off the grid without warning.

Er...Where did that writer go? 

 I usually get a slightly panicky feeling at this point. Will I miss something? Will I let a big mistake go through that will ruin my book? It’s unlikely, because I won’t be the only eagle eye on the case, but the fear of letting something slip through does concentrate the mind on doing a thorough job.

As a young inexperienced editor I once made a big pre-press mistake. I was given loads of colouring books to organize, featuring characters owned by different Licensors such as Disney and Hanna Barbera. Each book had to have the right copyright notices on the back, but I got some of the Licensors mixed up. This would have been a big deal and would have led to the pulping of the books and consequent costs if anyone had noticed. Luckily I was getting friendly with the young man in the sales department who was responsible for sending out approval copies to the Licensors. He…ahem…omitted to send the colouring books, so nobody ever noticed. I was saved and yes, reader, I married him.But that was definitely a one-time only bacon-saving strategy!

"OK, I won't tell!" 

 In case you also find yourself checking a complicated visual project, here are the most common things that I have found I am likely to spot:

A last-minute art error appearing - Has the artist illustrated something that contradicts the text? I will have checked art roughs and, hopefully, caught anything untoward, but small details could have been added since. For instance, on the space spread I’ve just been checking some of the people are weightless but some appear not to be. Children will definitely notice that, so some judicious seatbelt-type straps will need to be added to figures casually sitting down.

Has some of the text been put in the wrong place? This is a common issue as non-fiction book text can comprise lots of small sections and often, with the amount of work involved the pressure is on and the deadline looms uncomfortably. It’s easy for a section of text to be accidentally placed wrongly at the last minute.

Are the labels near enough to the pictures to make sense? It’s relatively common for them to be misplaced because they’re small and fiddly, and there are sometimes lots of them.

Have I written consistently? In position, text issues can sometimes become suddenly clear. For instance, have I used the same terms throughout? The glossary inevitably gets written much later than the rest of the text and that’s where terms can sometimes accidentally change. Did I say nanobot in that glossary when I’ve been saying nanorobot everywhere else?

Are all the extras correct? It’s perfectly possible for everyone in a team to miss mistakes in the extra material – Headings, contents lists and folios. The author should always take a moment to check them because they’re all too easy to forget.

 My name – I don’t know why but it’s often spelt wrong. I make a point to check the spine, where a weird version of it may well have slipped through.  

How hard is this name? It's surprising! 

It’s a very good idea to do this checking process in a calm state without kids running around or people wandering in demanding your time.

This will never work!

Finally, remember this - All will be well and, even if something small did slip through, so what? It can be changed on a reprint and, really, will anyone even notice or mind?

The book will be born and it will be marvellous. Fingers crossed.

I have been ‘preflight checking’ A TRIP TO THE FUTURE, published by Big Picture Press in July. It’s my shot at inspiring the scientists and inventors of the future.

See you in July! 

Moira Butterfield

www.moirabutterfield.com

Twitter @moiraworld

Instagram @moirabutterfieldauthor 

Seven things you should know about the craft of writing (and editing) children’s non-fiction. Moira Butterfield

This month I’ve listed some practical aspects of non-fiction writing, and I hope it will be of use to editors, too, as a reminder of the craft. I’m doing this because, whilst there are any number of blogs and books about the craft of writing novels for children, there is precious little about non-fiction. So here goes. I hope this helps.

1) Know your non-fiction

There are two different kinds of non-fiction books for children these days. There are the kind that we might call poetic. They slip over into picture book territory, and the text provides a framework for imaginative flight-of-fancy illustration rather than, say, diagrams. They are for a young age-group, from pre-school up to around 6 or 7.  Then there are books that are more factual, and written for the next age-group up. There are more examples of these in the shops, but that doesn’t mean this kind of writing is easy. It takes a lot of thought and skill to get it right (and that’s why there’s a lot of bad non-fiction writing for children out there at the moment, both in print and online). 

2) Know what your non-fiction will look like

Most non-fiction text must be written to work with layouts (spread designs), which can be quite complicated and are difficult to get right in themselves, as the reading order of the text will be important. As a writer you must be roughly aware from the beginning what your book is going to look like visually, and thus how your text should be provided (how many lines? short captions? long captions? labels?).

I sometimes go the whole hog and sketch out a layout while writing, to help me focus on what I need to provide. I might send it to my editor to help them understand my thought processes (not always, if things aren't complicated). My editor and designer might ignore it in the end, and that doesn't matter.

3) Write your non-fiction at the right level

The words must be written at the correct language level. The sentences should flow, not get convoluted or awkwardly chopped up. The vocabulary must also be right for the age-group. This needs an awareness of child abilities, and it takes practice (and good editing). The first time I wrote a non-fiction spread I was working in-house at Usborne, where we were taught to write. My kindly, patient, immensely skilled Senior Editor got me to rewrite that spread 10 times before it was OK –not jerky to read, illogical or confusing for kids. Ten times. It’s not possible to just knock this stuff out without effort (and I say that because some publishing companies think exactly that, and it's obvious). 

4) Write your non-fiction with pace

The text needs pace. That means dropping in surprises – interesting sparks - at the right times. Like a good nature TV documentary, the text shouldn’t get bogged down and droning. You need to think about how your reader will read it and the effect it will have on them.

David Attenborough's nature documentary scripts have masterful pace.

5) Point out bad editing 

Inexperienced editors can take it upon themselves to rewrite - sometimes badly. They can make facts wrong and mangle your carefully chosen age-appropriate vocabulary. If this happens to you point out politely where you think things have gone wrong and why, and make sure it is corrected. 

6) Write for an international market

 Illustrated non-fiction is almost entirely reliant on international sales to make its money. That’s going to affect your writing. Have you taken account of the wider world when dealing with your subject? Have you been too parochial or culturally narrow-minded in some way? 

My book, Welcome To Our World, has been translated into many languages.
That's how illustrated non-fiction adds up economically. 

7) Do all you can to light a spark

Have you put your imagination into your work? OK, you might be describing something others have described many times, but have you done it in a way that’s entertaining and will light a spark of interest? That, in the end, is your purpose.

Moira Butterfield has written many internationally-published non-fiction books. Her book WELCOME TO OUR WORLD (Nosy Crow) is a bestseller around the world and her newest book, HOME SWEET HOME (Red Shed), is due out in June. 

www.moirabutterfield.com 

Twitter @moiraworld 

Instagram @moirabutterfieldauthor