You want to publish your book.
I did, too. It happened, and the more I learn, the more I realize having an English major doesn't prepare you to be a published author.
Here's what they don't teach you in school about what it takes to survive in the...
Congratulations reaching the end of your novel! It's been quite an adventure, hasn't it? All those words are on a page and now you want to take steps to being published. With this post, I'm going to save you a lot of time, money, and mental overwhelm by outlining steps you need to take to get your novel from Word document to a physical book that looks awesome.
If you have a specific question about book publishing, please come fill out my google form and get a free story structure guideline to help you edit by coming to my website:http://www.sswriter.com/what-do-you-want-to-know-about-book-publishing-after-nanowrimo/ (Wattpad doesn't allow links, so you'll have to put that into your browser to view, or come to the home page on sswriter.com!)
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Resist The Urge To Publish Immediately
I know. It's really, really hard. It's so easy to just shoot your book off to the press through Amazon Createspace, but I want you to resist this urge with everything in you! Your writing career is important. Releasing a quickly made product could permanently damage your public image.
I want you to be successful. Take a deep breath and get ready to put in the grunt work to do something great. It pays off. Trust me.
Separate yourself from your book from a week, then download it to your Kindle or other favorite reading device. Read it like you would a library book. Take notes on your story. What needs to change? Go back to your original document and make those story changes.
Then gather your support team. Get your friends who can be honest with you, a complete stranger (that's dedicated), or another person you trust that isn't a family member. (As much as they want to help, family may coddle you instead of telling you the truth about your story.) Ask these people to read your book and give you honest feedback. If people think your book sucks, wouldn't you rather know now than before it's published or you try to send it to agents and editors?
I know it's hard, but try not to take this feedback personally. Approach this as a way to make your story the strongest it can be. Your writing career, your future readers, and your final book absolutely need this kind of work!
Then, once you've crafted in the feedback (that you deem acceptable) from your early readers, it's time to begin assembling the "extras" for your book. What are the extras? They include the following:
Gathering The Book Extras
Back cover description. Whether you're going to self-publish or query editors and agents, you'll need this piece. It'll either go straight to the back of your book or end up being the hook of your query letter. Be sure to keep your back cover description short and to the point. 100-200 words will work!
Pro tip:Before you start, research other books in your genre that are selling well. Study their back cover descriptions and see if you can follow the same structure for your book.
