6.6 lOCk iN yOUr MANUSCriPT: COPyEDiTiNg “Remember, Grammar Nazis: it’s YOU’RE going to die alone.” —daMien fahey To be perfectly clear: when we say you need “a finished manuscript” to start the publishing process, we don’t just mean a document that’s pretty close to your finished book. We don’t mean a file with only a few typos left. We mean a finished manuscript. It’s crucial that you get as much of that work out of the way as possi- ble before starting the publishing process. Adding a paragraph now, rather than after the interior layout is finished means the difference between a few minutes and a few hours of work. This is NOT hyperbole. Getting your manuscript locked prior to publishing often translates to thousands of dollars of savings. It’s worth taking the time to lock everything in thoroughly. lOCk iN yOUr MANUSCriPT: COPyEDiTiNg · 233