In Defense of Writing a Book

Have You Laid the Groundwork?

So you want to write a book? You possess incredible knowledge and the ability to share it like nobody else. How do you get the ball rolling? These days, you can lay a lot of the groundwork by becoming a thought leader on your topic. Post and comment on social media sites. Post articles on your blog. Become a guest author on other blogs. Pretty soon you’ll have enough material to assemble a book. Then what do you do?

Good Editing Is Priceless

The first race your manuscript must run involves editing. Check out these tips on finding the right editor for you. Like a lot of races this one presents several hurdles. You might say you plan to take the traditional publishing route so the burden of editing will fall on the publisher. Yes, but unless you prove a tremendous market for the book a publisher won’t consider a rough manuscript. Submitting well edited work generates more chances for acceptance.

You’ll Need More Than One Editor

There are three basic editorial stages:

Beta readers are people you trust to give you an educated opinion. Family members don’t make good candidates. You need other writers and people who read a lot, especially in the genre you write in.
The Developmental Editor you hire will look at your manuscript’s big picture. They’ll suggest cuts and additions, ask questions and make comments, all in the interest of making your work read as clear as it possibly can.
When the time comes for copyediting, two go-throughs beat one. After the first line editor goes through to check for grammar, spelling and punctuation, select a second editor to do the same. Different editors offer varying strengths in the aspects of the written word.

Don’t Take It Personally

Remember, edits refer to your manuscript, not your baby. Accept comments professionally, not personally. You’re not required to implement every edit, but if more than one person says the same thing, take that into account.

Traditional vs. Indie

Back before the new millennium few opportunities for quality self-publishing existed which caused the necessity to find a traditional publisher. Now we call the venture indie-publishing and you can find many directions down that path. Several factors go into the decision to traditional or indie publish.

Pros of Indie Publishing:

You don’t have to submit to a plethora of literary agents and wait weeks for their replies.
You set the time frame, whereas traditional publishers might drag out the process.
You’re in control and make all the choices.
You own all the rights. Some traditionally published authors grumble about when they might get their rights back.
Royalties will be higher – up to 70% apposed the 25% on the high end of what traditional publishers offer.

Read more about the pros and cons of both types of publication at The Creative Penn.

You Are the Marketer Either Way

No matter which publishing journey you choose, the obligation of marketing falls on you. Building an author platform before you publish helps drive the publicity engine.

What if you decide to become an indie author?

Even if you consider yourself a Jill-of-all-trades you’ll still need to round up a team. Search online and you can find professionals to assist you with the whole procedure or one step or the other. Indie-publishing a book requires numerous details. Here’s just a few:

Editing, see above the different kinds of editors
Book formatting
Proofreading after format completion
Cover design because some people do judge a book by the cover
Acquiring ISBN numbers
Distribution: paperbacks, ebooks, hardbacks, audiobooks, getting into bookstores and libraries
Marketing: website, media kit with professional headshot, press releases, social media, speaking engagements
Attaining book reviews

Many writers seek the prestige of a big-time New York publisher. Achieving that goal will give your ego a nice stroke, but no matter how your work enters publication, your book itself will serve as your greatest accomplishment.

About the Author

Lisa Angle of Ninety Degrees Media is the right Angle to help you write and sell your story. Lisa does developmental editing on novels and memoirs, and helps authors market their books with websites and social media. She serves as the Chief Technology Officer for the Small Publishers Artist Writers Network. A director for the Association for Women in Communications national board, Lisa is also Past President of the AWC Santa Barbara Professional Chapter.