1. Elspeth Male
April 18, 2012
Mrs. Corbett
AP Lit
Senior Speech
When my mother first tried to teach me to read it was a long and arduous process. I
stubbornly resisted and to this day I am still not sure why. She would try to strike bargains with
me by saying, “You read a page and I’ll read a page.” I countered with, “I’ll read a sentence and
you read two pages.” Luckily my mother was persistent and one day a love of reading was
instilled in me. Somewhere between Junie B. Jones and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
everything clicked and I have been passionately reading ever since. For my senior project I
wanted to see if I could take this love of reading a step further.
Hello, my name is Elspeth Male and for my senior project I edited and helped to publish
my friend Morgan Hughley’s book. Since I love to read and I would like to translate that into a
career, when my friend announced she was writing a book for her senior project it seemed
perfect for me to edit her book and assist her through the steps of publishing. I am the co-editor
of our school’s yearbook and although I know what editing a yearbook is like, I wanted to see if I
could transfer and build upon this skill through book editing. I knew this would be a good way to
test out if a career in publishing would be appealing to me.
Before I started my project I researched how book publication has changed and
modernized over the centuries. From the original printing press of Gutenberg in the 1440s in
Germany to the online publications we have today, publishing has grown through leaps and
bounds. Now instead of only religious or informative texts being produced, there is mass

2. production all over the world. Any author can self-publish themself and have their work seen by
all without necessarily needing the help of a large publishing house. E-readers and E-books have
become a focal point of modern day culture. In Britain alone the number of E-books sales rose
623% between January and June of 2011. With this proof that publishing electronically was a
viable option, Morgan and I set out to finish her book and make it ready for publication.
My product for the senior project is the book that I have edited. I love to read but it
bothers me when there are errors in books or I feel like something has not been properly
developed. I think a career where I edit books and make them the best they can be is a perfect
choice for me. The actual editing that goes into a book is tremendous. First Morgan and I chose a
project facilitator who had experience in the area of book publishing. Farris Yawn owns the
bookstore Yawn’s Books & More in downtown Canton. He, along with his wife and mother, has
run the store along with a small publishing company on the side for almost ten years. They have
published many books by local authors along with other seniors’ senior projects. Once a month,
Mr. Yawn would hold meetings at his store to learn of our progress. He would check to make
sure everyone was reaching the deadlines they set for themselves and then introduce us to guest
authors. The guest authors would give us tips on writing, editing and publishing based on their
experiences with the process. Seeing the development of a book through the author’s eyes was
always interesting. Next came the actual editing of the book. Morgan would send me sections of
her book, normally about fifteen pages, for me to edit and then send back to her. I developed a
routine as to how I would view the book. I would first re-read the entire story that had come
before the new section and then I would read the new section to familiarize myself with the
storyline. During this first viewing I would correct any obvious grammar mistakes that I saw.
The second time I read through the chapter I was looking for continuity and to make sure there

3. were no holes in the story line. Everything needed to flow naturally. I would correct awkward
sentences or tell Morgan when situations needed to be explained in greater depth to accurately
portray what the characters were feeling or experiencing. Also, I corrected any additional
grammar or spelling mistakes. Morgan and I completed this transaction numerous times until I
had read all of her book. After doing the book in stages, I read it one additional time in its
entirety to make certain everything flowed. All that was left at this point were the finishing
touches. I took the pictures for the cover and back of the novel and Morgan designed the cover.
With this complete, we went to Kinkos and had the book printed and bound.
The main problem that I experienced was meeting the deadlines Morgan and I set along
with Mr. Yawn. Morgan wrote sixty pages during the summer and beginning of the school year
so I was able to get started quickly. I edited the first pages by October. However, once school
started, Morgan was not able to write as much due to class loads and homework. I did not
receive my next set of pages until February. Morgan did not completely finish writing the book
until the beginning of April. We had initially wanted to publish the book as a hardcover and an
E-book but as the book was not written in time we had to compromise and print the book at
Staples. We, however, still uploaded the book to Amazon to be an E-book. My one regret is that
I did not have as much time as I wished to edit the book and spend time doing numerous full
reads. I believe that if I went into editing as a career this could be a problem I would encounter.
However, I now have experience dealing with encroaching deadlines and working under
pressure.
I learned a great deal about the publishing process as a whole throughout my project. I
was able to see the process of creating a book through the eyes of an editor and an author
whenever I helped Morgan. Checking facts, storylines and grammar is a much more strenuous

4. job than I had anticipated. Reading a book for pleasure and reading a book looking for errors are
two completely different experiences. It becomes your mission to make sure your book does not
contain even one small error. Editing is a painstaking job but I found out I really love to do it. I
think editing is a definite career option for me. I have always said I would like to read for the rest
of my life and now it seems like a distinct possibility.
I believe the senior project has helped me focus in on what I want my future career to be.
Book editing was a lengthy and at times tedious process but it made me even more proud of our
final product. Next time I pick up a book I will be even more thankful for all the hard work that
has gone into its creation, not just by the author, but also by the editor. We should all appreciate
what true works of art books are. Thank you for your time. Are there any questions?