From Editor to Author: The Journey of Writing a Book
By Lourdes Venard and Christine Steele
When we first floated the idea for a book in 2021, neither of us imagined it would be nearly six years before The Collaborative Editor reached readers. We knew in theory that writing a book could take years. What we didn’t know was how those years would unfold: the proposals and revisions, the rounds of feedback, and the many “final” drafts. Since we began, many fellow editors have asked us what the process really looks like.
Writing a book was quite an adventure. The process taught us a great deal about persistence, commitment, collaboration, and bringing a vision to life. Here’s a look at the milestones, the people who helped us shape the manuscript and what it took to get from concept to those “final, final, final” versions. That’s a fun discussion for another day!
2021: Christine shared with Lourdes and our manager in the UC San Diego copyediting certificate program that she wanted to write a book on the “art of writing author queries.” The program was not able to include everything about querying, so what if more could be shared in a book, like a “one-stop shop” for how to effectively query? That was Christine’s initial vision.
June 2023: Christine signed on with a book coach to get help with writing the book proposal, which took three months. It was 20 pages.
July–August 2023: Lourdes first became involved in the project by suggesting to Christine that they present together on querying at the ACES 2023 virtual conference.
Early September 2023: Christine sent the first version of the book proposal to Mary E. Laur, executive editor at the University of Chicago Press (UCP), and invited her to watch our related session at the ACES virtual conference.
Late September 2023: After watching our ACES presentation, which drew 483 attendees, Mary emailed Christine that she was interested in the book but with a broader focus on “building a good author-editor relationship.” How to write effective author queries was an excellent topic but not enough for a book. She asked if other topics could be considered, such as maintaining cultural sensitivity in feedback and even the use of artificial intelligence.
November 2023: Lourdes officially came on board as a coauthor, and we were asked to revise the proposal. We each knew we could bring different perspectives and editing experiences, which we hoped would make this book a better resource for all editors.
January 2024: We sent the new proposal, now 28 pages, with Lourdes’ bio and a revised outline of chapters. We were also asked to provide our resumes and a sample written chapter.
February 2024: After more feedback from Mary, we sent her another revision. UCP then sent the proposal to peer reviewers for feedback.
June 2024: We received the peer feedback, which was key in helping us plan our chapters and topics. We were required to address it in an official response. We didn’t need to incorporate every piece of feedback into our book, but we did need to explain what we felt was supportive and why other suggestions did not fit our vision.
July 2024: We were invited to sign the contract. Then we literally broke out the champagne and texted each other selfies!
July 2024–July 2025: We continued researching and writing the manuscript. We interviewed dozens of editors and writers from the United States, Canada, Australia, the UK, and Portugal who provided valuable insights about the editor-writer relationship.
March–July 2025: We had cartoonist and fellow editor Iva Cheung in mind to do some cartoons for our book, and Mary also was excited about the concept. We reached out to Iva, and she agreed to meet with us via Zoom. She understood our vision, and over the next few months we went back and forth on ideas. We found that reviewing her cartoons added an enjoyable dimension to the process. The output: three cartoons we think our readers will love! They preface each of the three sections in the book.
August 2025: We paid four beta readers to give us feedback on our initial manuscript. We then spent the next few months making more changes based on the feedback.
November 2025: We sent our “final” manuscript to Mary. Plot twist: This was by no means the final version, and our book’s title and subtitle also evolved.
March 2026: Through UCP, three more peer reviewers gave feedback. It was positive and supportive, and we made more changes based on the comments. We were also required to respond to this peer feedback in another official report. At this point, we thought of a tentative title, but we were still working on the subtitle, with helpful input from Mary.
April 1, 2026: April Fools’ Day but not a joke: Our manuscript still needed to go through two more approvals, and we received the first approval from the Editorial Committee on this day. The second approval was two weeks later from the Board of University Publications. By now, we had decided on our final title and subtitle. We came up with both and everyone liked them.
May 2026: We worked with Mary and her assistant, Andrea Blatz, to prepare our manuscript for copyediting. This required removing all graphics, tables, and other illustrations, and sending them as separate files. We received a developmental edit from Mary. At the same time, we secured an indexer and a proofreader (authors must pay for these services on their own).
May–July 2026: We were connected with the publicist for UCP. In addition to filling out a detailed author questionnaire, which asked for our bios, influencers we knew to help promote the book and what chapters we could build on for separate article promotions, we also lined up photographers for updated headshots. We didn’t plan it, but we were so in sync that we both ended up wearing green blouses to our photo shoots!
July–August 2026: UCP assigned our copyeditor. She spent seven weeks with our manuscript, after which we reviewed more than 500 comments and edits (including substantive changes) over six lengthy video meetings on the weekends (the longest one was five hours). We “finalized” the manuscript late on a Sunday. We agreed the overall experience was an exhausting but thought-provoking one. Throughout the process, the two of us had been editing each other’s chapters, and now we were once again being edited by each other, along with a third editor. We went back and forth on many edits and even pushed back on some (something we tell our own writers they can do).
August 31, 2026: The same day we turned in our completed manuscript, we were surprised to be presented with a first look at our cover. We had been asked for some direction and what we might be interested in. We each pulled books off our shelves to look at covers we liked, and these helped inform our suggestions. We were pleased to see how thoughtfully the designer incorporated our feedback, and we immediately loved the result and gave our approval.
September 2026: Our book went up for preorder! It won’t be available until spring 2027, approximately seven to eight months after the announcement. By the standards of this timeline, that’s practically overnight.
Still to come: Our hard work is not done, but we think this will be the fun part. We’re awaiting typeset pages to proof (and to send to our indexer). We’re planning a marketing strategy and thinking of fun giveaways we might offer. In the next year, we will give presentations about our book (some already scheduled) and are developing our PowerPoint template for it. We also want to schedule book launch celebrations, virtually and in person.
Editors spend so much of their time helping other people bring their words into the world. If you have a book idea of your own, consider making room for it. You already know how much care goes into shaping words and ideas for readers. Now you might discover what it feels like to bring your own ideas to readers. You never know where that first step might lead.
The Collaborative Editor: How to Build Trust with Writers Through Queries and Other Communications publishes in May 2027 through the University of Chicago Press.
Lourdes Venard, a longtime ACES member, has more than forty years of experience in the writing and editing field. She has worked at several major newspapers and an education nonprofit as an editor and has edited over 200 books as a freelance book editor. Venard is co-lead instructor, with Christine Steele, for the University of California, San Diego Division of Extended Studies’ copyediting certificate program.
Christine Steele, a lifetime ACES member, past board member, and now an ACES staff member, has thirty years of experience in editing and writing, twelve of them in financial services. She has freelanced as an editor and writer and has edited books on fiction, nonfiction and sculpture art. Steele is co-lead instructor, with Lourdes Venard, for the University of California, San Diego Division of Extended Studies’ copyediting certificate program.