An eventful Pyrenean day
Yesterday morning, I awoke to a beautiful view of the Pyrenees cloaked in snow. In the evening, I discovered that my book, ‘The Pyrenees: A Human History’, is available for pre-order on various Amazon websites. This was rather unexpected, bearing in mind that the definitive text had only been sent off for typesetting the previous day, and I am still discussing the final choice of illustrations with my editor.
The Pyrenees, viewed from the my bedroom window - how could I not be inspired to write a book about them?
Having already published two books with Troubador, I thought I had a reasonable understanding of how the business worked, but collaborating with Yale University Press is several leagues higher in the publishing firmament. If you are curious about how a book goes from an idea to a finished product, here is a quick summary.
I’ll skip the three years I spent researching and writing before I was able to secure a publishing contract. Instead, I’ll focus on the steps involved in turning my text into a published book. First, I had written too many words and Yale asked me to cut them by 20%. That required considerable reflection and took me three months. Then, the shortened manuscript went off for peer review by two mystery historians chosen by Yale. Their perceptive observations and suggestions helped me to improve my manuscript still further – which took another month or so. Next, one of Yale’s copyeditors went through the entire text on the lookout for dubious syntax, stray accents, word repetition and so on. It took me a week to deal with his feedback. Then, a few final checks by a more senior editor, and the text was sent off for typesetting last Monday.
Starting towards the end of February, both I and a Yale proofreader will spend many hours studying the typeset pages for any glitches, word by word (Yale’s schedule allocates me a month for this task and I may need it). Then, and only then, ‘The Pyrenees: A Human History’ will be ready to go to press. In parallel with this rigorous process, I have been compiling the book’s index and learning why ‘indexer’ is a recognised profession.
I could not have hoped to work with a more professional team than Yale University Press. Assuming we have all done an excellent job, none of this detailed work will be evident to the reader. Most of us tend to notice the presence of errors rather than the absence of flaws. Of course, a faultless book isn’t necessarily an interesting book, so what is mine about? You can read a short summary on most Amazon websites, or find a more detailed overview HERE.
‘The Pyrenees: A Human History’ will be published in hardback by Yale University Press in London on 25 August 2026, and in New Haven, Connecticut on 8 September 2026. It is available for pre-order now. EBook formats will probably appear before then, along with the ‘read sample’ feature on Amazon. Oh, and the paperback will be out sometime in 2027.
Meanwhile, back to that pesky index, although I cannot add the page numbers until the book has been typeset.
