Who does what on a book: editor, proofreader, typesetter, designer

Look at the copyright page of a published book and you may see a list of names with titles next to them. People outside publishing often wonder what they all do. Here is a plain guide.

The author

Writes the text. Owns the ideas and the words. The book exists because of them.

The publisher

The company or person who decides to make the book, organises the work, and puts it into the world. A publisher takes responsibility for the book as a finished product: quality, printing, selling and getting it to readers. The details of the arrangement depend on the agreement with the author.

The commissioning editor

Chooses which books to publish. Reads manuscripts, decides what fits the list, and works with the author on direction. In a small press this might be the same person as the publisher.

The developmental editor

Works on the big picture of the text: structure, pacing, characters, argument. Suggests changes that make the book stronger as a whole.

The line editor

Polishes the language, sentence by sentence. Smooths the rhythm and clears up unclear passages.

The copyeditor

Checks grammar, spelling, punctuation and consistency. Keeps a style sheet so that choices are the same throughout. Also queries facts, dates and names.

The proofreader

Reads the typeset pages one last time to catch remaining errors. They compare the pages to the final text and mark any mistakes.

The typesetter or layout designer

Turns the text into pages. Chooses and applies fonts, margins, spacing, chapter openings and page numbers. A good typesetter makes the text comfortable to read, and handles special requirements like Hindi text, tables or images.

The cover designer

Creates the cover, including the front, spine and back. The cover is the book's first impression, so the designer needs to understand the book and the reader.

The illustrator

Draws or paints images for the cover or inside pages. Common in children's books, and in some non-fiction.

The indexer

For some non-fiction books, creates the index at the back. A good index makes the book usable as a reference.

The printer

Prints and binds the books. They advise on paper, sizes and finishing, and produce the physical copies.

The marketing and publicity team

Tell readers the book exists. They write descriptions, contact reviewers, plan events and run campaigns. In small presses this is often shared among a few people.

The distributor and the bookseller

Distributors get books into shops and online stores. Booksellers display and sell them.

One person, many hats

At a small press or in self-publishing, one person may do several of these jobs. That is fine. What matters is that each task is actually done, and that someone other than the author checks the work.

Skipping a role does not make the work disappear. It means the job is not done, and readers will notice the gap.