As many of us set our resolutions for the new year, we may be aspiring to finally take the time to write that great idea we’ve had for a novel or draft a memoir. Sometimes, though, our excitement can be clouded by the steps that follow the writing process, or even beyond the stages of editing. After all, most writers aim to publish their work eventually, but what exactly is the path to publication?
How do we go from an idea in our imagination to turning a dream into reality?
Idea
It all begins with our idea, whether that’s a fictional tale, a story from our life, or a message we want to share about a cause or point of research important to us. Whatever your idea, what matters at this stage is that you’ve conceptualized something you would want to read. Imagine that you’re the reader for a moment, and an author approaches you and says they want to write about exactly what you have in mind. Would you be excited to read it when they’re done? If so, embrace that excitement! It’s time to start bringing your idea to life.
For some writers—affectionately known in the writing community as “plotters”—it may be helpful to outline their idea before they begin drafting. If you prefer to simply start drafting, that’s okay, too! It takes courage and determination to conceptualize an idea and commit it to paper…and that’s the very next step.
Drafting
In the words of author Neil Gaiman, “This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until it’s done. It’s that easy, and that hard.”
Drafting is the very first tangible step of the writing process; it’s the first time your story exists in narrative form beyond your mind (not to be confused with outlining). Drafting is when you transform your idea into prose, all the way from start to finish.
If you have notes of your plot or an outline, you can use those to help you get started. However, it’s important to remember that your notes are just that—notes. If, as you start writing, your creative energy starts to lead you in a different direction than what you first envisioned, that’s okay! You can always follow that direction as long as you’d like, then decide during the editing stage if you want to tweak what you’ve written to return to your notes or amend your notes to follow the new direction.
Editing
As you can read in our post on the stages of editing, this is an essential part of every writer’s journey. A fluid stage, it often involves multiple rounds of each type of editing. For example, while many writers can complete some level of a self-edit of their manuscript, working with a professional editor, or even an alpha or beta reader, will likely be necessary at some point. After working with a professional of some kind, you will need to read through your draft again, accepting or rejecting their suggestions…and then you’ll need to read through your manuscript again to see how it flows and assess any more work that may be needed, developmentally or grammatically.
Additionally, if you suspect your manuscript may benefit from using a sensitivity reader’s services, we recommend seeking their support during the developmental editing stage. The feedback of a sensitivity reader could necessitate further research or adjusting portions of your story, which is usually better to do at an alpha stage of editing (see more about sensitivity readers below and in this post).
Sensitivity Readers
Although the services of sensitivity readers are not necessary for every manuscript, there are a multitude of scenarios that may necessitate involving a sensitivity reader at some stage of the self-editing process. These situations, conditions, or topics could include but are not limited to traumas and matters particularly relevant to any marginalized groups. And a sensitivity reader is someone who has experience in a certain situation or condition and understands and is able to communicate areas of misunderstanding, stereotyping, or bias regarding a topic.
In a literary culture that is constantly striving for greater diversity and representation, working with readers who have shared experience with your character(s) is an excellent way to ensure your character’s journey (as impacted by the sensitive topic) is depicted realistically, fairly, and in a manner that’s considerate of the communities they’re part of. Going through this process ahead of querying will help ensure your manuscript is accurately representative of the population(s) of your characters and will thus help you advocate for your manuscript—and its message—much more effectively.
Querying
Once your manuscript is ready to submit, it’s time to write your query letter. A formal letter, typically one page or less, a query is written with the express intent of garnering the interest of the recipient (an agent or editor) in your manuscript. The purpose is to hook the recipient so they follow up with a request to review your manuscript.
Literary agents and acquisitions editors receive dozens—if not hundreds—of queries every day, and most will have their expected response time listed on their website. If, however, that expected response date passes and you still have not received a response, the general consensus of the industry is that it’s completely appropriate to send a follow-up email to ensure your query was received (but we’d recommend waiting until that expected response date has passed by more than a day or two). Unfortunately, though, not every query will receive a response, usually due to the sheer volume in industry professionals’ inboxes. If that happens to your query, try not to take it personally and continue the query process with others…without reacting negatively to those who do not answer your prior queries.
If you do receive a response, it will likely be in the form of an outright rejection, a suggestion to revise and resubmit your work, or a partial manuscript request.
Contract
When you receive an offer from a publisher, we strongly recommend having a lawyer review the rights, terms, and conditions of the contract. A lawyer will be able to explain the parameters the publisher wants to set with you in terms that are much easier to comprehend and may advise you on questions you should ask, too. They’ll also be able to explain if the distribution of profits from your book’s sales are fair–the manuscript wouldn’t exist without you having created it, but the publisher will need to earn back their investment in the book’s production.
