Time seems to pass by me like its the wind, very fast and hardly noticed lol. I finally finished the first round of edits of my book, Mother of the Dragons. I changed a few things to improve on the story. I plan on making another round of edits and look for it to be finished by the first of the year. Then the fun part begins--looking for a publisher. For those who know this part of writing knows this isn't fun. There is so much that needs to be done. A writer has to research, finding the right publisher for that particular book. If the genre isn't right for the publisher, they will return it without even reading it. They know the genre by reading the query letter the writer first sends them. Each publisher has a list of guidelines they want writers to follow. They list what they want, word count they are looking for, some want agented authors and some don't care either way. They are looking for manuscripts that have already been edited by the writer. They look at the targeted audience. If they just published a book on vampires and your book is about the same thing, they may turn you down. If the pages have a scent or come with gifts, they will turn the book down because they don't take bribes. They want to be won over by a great story and they are hoping its right there in your story so give it to them without the frills. Dazzle them with your words! Writers don't include a photo of themselves unless they are asked for them too.
Writers recieve many rejections for many reasons before finding a publisher who will accept the manuscript. This is time consuming. A contract must be drawn up, reviewed and sent to the author either by mail or by email. Then the author will review the contract, sign it (keeping a copy for their records--signed too) and send the copy back to the publisher. From there, the publisher will begin designing a cover and editing the story. This is real time consuming so the author will begin another book as he/she waits to hear back from the designer and editor. Some publishers ask the author what he/she visions on the cover, some don't (they will let you know if they want your opinion--otherwise, don't volunteer). A sample of the cover will be sent to the author for review and acceptance. If he/she doesn't like it, the cover is refused and a new cover is designed until everyone approves it--the publisher has the final say. The editor will work on the manuscript making suggestions for a better flow, settings, context, characters, etc. The editor will also look into spelling and grammar. When the editor is finished, the author will look it over and accept or deny changes and return it to the editor for another round until it is finally finished. It will then be passed on to the copy editor who will double check spelling and grammar making sure words aren't missing that are needed for the sentence to make sense. Once approved the manuscript is passed on again for formatting which the book is made into the way readers will see it when it is finished. Once it passes this round, the book is sent to the printers to be made into a book or ebook, or both. Once it is made it will be sent to reviewers and copies are sent to the author. I may have skipped some steps but that is the overall process of getting the book from the author's hands to the publisher's hands, and eventually to the readers.
Once the book is in the author's hands and even before, the author begins to market the book to the general public. Every author markets his/her books differently. There are many books out there that have ideas to help authors promote their own books. Some information is free on the web. All writers want to be noticed, that is the main goal. Getting the name out there is very important. Some publishers help and some don't but writers should always do some marketing on their own either way. Depending on the publisher isn't going to get your book out there and known by the world. It takes time and energy but its worth it when the writer sees his/her books in the hands of new fans who adore that reader. Each new book the writer publishes adds more readership and publishers know that. They want writers who plan on writing a lot of books not just one or two. The more you write, the more you publish, the better chances you have to get noticed!
Amber Rigby Grosjean
