I attend many Science Fiction Conventions. One thing I do at these conventions is to purchase books. Another thing I do is listen to publishers, artists, and authors describe what they have to do to get a book published. I have combined many of these steps into a "readers eye" view of the process.

First, an author gets an idea for a book. If this is a new author they write the book. If this is a smart new author they then get several writers groups to help them re-write it (Clarion Writers Workshops, writers groups, writers seminars).

If the author is established, as are Mercedes Lackey and Andre Norton, they write up a short synopsis (like what goes on the front dust jacket - or the back of a paperback). Their agent then tries to sell the book to a publishing house.

Once the book gets purchased, you would expect the author to immediately start to write. Not true. In the special case of Lackey and Norton, they get together and outline the book. They also decide who is going to write what. In my experience, many two-author books are written by one of the partners.

S.Smith-Norton, McConchie-Norton, Edgehill-Norton, Griffin-Norton collaborations are outlined together but written by one person. The exceptions are the Block-Norton, Bradley-Lackey-Norton and the Witch World Turning books that were written in alternating chapters.

Now comes the hard part. Someone is going to have to write the book. This book is probably not on the top of the pile. A full time author has to have several 'ideas' in the works in order to pay the rent. A part time author has a 'day job' and can only work when the rent is paid. Assume that this time is as much as a year or two to start writing, and 6 months to a year to write a book

Once the book is turned into the publisher, an editor reviews it and then turns it back to the author for revisions. Some editors go through their large pile of books faster than others. I had heard from both Rosemary Edgehill and Sherwood Smith, that they were waiting for books to come back from the editor, and trying to keep a 4 month "opening" in their work schedule for revisions. The book comes to the author for revisions and they have no more than 4 months to get the book back to the publisher.

Somewhere during this time the publisher gets cover art, and chooses a title. An author seldom has control of title or cover art. There are some rare books that NEED to have a particular title (Sharon McCrumb's "Bimbos of the Death Sun"). Often there is a working title; "A Heart for Every Fate", and a published title "The Shadow of Albion" for a single book. There are cover artists who actually have the luxury of reading a book before drawing the cover, but mostly they are given just a paragraph describing some special scene. The cover for "Songsmith", made both A.C. Crispin and Andre Norton unhappy about the size of the horse, and the age of the people (don't remind them that the original art for the witch had her skin green). On the cover for "Stand to Horse" Andre tells me that the color for the uniforms is wrong, and after she had done such careful research. My favorite cover error is that for "Flight in Yiktor". The cover illustration is pretty nice, and might sell more copies, but it gives away a major plot line.

The publisher has put the book on their schedule. If we are lucky, the agent, or the publisher starts sending notices to the trade magazines, stores and conventions.

"Andre Norton's first 12 W.W. novels will be republished by White Wolf in four volumes." Locus Oct '95

"Andre Norton and Rosemary Edgehill turned in 'A Heart for Every Fate' to TOR." S.F.Chronicle

"TOR has 'Shadow of Albion' on their publication list for February 1999." WorldCon 1999.

Somewhere in this time, the reviewers are reading the pre-publication copies (Advanced Reading Copies = ARC's) and writing reviews. The stores are deciding how many copies to order. If you buy most of your new books from XYZ store, then you could probably try to order your copy in advance. I have found that a local book shop often orders an additional copy of the book I ordered, because they feel that there is some interest in the book.

How long a book stays on the shelf at a store is another issue in the modern world of books. The large dealers get boxes of books every week. They usually unpack them right away (you cannot sell boxed books), and put those books on the shelves. Usually they don't check the publication dates and a book may be on the shelf two or three weeks before the publication date.

Smaller book dealers usually get smaller, and less frequent book shipments. They tend to get their books just ON the publication date. A problem in the publishing industry is the size of shipments seems to set the priorities for doing the shipping. A large purchaser will have their box packed and shipped long before smaller purchasers. There are even cases where the small dealer may find that their shipment consists of the "second printing" of a new book.

How long a dealer keeps a book on the shelf is another strange process. Usually the pressure to keep the latest books on the shelf requires that books be removed if they don't sell. I have heard about this time being as short as one month. I have never had this happen. I have found paperbacks on the shelf four or more months after the publication date. There are other stores that never take a book off of the shelf.

Often a book is not really returned to the publisher. The process of "stripping" a book is where the front cover of a paperback is torn off the book, and the cover returned to the publisher for credit.

Lastly there are 'remaindered' book stores. These sell books that were returned to the publisher, or were never sold by the publisher. You can get good bargains here, but only if you are willing to wait for six months to a year before getting a book. These shops are useful for books that I never could find in the store, or never came out in paper, and I still need a copy for my 'reading' shelf.

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