Writing a book takes time, but that’s only one phase of the publishing process. Here’s a guide of every step along the way and which ones can be fast-tracked on your way to becoming an author for the first time or the fiftieth.
Writing a Book: 1 month – 1 year
Yeah, I’ve actually met some people who can write 50,000 decent words in a week, spend the next three weeks editing, and voila: book. I am not one of those people. You don’t need to be one of those people. In fact, you probably shouldn’t even have goals of being those people.
The good news is that if you can write 250 words a day, you can write a book in a year. You can probably even do a round of edits in that year so long as you stay focused. It’s one third grade essay per day. You can totally handle that. And if you need a little help, a book coach can keep you on track or help you overcome unexpected obstacles.
Beta Reading: 1 – 3 months
Whether you’re working with a professional beta reader, a network of writers, or friends and family who read your genre, they’re going to have busy schedules that will require some time to read your manuscript. And you’re going to want that, too!
The best possible beta reader is one who reads actively in chunks of 10% or less and then takes time to process what they have read before moving on. Taking too long to read your novel will leave them with a spotty memory, but reading too quickly will lead to a less thoughtful experience.
This is a great time to take a break from your work in progress, by the way. The time will give you better perspective when you come back to it once your beta reads are in. So go goof off, beta read for some other authors in your genre, or start plotting your next great idea.
Editing a Book: 1 month – 1 year
How long this section takes is going to vary immensely based upon how much work you think needs done on the novel and whether you’re doing it yourself or hiring an editor. Authors working with a traditional publishing house will go through three rounds of edits (developmental, line edits, and proofreading) with time between each round for the author to make changes.
If you’re editing yourself, it can be especially difficult to turn off the grammar part of your brain during your first round of edits, but we highly suggest it. It will only slow you down, and you’ll make changes to things you decide you need to cut later, ultimately wasting time.
We also suggest this process for self-publishing authors working with independent editors. Going out of order can cost you big in time and money as well as really addle your brain. Sound expensive? Check out our blog on tips to cut costs.
Cover Design: 1 – 3 months
Cover design is a fun and exciting part of preparing your book to be published. It’s compelling to see an artist interpret your words into visuals and think about a reader’s first impression of your novel with it. From first touch to finished product, you should expect at least a month’s time. But what’s great about this step is that it can be in progress as you continue to work as well. Wait until your novel’s development is complete before reaching out, but there’s no reason to hold out until it’s proofread and typeset before getting started.
Format for Publishing: 1 hour – 1 week
A lot of formatting for publishing can be avoided by starting your rough draft with the correct formatting from the very beginning. Every time you go through and edit, you’re taking the time to make changes on every page. So, how hard is it to ensure the size, font, paragraph breaks, titles, etc. are correct? Then all you need to do is quickly scan each page before submitting.
If you weren’t somebody who did this because you didn’t want font decisions getting in the way of your first draft, we get it. It’s likely going to take you some time before you’re ready to publish, but it still won’t be too much. We suggest stripping the entire document back to one style of font, size, line spacing, margins, etc. and then going through to systematically make exceptions like titles, documents, and so forth.
Upload and Publish: 1 hour – 1 week
For most platforms, this will be the easiest step of your entire book publishing process. Give yourself a leg up and format for publishing before submitting your document. Then you don’t have to use their unfamiliar system to do it.
Celebrate: A Lifetime
Maybe you have far-off dreams of building a career in writing. But for most of us, we’re writing our first novel because it’s on our bucket lists. It’s a long process, but the moment you hit publish on that page is the moment you can change your title from writer to author. That’s worth celebrating no matter what happens next.
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