So you have a story in your head and you think you'll write it down. Exciting! About 78% of people have a story they want to write, but they never finish.
So you've finished your manuscript! It's about eighty thousand words or more. That's good. That's very good. It's a book and ready to be published. But no book can be published without being edited.
So here's the chain of command. First you edit, edit, edit. It's all in the edit. Next, you need a beta reader. That's someone to tell you, 'Whoa. There's a plot hole here. That doesn't make sense. And are you sure that your main character can fight off seven assassins bare handed? (Okay, maybe they can. It's your story, after all.) Once done, that's better than good - that's terrific.
When you have re-edited the novel using the beta reader's suggestions, then you need a line edit, completed by someone called a copy editor. This person goes through your manuscript and nit picks superfluous words and convoluted sentences. Do you need to say: 'she whispered quietly', when 'she whispered' is good enough? Of course you agree with whatever they say and hit yourself over the head, because it was all soooo obvious. BUT you can't see it, because you're the writer and you're so close to the story. You can't see the warts on its face. That's just the way it is.
Next, you need to have the manuscript proof read. This is to find all the times you've accidentally included an extra 'the' or 'a' or put in the wrong punctuation. Again, you can't see it, but someone else can. Recently I read a Robert Galbraith book that had an extra 'the' in the sentence, and I wanted to say: 'Whattt! All that expertise and they missed a small error!' But it happens.
When that is done, the text is ready to be printed. That's better than good. That's Brilliant! Bring on the champagne. But that doesn't include work on the cover, the book blurb, the advertising and so much more. Oh - and it doesn't hurt to win a few awards! So start applying. And you want ARC readers (Advanced Copy Readers) who will upload reviews. And so it goes on.
To those of you who are authors, I'm teaching my grandmother to suck eggs. (And I know writers should avoid cliches at all costs!) However, to those who read a book and then toss it to one side - remember it takes a village to raise a child, and it takes a small industry to birth a novel. Be kind. Leave a review!
This blog is written with thanks to many people who helped me with my first novel:
The Novelry www.thenovelry.com
Claret Press www.claretpress.com
And also to those helping me with my second novel: Montecatini.
These are a few names along the way to whom I owe my thanks:
Wayne Silver (beta reader extraordinaire - watch out for his upcoming crime novel!)
Mick Wust (beta reader extraordinaire and author of Beer Drinker's Toolkit )
Sarah Hart (copy editor) hart.sarahea@gmail.com
Victoria Kinnar (proof reader) vkproofreading@outlook.com
More about my future publication coming up...
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