36,000 words. 113 pages. Thousands of tweaks...

36,000 words

104 single-spaced A4 pages of text

9 pages of detailed references

In many areas of business you are encouraged to create a minimum viable product (MVP).

But it certainly doesn’t apply to properly published books.

Over the last few weeks I was editing a fantastic book on mid-life career (and beyond) reorientation. The book is now working through the design stage.

So what goes into the line-edit period of work?

This is the layer most people will associate with the word editing. Looking at spelling, typos, grammar, inconsistencies, etc. Most think about it as spotting mistakes or error, but it is much more than this. Focusing on what improves the reader’s experience of the text so they get the most out of the book.

Thankfully, this manuscript was already in great shape, really well written and clear. The author had picked up on the broader suggestions from the earlier structural edit and had refined their text.

Now it was time to really get into the detail. Remember, this was a text in really good shape. Many hybrid or vanity publishers would have done very little to improve it.

1,329 marked-up refinements to the core text (the 104 pages)

So about thirteen refinements per page. Some, one word or one letter tweaks. Others, meant reordering paragraphs, sentences, lists, etc. Many tweaks were the result of painful inner evaluations: deciding the most powerful way to communicate the core message while retaining the voice of the author.

Then, when the paper text was marked up (old-school approach as the physicality helps me engage with the text in a way that differs from screen work) I went through the text making the tweaks in Word. And still found myself re-evaluating, spotting new things, enjoying the insights again. Many more tweaks were made even as the paper version improvements were transferred.

I was relieved when the author came back happy with the improvements and grateful for untwisting a few of the more complicated bits.

So why not aim low and create a minimum viable product when it comes to a book?

Because this product has a lasting impact. It could sit on someone’s shelf and in their heart for years (when it is valued) or get thrown into the bin resentfully (when the inconsistencies, spelling errors and low quality of content drive the reader mad).

If you have an important message to share, does it benefit from a minimum viable product approach? Or will it achieve its purpose more powerfully when it is cared for, tweaked, refined and carefully nurtured for maximum impact on the audience?