You’ve done it! What now? You’ve published a book. You may feel overwhelmed or confused by the steps involved in getting a book printed. Read on to find out how to successfully navigate these.
Your Story Perfected
Before you begin to talk with publishers, you should perfect your story. You should not be satisfied with just finishing the book, though you should be. It’s your only chance to impress a publishing house, so make sure that you have everything you want in the book before sending it.
After you have finished your story, put it aside for a couple of weeks. Then go back to it and re-read it. Edit, rewrite, kill darlings and make it the best you can. If you can, send it to a group of critics and edit it over and over again.
Hire a Copy Editor
When your book is the way you want it, it’s now time to hire a copyeditor. They know all the things you don’t need to know about punctuation and grammar. They can correct all of your dangling parts and know where to put the commas.
A copy editor can be a vital part of the preparation for publishing. A manuscript with many grammatical mistakes will not impress publishers. Hire a copy editor to help you get your manuscript into good grammatical condition.
Define Your Audience
The most difficult part of pre-publishing is defining your audience. While you are writing and editing your book, you must fall in love. Then you will fall out of love again.
It’s important to think carefully about the audience you want to target. Focus on the audience that will pay $25 for your book.
Check Your Publishing Options
Depending on the book, you have a choice of three different publishing options: The Big Five, Small Publishers, or Self-Publishing. The answer depends on your target audience.
A Big 5 publisher may be right for you if your book is a bestseller and has a global impact (and be honest about it). Small publishing houses are a great option if your target audience is more of a niche market. They can help you reach them more directly and earn more money.
Self-publishing with companies such as Instant Publishing is a great option if your main goal in publishing the book is to get it out there, rather than make money.
Please read the submission guidelines
The best way to improve your chances of getting your book published is to carefully read the submission guidelines. Each publisher has different submission requirements, so you must follow these to the letter.
Many publishers, especially the bigger ones, will simply ignore your submission if you don’t include the pieces that they asked for. Even if they look at your submission, you will make a stronger impression if you adhere to the guidelines.
How to Get a Book Published: Steps You Can Follow
It can be daunting to write a book, but even more so to get it published. If you follow these steps, you will find the right publisher to publish your book.