What to Expect When You’re Expecting to Get Published

By Jamie Anderson, author of Someone to Kiss2. STK Cover Small Compressed Web

Do you know all the steps a writer goes through to get a book published? I certainly didn't before it happened to me. If you're planning on going the traditional route, here is a good idea of what you can expect, based on my own experiences with Someone to Kiss:

 

  1. Write a book
    This step can take anywhere from a few months to several decades, during which time you will stop and start and rewrite and cry and doubt both your skill and your worth, more times than you can count. But, guess what? You will finish. You can finish. If I can, anyone can.
  2. Edit your book
    Yes, you do need to edit your book before you start sending it out to agents and publishers. I didn't know this part. Only after your book is perfect can you start the next step. I would suggest hiring an editor and getting some people to read and critique. I did both and it really helped. Except I didn't hire an editor, a friend edited mine for free, because I'm cheap.
  3. Query Agents and Publishers
    This step is basically like applying for a job. You send your cover letter (query letter) and your resume (a synopsis, and a certain number of pages from your novel, depending on what is asked for), and wait several months until someone gets back to you. Or, in my case, doesn't get back to you. Just kidding, several agents and publishers did get back to me saying my book wasn't for them. Out of the over 100 queries I sent out, only one agent gave feedback on why she didn't think it was for her. From what I understand, this is pretty typical. Agents and publishers get thousands of queries a week and many say on their websites that they won't respond at all if they don't want to move forward. I'd say don't get discouraged if you don't hear back, but you will get discouraged because it's super discouraging. Almost every writer goes through it though, so know that you're not alone.
  4. Get accepted by an agent  
    I don't know much (anything) about this step because I skipped it. Most publishers don't accept queries unless they're through agents, but I found one who did. Normally, if an agent likes your query letter and pages, they will ask for either more pages or a full manuscript. If they like that, they'll contact you and make an offer. Then, from what I understand, you will work together on your manuscript until it's ready, they will pitch it to multiple publishers and you'll sit on your couch and drink until you hear back. Sometimes multiple publishers want your book so there is a bidding war (every author's dream). Sometimes there isn't.
  5. Find a publisher
    Based on the fact that I sent out my manuscript to over 100 agents and publishers and didn't get it accepted, I knew there was definitely something wrong with it. But, because I never got feedback, I didn't know what it was. I am extremely grateful that an indie publisher in the UK decided to give my book a chance. She liked the idea enough that she was willing to go through it and tell me what was wrong so I could fix it.
    Note: If your book gets sold to a larger publisher, you will get assigned to an editor who will work with you through these next few steps. I took a different route because my publisher is small (but mighty).
  1. Publisher Manuscript Assessment
    After I signed the contract, my publisher went through my book, made some edits and sent me back a manuscript assessment that outlined the major things I had to change. These things were: make it more of a romance (I'd initially written it as women's fiction with sort of a romantic arc), tighten up the structure, change the tense, shorten it by 10,000 words and take out the creepy parts. After I had done all these things and addressed all her comments, I understood fully why no one else had wanted it. It became a much better book because of her feedback. Have I said how grateful I am for her taking a chance on me? I’m very, very grateful.
  2. Rewrite your manuscript
    The biggest piece of advice I can probably give is to be wide open to feedback. You may think your book is perfect just the way it is because you’re an amazing writer, and I’m sure you are an amazing writer, but getting feedback from someone who is in the industry and, more importantly, someone who hasn’t lived inside your book for as long as you have, is extremely valuable. My book is so, so much better because of all the feedback I got. Rewrites sometimes suck, but they are often necessary.
  1. Developmental edit
    Once your publisher is happy with your revisions, your manuscript is sent over to a Developmental Editor who will review it for theme, structure, character likability and other, big picture things. Here are the highlights of what mine came back with:
