Thursday, August 27, 2009

7 steps to publishing your book

I've been an editor for several years, and during that time I've written, edited and published two books of my own. So I have some small idea of what it takes to get published. For aspiring authors with completed manuscripts, or dreamers who are still making notes, keep these 7 tips in mind as you begin the publishing process.

1) Don't rush! Take your time, write a first draft. Then put it away for 3 months and come back very critically. Write it again, and again. Most authors are excited about what should be their 'rough draft' - get it professionally edited (which fixes the little stuff like typos when the big stuff is so much more important) and then send it out. If your amazing title/novel/non-fiction book idea gets rejected because you hurried the process, you won't be able to pitch it to the same people later on!

2) Look at the forest, not the trees. Look at the big picture. The timeline, the story, the overall message. Make sure your story matters; the story is important for readers - readers will stick with a good story even if the writing is terrible. Likewise, if your writing is GREAT but you make crucial errors in plot, timing, characterization etc... you will lose your readers. Don't worry about specific passages or words, worry about what happens, and why, and why it MATTERS.

3) Create conflict! Good stories are never be about nice, beautiful things. They are about challenge and growth. Even if you don't like the idea of a 'format' - you should have characters that face obstacles, enemies, hardships, challenges. These should GET WORSE throughout the book. Nothing should be resolved until the very, very end. Show readers the very worst possible thing that could happen - and then make it happen!

4) Have realistic characters. If you're writing a historical piece - research exactly how people talked during that time; don't guess. For anything modern or current, make sure the character sounds believable. When people talk to each other, we usually use very simple words. If you wouldn't say it to a friend while chatting online, don't have your character say it (unless you mean them to sound pretentious!) Also make sure your characters do things for a reason, and that whatever they are doing is very important to them.

5) Focus on your plot. Every scene needs to have something that happens to further the plot. No exceptions. Everything the characters see, do, say, touch or feel must be relevant to the final outcome of the story (it should lead to greater conflict, and then final resolution). Most writers have very pleasant or well-written scenes that break this rule. Once you've begun your story, readers are interested in what's going to happen with the main plot - subplots are only allowed if they are absolutely necessary for the conclusion of the main plot. If it doesn't bring the story into more conflict or closer to resolution, it's a detour and readers will hate it - I know it's tough but it must be cut out.

6) Make it marketable. This includes having a brilliant title, awesome chapter headings, electric openings and thrilling chapter conclusions. You'll also need a perfect query letter. There are lots of resources on the internet about these things. Before you even begin to look for agents or publishers, you MUST present a finished, professional final package. While your package will be of no use without a great book as well - having a great book without such a package is just as useless. A non-fiction book proposal is more demanding, but also easier to get accepted. The trick is research, preparation and diligence; not as much fun as writing but twice as important if you want to get published.

7) Agents, then publishers. There is no rule on who to submit to; but my advice is agents first, publishers later. Agents are only interested in potentially best-selling books, which will generate enough profit for them to make decent cut. Agents will help get your book into a bigger publishing house, for more money - and that's great. So by all means, contact all the agents in the world (that are reputable and deal with your genre or subject matter) and wait at least 1 month to hear from them. If they all reject you, don't fret. It can mean one of two things:

1) Your book isn't good enough. Triple check it, have an editor or book club review it and make it better.

2) Your book isn't 'mainstream' enough. If you know your book is brilliant, but you recognize that it isn't for everybody, then there's a reason agents don't want you. Look for a publishing house that has published similar titles. Any small publishing house is fine - getting it 'published' by anybody will carry more weight for your career later than self publishing it, it will also give you a huge confidence boost. Don't worry about the money for the first book. Concentrate on learning the business of publishing and getting your book in print; after you've succeeded once, you can do it again.

Never, never, never give up!
There is someone out there who wants to read what you want to write - but at the same time, make sure you learn your craft well enough to make it worth their time.