Choosing the right publisher for your manuscript can take a tremendous amount of time. On top of the time you’ll spend researching potential publishers to see if they might be the right fit for your manuscript, there’s the time-consuming process on the publisher’s end (i.e., reviewing queries and preparing offers, which can take months). If, in the end, you have a contract that’s fair to all parties, a publishing process with clear deadlines and options for both parties if deadlines aren’t met, and, eventually, a professional and well-bound book, you’ll be able to look back and know it was time well spent. This is a professional decision, but it’s also inherently personal: your manuscript is yours, and the hours you spent writing and editing it are a portion of your life you’ll want to be able to look back on with pride. As much as you may want a publisher to be impressed by and, eventually, proud of your efforts, what’s most important is to make a decision you, too, can be proud of.
Publisher’s Edit
Once you’ve signed a contract, take a moment to celebrate! You’ve just reached a major milestone on the path to publication…but the work isn’t over quite yet.
Every publisher will have a process unique to their in-house work flow and the needs of each manuscript. Generally, you can expect that any publisher you contract with will want to perform an edit on your manuscript prior to publication; if they do not mention performing any edits, you may want to ask them why they’ve decided against doing so. However, we still recommend working through the stages of editing on your own—prior to querying at all—to ensure you’re presenting publishers with polished material; simply put, this shows that you respect their professional efforts and demonstrates your own professionalism. If a publisher ever suggests changes you are not comfortable with though, speak up! Even after a contract has been signed, it is still your manuscript, and most publishers will work with you to ensure you’re comfortable with their edits.
While it will vary by publisher and book, around this point in the process, cover art will be generated, too, which is usually subject to the author’s approval (depending on your contract, of course). Once the edits have been made and accepted by all parties (i.e., the author and publisher), interior formatting will be completed. This includes the margins, indentations, chapter headers, scene breaks, page numbers, and any other header and footer content.
Proofs
Writing, editing, and producing a book is a lengthy process for all involved, and it’s easy to become focused on the end goal: holding a finished book in your hands. In a sense, reaching the stage of printed proofs provides you with that opportunity, but it doesn’t mean the work is finished.
Reviewing a printed proof is the beginning of the final stage of the production work, and it’s a task all involved should set out to complete carefully as they evaluate and consider every aspect of the book, from the cover to every page and line within. Although some proofreading should be done prior to formatting, and even after formatting is complete but prior to printing proofs, another round of proofreading should be done as you review a physical copy of your book.
Your involvement in this stage of production will also vary by publisher; your contract will let you know how much of your voice you can expect them to allow at this stage.
Endorsement Period
For many publishers, once there is a formatted interior and a digital cover, the book will be available for distribution for endorsement and ARC readers. ARC readers, individuals who receive an Advance Review Copy of a book, are an important part of the publication process. Like individuals who provide an endorsement (i.e., a testimonial used on the cover or purchase pages online), ARC readers assist in promotion for the book as well as digital visibility and post-publication reviews. The more people who are excited and talking about a book prior to its release, the higher the likelihood of more sales.
Pre-Order
The exact pre-order period will vary by genre and book, as well as each publisher’s policy and the author’s status within the literary community. For example, first-time authors may expect a different pre-order period length than established authors, which is tied to what the publisher expects regarding sales. However, a shorter or longer pre-order period doesn’t necessarily determine a book’s success; it has more to do with marketing expectations, and you can always ask your publisher to explain their plan for your book if you have any questions.
The pre-order period is important because it helps give each book a “bump” on online retailer sites (ex., the more orders placed prior to release day, the more likely the book is to rank higher on their site). And during the pre-order period, the author can network in person or on social media about their upcoming release and include the information for when and where it will be available for purchase.
Release
Eventually, the pre-order period gives way to release day. If you’ve made it this far, congratulations are in order!
The journey to release day is hardly a short one, and getting to this point requires a tremendous amount of creativity, tenacity, and patience. Remember, though–reaching this point is only possible because of a decision you made to honor a commitment you made to yourself to write a book.
Persevering through draft after draft, weighing multiple professional opinions as well as peer-based feedback, and navigating your way through an industry rife with rejection and revision isn’t easy…but it can be done.
Every published author simply began as a person with an idea. If your New Year’s resolution this year is to put that idea on paper, we encourage you to go for it and wish you all the best. How you write the next chapter? Well, that’s up to you.
Josha Publishing, LLC 