  • Show more, tell less (let your reader make their own interpretations of things)
  • Add more tension/conflict/raise the stakes (why do we care?)
  • Your main character seems over-indulgent (she was)
  • Don’t reveal everything all at once
  • You need a better location in your novel than nowhere
    This is a good article on different types of editing if you’re curious.
  1. Align with all the developmental edit feedback, because it was excellent, and get to work on making your book better
    This is what this step included for me:
  • Edit and rewrite one quarter of my book
  • Hate it, and myself
  • Get talked off the ledge by my publisher
  • Go back to the start and edit/rewrite half
  • Love life again
  • Finish the second half in the next two weeks
  1. View book cover design brief
    For those who don’t know, (me, several months ago) a design brief is a document outlining your novel and then describing what you want the cover to look like (with examples) and what you don’t want it to look like (with examples). My publisher somehow read my mind and knew exactly what I wanted and didn’t.
  1. View book cover design proof
    After the book cover has been designed, your publisher will send it to you and you will cry because it is so perfect and send it to all your friends.
    Note: This is about the time when your friends really start getting tired of you talking about your book. But will you care? No.
  1. Copy edit
    This is actually going on while you’re crying over your book cover design. The copy editor will edit and provide feedback on grammar, spelling, etc. but also for tone and consistency. The person who did the copy edit of Someone To Kiss gave some great feedback, specifically the suggestion to tone down one of the secondary characters, which I (eventually) happily agreed with.
  1. More rewrites
    Now your book is even BETTER if you can believe it.
  1. Beta readers
    Your book will then get sent to beta readers, some of whom you will find, and some of whom will be found by your publisher. My beta readers were a group of amazing men and women, from Canada and the UK, who generously took time out of their busy days to read my book and give their well-thought-out feedback. And, while the feedback led to another overhaul and extensive rewrites, it all contributed to making the book a LOT better and I'm very grateful to the group.
  1. More rewrites
    A couple of key things I learned from the beta reader feedback were that my main character was not a very good cat mom (very fair) and she was also not super likable and maybe there should be a more defined character arc so at the end people don't want to punch her in the face (also fair). I hope that the rewrites do the feedback justice.
  1. Proofreader
    Next your book will go to a proofreader who will read it specifically looking for grammar, spelling errors, etc., and also gave some suggestions on word choices.
  1. Final revision
    This revision basically consists of accepting or rejecting the proofreader’s changes. This was my favourite part because I’m a giant nerd and love grammar. It was almost like a party as I gleefully went through the word document and excitedly exclaimed things out loud like “Great choice!” or “Nice catch” or “I didn't know that!” And this, my friends, is why I will be single forever.
  1. Layout
    Finally, your manuscript is off to layout where it will be made to look like a real book! This is very exciting, mostly because you are DONE WITH THE WRITING PART! You’re done! You can now just sit back and never read it again because you know if you do you will find something wrong and it will be too late and you will never let it go for the rest of your life.
  1. Promotion
    Except you’re really not done with the writing part because you will be writing newsletters and social posts and guest blogs and emails like it is your full-time job until your book launches, and well after it has launched, until everyone in the world has read it and Reece Witherspoon makes it into a movie and you’re rich and famous and you quit your actual full-time job and move to an island with all of your books.
    You’ll also probably have to learn how to use TikTok, if you’re in your forties like me, because that’s where it’s at for books nowadays. If you’re skeptical of this advice, just ask Colleen Hoover.
  1. Launch your book!
    This is very exciting, or at least I assume it is, as of writing this, my book has not launched yet.
  1. Start your second book
    Ideally this is done while everything above is happening when you have some “down time.” I’ve yet to experience this magical concept but I have faith that someday it will happen.
  2. Go back to step one

