Copyediting Time on Theodore Roosevelt for Kids!

As you can see from the gap in posting, it's been quiet at my end as the Teddy Roosevelt book goes through edits. At this point, the book is off to the designer. I had a glimpse of the layout -- it has a nice look about it -- both western and "presidential." My publisher does 2-color interiors, and the designer chose a warm brown and pretty soft blue color.

The copy editor had a chance to get his/her (I don't know who that is) questions to me about a month ago and I spent a few days double checking on facts, figures, and images. Here's what the process can look like. My original work is in black, followed by the copy editor's queries, the development editor's comments, and my answers back. You get the idea!

Here are two -- I was amused by the second question but of course not at all surprised. I've been spending so much time in the 18th century I figured everybody knew this stuff about little kids.

The strike dragged on all summer. The mine owners refused to meet with John Mitchell, the head of the United Mine Workers union. Autumn came, and coal prices skyrocketed as the nation’s supply dwindled. Schools in New York closed. [DO WE WANT TO SAY “BECAUSE THEY COULDN’T AFFORD FUEL TO HEAT THEM” OR SOMETHING TO CONNECT THIS SENTENCE?] [I WAS NOT ABLE TO FIND A PRECISE REASON WHY THEY CLOSED.]

PERHAPS WE SHOULD DELETE THAT LINE THEN? IS IT EVEN RELEVANT THAT THEY CLOSED? THE IMPLICATION IS THAT THEY CLOSED BECAUSE OF THE STRIKE.

[CAPTION] The Roosevelt Children in 1899. Left to right: Ethel, Ted, Alice, Quentin, Kermit, and Archie. [CREDIT?] [THIS PHOTO APPEARS TO HAVE 4 GIRLS AND 2 BOYS IN IT, NOT 4 BOYS AND 2 GIRLS, BUT IN THESE OLD PHOTOS IT’S HARD TO TELL—PLEASE RECHECK THE CAPTION TO MAKE SURE IT TELLS THE CORRECT NAMES IN THE CORRECT ORDER.] [QUENTIN IS WEARING A BABY DRESS, AS ALL LITTLE KIDS DID. IT MAKES HIM LOOK LIKE A GIRL J]

Undoing a Decision

Well, I've been overruled. After deciding to use the "n-word" in a newspaper quote for Theodore Roosevelt for Kids, several people put their heads together and suggested that I not use the full word. They preferred this: "n[*****]."

We went back and forth for awhile emailing. I kinda wanted to stay with what I had, which is the direct quote -- and, if truth be told -- about the mildest one I could find. They feel that the full word isn't appropriate in a book directed at middle graders.

So....I am back to something I went with in an earlier draft. All the colors and fonts reflect the back and forth of edits:

Across the South, newspapers, politicians, and preachers expressed their anger--how dare the president invite a Negro to put his legs under the same table where his wife sat? A paper in Memphis screamed, “The most damnable outrage which has ever been perpetrated by any citizen of the United States was committed yesterday by the President...."

What do you think?

Edit time for Theodore Roosevelt

I like doing edits. Theodore Roosevelt for Kids is now with the "developmental editor." She is the "second pair of eyes" to read the manuscript, following the first pass by my senior editor. I am cautioned to make changes only "within the manuscript" using a different color than her edits.

The development editor is wonderful. She picks up lots of small nuances in meaning that repeated sweeps by my [weary] eyes have missed over multiple revisions. She catches misspellings, inconsistencies, and stuff that clearly makes no sense to her. Such as my opening quote:

“I think there ought to be children’s books. I think that the child will like grown up books also, and I do not believe a child’s book is really good unless grown ups get something out of it.”

--Theodore Roosevelt

My editor said < The consensus here is that this is a weak quote. A quote might be fitting for an epigraph page, but can you find a more exciting/engaging one? Perhaps something that epitomizes Roosevelt’s personality or political philosophy?>

Now, I love that quote. It's a headline on both my blog and website. It's partly why I like writing for children.

Nonetheless, I respect my editors' opinions, so I'm going with an epigraph, the opening to a book. (See To Kill a Mockingbird for a good example of an epigraph.)

This one came right to mind, one of TR's most famous quotes. And my heartfelt thanks to Bethany Hauser Clawson for reminding me about it:

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause…..”

I hope that my editor likes this one.