From: "Ted White" <twhite8 at cox.net>
To: "WSFA members" <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Another Tom Clancy novel coming soon
Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2003 20:54:58 -0400
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

----- Original Message -----
From: <ronkean at juno.com>
To: <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2003 8:21 PM
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Another Tom Clancy novel coming soon

>
> On Thu, 3 Jul 2003 18:14:46 -0400 "Ted White" <twhite8 at cox.net> writes:
>
> > "Manuscript"?  Are you saying Clancy *doesn't* supply a data file
> > directly
> > from his computer?
> >
>
> The 'manuscript' of course would be a data file, or more likely a
> succession of data files from Clancy - it would be considered a
> manuscript because it's the raw submission from the author.  I doubt that
> Clancy does his own formatting of material for printing the book, just as
> no author does who isn't self-publishing alone with his computer.
> Apparently Keith has emailed with Clancy, so it appears Clancy is a
> computer user.

Exactly.   Clancy sends his novel in as a (or several, if you will -- but I
think a novel fits on one floppy and I'm sure it would on a CDROM) data
file.   It is then edited.  This should not require more than a day or two
at the most, since presumably Clancy has already spell-checked it and there
is relatively little copyediting gruntwork required.  Formatting the file
should take only seconds, since it means imposing a company-established and
preexisting format, probably via some house program.   After that, it's off
to the printer.   Altogether, the entire pre-printing process could be done
in less than a week -- and undoubtedly was.

--Ted White