The Book Process
by Marie Grossett

I've got surprising news for you! Now take a deep breath before I tell you this, ready....it can take up to a year, yes a year for your book to be on the market.

'A year...why so long?' I hear your stunned question.

Well once you have handed in your book to a publisher there is still a lot of work to do.

'What else is there?' You may be wondering. Well let me take you through to some of the exhausting but rewarding book processes.

Once you have submitted your manuscript to a publisher it goes through to acquisitions. These are the 'gatekeepers' who decide whether your manuscript is good enough to be published with them. Let's just say in this instance you got accepted this is where the work really begins.

You are then assigned to an Editor; their job is to critique your work not just check for a few grammatical errors and spelling mistakes here and there. They might advise you to rewrite a paragraph or maybe even a chapter just for enhancement. I remember the time when my Editor advised me to reorganise the chapters and to rewrite a character's quote, (just when I thought my manuscript was finished), but I knew her advice was for my own good and would improve the content of my book.

So when your Editor gives you constructive criticism don't go into a strop, if you really disagree with what they are advising you reason with them into why you disagree, otherwise just do as they say remember they are the professionals. By the way you are given a deadline of when they want the rewrites by if they don't get it back on time production to your book will stop.

Next you are assigned to a designer who will create your cover. The book cover is vital as that is what readers are instantly attracted to. The designer I had wanted me to describe how I would like the cover, once I gave him a description he emailed me back with three potential cover designs, I chose the one suited for my book.

When you are thinking about cover designs make it relevant to your book. Also think about the colour scheme, what picture or anime are you going to use. It's important not to overlook the cover design and do any old thing just to save time. Remember this is the first thing people see and besides you've spent a look of time writing your book you might as well spend the time making it look good.

You then get the manuscript posted out to you into a book format with the cover design before it is bonded together and guess what you have to do now? Yes more proof reading, checking for spelling and grammatical errors. This will be your final time checking through the manuscript so get someone else to also check before you hand it back to the publishers.

Once it goes back to the publishers it is bonded together, you will be given a release date on when your book will be available to the public.

But in the meantime you can buy copies of your book and start promoting. This is where the marketing begins, it is important that you produce a marketing plan, which could include the following:-
Having a book signing event. See if your local bookstore will allow you to do this. Invite friends, family, or trusted associates to your book signing.
Sending out a press release to your local newspaper concerning your book.
Spreading the word on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.
Holding seminars on a topic you are an expert in, there you could promote your book.

These are just some marketing ideas. I told you the process can be exhausting but you don't have to do it alone you will need all the support and encouragement you can get. So you still want to be a professional author? I hope the answer to this is still yes, even though it's a long process and coffee has become your best friend when the finish product lands in your hand you can hold you head up high and say 'I've made it.'








Marie Grossett aka Vanessa Grossett is a published Author, and has interviewed best selling and award winning Christian Authors.

She is a Literary Agent at The Authors Care Services ltd. www.theauthorscare.co.uk [email protected]

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com







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