My publisher sent me the edited version of my manuscript last week. It came as a pdf locked with a password and the formatting all as it will appear in the final version. It looks beautiful. I’m also glad that the endless knot image I chose as a section break has stayed in the print version. It looks a little blurred on my screen, but I’m sure it will be fine in full resolution.
The next step is for me to review the book in its entirety, taking note of the changes made and questions asked by the editor. I received an early warning of the edits with a nice note that my writing was good enough that few changes were required. I wasn’t sure how to take that – whether to be glad that not much would be changed or worried that the editor hadn’t really looked carefully. I needn’t have worried. The questions are all good ones that I’ll need to address.
One that I’m uncertain about involves my use of Australian terms. I envisioned that the book would be marketed in Australia at first and only further afield if it sold well. I’ve therefore included well-known words and concepts such as Drizabone, ute, Jim Craig’s hut and bloke without any description of what these are. Do I need to change these for an international audience or do they add character? Would you reach for wikipedia or would you take them in stride?