The following arrangement approximates the stages of various materials generated in the process of creative writing, usually aimed at and culminating in publication.
The creative process comprises six stages:
- Preliminary Creative Process
- Refinement and Submission to Publisher
- Publication and After
- Physically Related Publication Materials
- Conceptually Related Materials
- Adaptations and Derivative Works
1. The Preliminary Creative Process
Outlines
Prospectuses
Background materials (includes: clippings, audiotapes, transcripts of interviews, printed items, list of characters and scenes, etc.)
Research notes (includes: notebooks, notecards, library call slips, etc.)
Preliminary studies and sketches
Drafts
Drafts may be ordered according to the author’s annotations [even if all drafts are not extant], or artificially in cases that require differentiation between drafts, using: first draft, second draft, etc.; early draft, later draft; draft A, B, C, etc.; draft I, II, III, etc.
The following descriptions are used principally to distinguish the physical characteristics of drafts, but have come to be used as complete descriptions in themselves. (e.g., if a single version of a poem exists, it is not necessary to distinguish it as “Title, draft, autograph manuscript”; it is sufficient to use “Title, autograph manuscript.” Note that it is often not possible to know whether or not an item is in fact a draft.)
Occasionally, drafts combine two or more of these descriptors (e.g. Autograph manuscript and typescript, corrected).
Autograph manuscript
Autograph manuscript, corrected
Typescript
Typescript, corrected
Typescript carbon
Typescript carbon, corrected
Typescript (photocopy)
Typescript (photocopy), corrected
Typescript mimeograph
Typescript mimeograph, corrected
Printouts from digital files (diskettes containing the files can be listed separately, if kept with collection)
Printouts from digital files, corrected
Draft fragments
Excisions/Deletions
Additions/Lists of corrections
2. Refinement and Submission to Publisher
Rejection notices
Acceptance notices
Reader’s reports
Drafts
In the stage of refining a draft for publication, the same categories as defined above exist, with the introduction of new types of drafts corrected per editorial or typesetting input, thus:
Autograph manuscript, corrected, with editor’s annotations (and/or proofreaders’ marks and/or printer’s annotations)
Typescript, corrected, with editor’s annotations (and/or proofreaders’ marks and/or printer’s annotations)
Typescript carbon, corrected, with editor’s annotations (and/or proofreaders’ marks and/or printer’s annotations)
Typescript (photocopy), corrected, with editor’s annotations (and/or proofreaders’ marks and/or printer’s annotations)
Typescript mimeograph, corrected, with editor’s annotations (and/or proofreaders’ marks and/or printer’s annotations)
Excisions/Deletions
Additions/Lists of corrections
(Previously published version used for new setting)
Setting copy
Galley proofs, copy 1, 2, 3, etc.
Galley proofs, corrected, copy 1, 2, 3, etc.
Galley proofs, corrected, with printer’s annotations, copy 1, 2, 3, etc.
Paste-ups
Mechanicals, blues, repros, etc.
Page proofs, copy 1, 2, 3, etc.
Page proofs, corrected, copy 1, 2, 3, etc.
Page proofs, corrected, with printer’s annotations, copy 1, 2, 3, etc.
Page proofs, bound, copy 1, 2, 3, etc.
Page proofs, bound, corrected, copy 1, 2, 3, etc.
Page proofs, bound, corrected, with printer’s annotations, copy 1, 2, 3, etc.
Abstracts
Synopses
For shorter works, including essays, short stories, articles, monographs, festschrifts, pamphlets, brochures, etc., the following categories apply:
Offprints
Tear sheets
Printed version
3. Publication and After
Published book or first printing
Annotated, copy 1, 2, 3, etc.
Inscribed, copy 1, 2, 3, etc.
Corrected for second edition, copy 1, 2, 3, etc.
Serialized version
Printout or digitally published version
4. Physically Related Publication Materials
Graphics (including photographs, illustrations, drawings, prints, maps, charts, graphs, book cover designs, etc.)
Book covers
Dust jackets
Advertisements (including publisher’s prospectuses, subscription forms, inserts, handbills, flyers, posters, etc.)
Playbills
Programs
5. Conceptually Related Materials
Press releases and other publicity material
Book reviews
Performance notices
Performance reviews
Photographs (stills)
Best-seller lists
Awards
Study outlines
Legal records
Contracts (including permission to produce, translate, etc.)
Copyright materials
Business records
Author’s fees
Production fees
Royalties
Business correspondence with author(s), editor(s), publisher(s), etc.
Fan mail
Comment cards
Commentaries
6. Adaptations and Derivative Works
Translations (i.e. translations of the author’s work into another language. Works by other parties that are translated by the author are treated as separate works.)
Drafts
Translator’s note
Dramatizations (e.g. for radio, television, stage and film. Often, a dramatization is an almost completely new work and may be treated as a separate entity.)
Scripts
Drafts
Performance reviews
Sound recordings
Photographs (stills)
Video recordings