What to Expect

I was walking out to my pool when I got the news. A contract offer was in my inbox for the novel, Sour Apples. I could not believe it. My debut novel was good enough to attract a publisher’s attention. It will make it to print. That was very exciting news. I look back to that time as if it were yesterday. That was merely ten months ago. It has been a very busy time since. Here’s a little of what to expect.

With an Indie publisher, it is important to understand their role, as well as the role you are about to take on. You might think I did my job and wrote the novel. Yes, I wrote the novel, but it only begins there. Once the contract is signed, a new world develops right in front of you. I was given a questionnaire to fill out and a cover design sheet. Both were to supply the publisher with insight into who you are and what your book is about. Could they do this? They could, but who knows what you are about more than you. I mean, do you think Steven King writes his own synopses for his jacket cover? I don’t know, I haven’t spoken to him since I got the offer sheet.

There were bios, elevator length pitches, long and short synopses. I geared up and met this challenge full on. It was stressful, but it was also a lot of fun. It was almost like peeling back the layers of an onion. Yeah, there was some crying involved. It really helped me understand myself and my story to depths never imagined. This is why the publisher has the writer do these tasks. It now seems brilliant on their part. I’ve called Steven to get his opinion, and he hasn't pick up.

Then there is a slight lull. The publisher slowly feeds you information, marketing tips mostly. All the while you've concentrating on your writing. The manuscript is finally as clean and polished as you think you can get it; you submit it for their editing. It goes through an AI generated editing software. It is very intense, and what you thought was a clean and polished manuscript needs some work. You make the recommended changes you feel are warranted, then you make the ones that you are on the fence about. Then you stand firm on those that just make little sense. If we all followed the AI writing guide, we very well could lose our writing style.

Your manuscript will go through a couple of good rounds of editing this way. Then it’s off to the production department. They make it a bookblock. This is a digital copy of your book’s text. It is very exciting to see it like this for the first time. You read it several times, making notes of corrections needed. You hand them all in. At this point, I have read my manuscript at ease 15 times since I thought it was polished. Being new to the whole process I discover read aloud in Word document and what a game changer. It’s another device you can use to help you edit. I found this to be the most helpful editing tool in the shed. When you hear it read, it is very computerized, that is something you have to deal with. But when you read it yourself sometimes you read what you want it to say. Listening does not do that.

This usually goes on three times. My advice here is listen to it as many times as possible and read along while you listen. A basket of apples can look very shiny on the surface but there will be a rotten one in there somewhere, another will have a worm in it. So, keep at it. Eventually, you will say it can’t have anymore mistakes, but it will. The fewer the better, but typos get past even the best editors.

Your cover design is next and sent for you to preview. I will be honest, this day, you will look forward to. But please understand, designers are artists much like yourself. They either get it or they don’t. It is a vision in your mind you are hoping for. I struggled with what was presented and eventually went to a friend for help. My publisher was fine with that. My designer put a great deal of care into working with me to create what I saw in my head. I had made the right choice. You hope the publisher can get it done. Sometimes that does not happen. You will know if your cover will sell books, or whether it will turn customers away. You will have a feeling inside. Once your cover is done and your text is clean it’s on to reviews.

Let’s talk reviews. You need them. You want them. You can get them from anyone, however, other authors or experts in a field can bring a little clout and expertise. Review swaps with other authors is a fantastic way to engage with other authors and a way to get wonderful critics. This is where Steven again is not answering my calls. There are also many review services out there. Some charge a fee, others do not. Some may come with more prestige. Regardless, this is a wonderful tool which will enlighten you where you may not have seen the light. Go outside the box if you must, it’s fun to think Steven King will call me back to discuss my novel, when in fact it was just a restraining order warning.

And before you know it, your release date will be in sight. You may have spent the last 8 months trying not to be hit by a bus or struck by lightning. At least don’t tempt fate. If this is your first novel, as it is mine, you will set up a website. I went with help, even though many new platforms are DIY. I know I could not have come close to trying to design my own website. It was the right choice. You want people to cycle through your site with ease and confidence. You want them engaged and curious. Without realizing it, you could very well be selling a book as they peruse. So, my advice to you is make it clean and easy to navigate as possible, and let your website say, “I’m not a weirdo who writes about made up worlds because I cannot cope in real life.”

Then you may want to begin writing blogs or newsletters if you prefer to call them, saying things you think are cute and funny but really are annoying to most people. It is important to engage people even further into your style of writing for it is here they will want to buy book two, Just A Bitter Taste. You might be surprised to know book two was started one month into this entire process. I needed an outlet, an escape mechanism from all of what I just mentioned. It was the perfect answer. Did I have time to write and prepare? I guess I did. It was the best thing I felt I could have done. It kept me engaged in the lives of my made-up world yet was enough of a distraction from the craziness of my first published novel.