As you submit portions of the manuscript, you may also receive suggestions from your editor. I worked with a few editors, and for the most part, their suggestions were minor and I was in complete agreement, so this part of the process for me went pretty smoothly. You may also need to work with an illustrator. In my book, I have a techniques section that includes drawings of twelve basic techniques that are used throughout the projects in the book. This was challenging since I don't draw that well, but I had to scratch out an image or scan in something to send to the illustrator. Again, I was lucky because she was super talented and familiar with some of the basics of jewelry making. We had to talk on the phone a few times to go over the drawings and make corrections, but they were very minor.
Finally, you will be required to proof and possibly make more editorial changes to your book a few times. One major change that occurred in my book after I had already written it all had to do with the measurements included. Rockport decided to distribute the book in the U.S. and also in the U.K., so this meant I had to include measurements in inches as well as centimeters. I also had to include information about the different way the size of wire is referred to in Europe. So, I had to add all this additional information and then double check that it was added correctly.
It took a year for my book to be completed, and obviously, I wasn't the only person working on it, so you can imagine how involved the process can be. Hopefully, I've cleared up a few questions you may have had, and while it is a great deal of work, the final result, for me at least, is well worth the effort.
For more information about writing and publishing, you may want to read through About.com's Freelance Writer's site.
