Writers: every new draft should come with notes

If you write for a living — especially long-form material like ghostwritten chapters for a nonfiction book — then you have to tell your clients about what they’re reading.

I just turned in 60,000 words — the second draft — of a ghostwritten book. There’s no way I’d lay a huge lump of prose like this on a client without context.

Just as each editorial pass comes with an edit memo, each draft you deliver should come with notes.

What to include in your notes

When you deliver a draft, help your reviewers by including the following in your notes:

• Your deadline. When are the reviews of this draft due back?
• Responsibilities of reviewers. What do you expect from each reviewer? For example, indicate who is responsible for a technical review, a legal review, or a review for grammatical correctness. In the project I just handed in, one reviewer is responsible for “voice,” that is, making sure the text sounds like the author’s other work.
• Instructions on how to treat redlines and comments. I typically mark up second and subsequent drafts using Microsoft Word track changes so that reviewers can see what’s changed. I explain that the primary reviewer should accept or reject my changes, and that if they don’t indicate disagreement, I’ll assume they accept them. I also include reactions to their previous comments.
• Explanations of what changed. There are typically both global and local issues that were raised in a previous draft. You should explicitly note how you addressed them in your accompanying notes. For example, if you changed terminology, reorganized chapters, or added graphics based on comments in previous drafts, you should explicitly note those change in the notes with the new draft.
• Commentary on problem areas. There are always places where I’ve made choices that the reader may not agree with. And there may be other passages where I know there are problems. I mark each of these with comments. And for major issues that remain unresolved, I include commentary in the notes I send with the draft. (If you’re a decent writer, there should be very few items like this.) Concealing issues is malpractice; you must clarify where the problems are so that you and your clients can resolve them in future drafts.

Communication is essential

As in any other project, communication about the work is essential. As the writer, you’re responsible for communicating clearly what you did, and what you expect from reviewers.

Explain your work and expose your weaknesses. The project will benefit. And your clients will respect you for it.