Good luck!

Want to read my finished product? Check out my debut novel Someone to Kiss on Amazon. Not quite ready to commit? Download my free Christmas romance novel, Running from Christmas.

About Jamie

3. Jamie Author Pic 1 1Jamie Anderson is based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. A proud Canadian and Saskatchewanian, she wanted to set her first two novels in the place she was born and raised.

She works in content marketing, has a certificate in professional writing and has done a smattering of freelance writing, character development and copyediting over the past several years.

She’s been writing for as long as she can remember, and has been reading for longer than that. She lives happily with her mountain of books, her TV and her two plants.

How to Stop Bad Parenting Habits by Daniel Alexander

What can you do to stop bad parenting?

Although negative parenting behaviours can put children at risk, it’s not the only factor that determines outcomes. Even parents with a positive style of discipline and interaction can have children who struggle with behavioural or emotional issues. Just like a single bad day doesn’t make you a bad parent, doing the best you can doesn’t mean that your child will never struggle or have problems. And that’s OK.

Parenting is an ongoing process, and it’s often challenging. If you’ve struggled thanks to less-than-ideal examples from your own parents, it might feel even harder. But you can work to overcome the negative messages you’ve been taught and build a healthy relationship with your own children.

Your own parents may not have been good role models, but you can find support and positive encouragement in other parents to create your own parenting path. If you find yourself falling into bad parenting habits more often than you’d like, remember that you are capable of making changes.

Revamping your parenting style can require patience, honesty, and a lot of hard work. The good news is it’s never too late to start. Any positive change you make can result in a better outcome for your child. Here are some tips to help you focus on the positive.

Listen to your child’s thoughts and feelings

We all want to be heard. And although we do not always agree with what others say, Frederick says we all need someone to listen to us. When it comes to your kids, she says to hear their concerns and frustrations, validate their feelings, and explain that they have a right to be angry — but not to act out (like throwing their crayons across the room). Instead, provide alternatives for them for different emotions.

Provide appropriate consequences

When using discipline, Frederick says it’s critical to provide consequences that teach your child a positive lesson. “Hitting a child teaches them nothing about consequences, and can result in resentment and anger, together with that child going to school and hitting other children,” she says. Instead, use a rewards chart or have them earn time doing something they enjoy. When taking something away, do not take it away for a week, instead, take it away for the afternoon. Make sure that the consequence is suitable for the behavior you’re correcting.

Label the behavior, not the child

“If parents want to ‘label,’ they should make sure that they’re labeling behavior, not character,” says Dorfman. For example, when a child is acting out, remind them that it’s the behavior of a bully, rather than saying, “You ARE a bully.”

Don’t withhold attention

We all get angry with our children, but Frederick says ignoring them only confuses a child. “Explain that you are angry, and although you are angry with them, you still love them,” she explains. If you need a moment, try putting them in time out (1 minute for every age they are) and calm down, collecting your thoughts and feelings.

Show love and affection

Displaying love and affection means more than just telling your child that you love them. It also comes from supporting and accepting your child, being physically affectionate, and spending quality time together.

Let them make mistakes

Life is messy, so let your children explore being creative and making mistakes, without shaming or criticizing. When they make a mistake, ask your child, “What could you have done differently?” Use your own mistakes as an opportunity to show them that learning never stops, and that we can all have our bad days. Admitting when you’ve made a mistake, apologizing, and trying to improve is good for everyone.

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Being a parent is emotionally challenging. It’s also a huge responsibility that requires patience, consistency, love, compassion, and understanding. We all have days when we worry about our parenting choices. We love our kiddos so much, it’s natural to only want the best for them. Remember that you’re learning as you go, and every day is a chance to start fresh. With the right tools and with patience for our children — and ourselves — we can all choose the parent we want to be. Also remember that — some days more than others. If you’re feeling stretched or overly stressed, seek help, guidance, advice, and perspectives from friends, colleagues, family, or mental health professionals whom you trust and respect. Parenting is the hardest job in the world. Hang in there — you’ve got this!

FIND OUT MORE AT https://www.danielalexanderbooks.com

The Importance of Mindsets by Daniel Alexander

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A person's mindset shapes the way they think, learn, and behave. Unfortunately, many children develop a fixed mindset from an early age – if it is fixed it will not change throughout a person's life. This is not the best way to learn and grow as a person.

According to the research done by a group called 7 Mindsets, less than 10% of adults ever reach the goals they set for themselves. This leaves over 90% of people who can't or doesn't reach the goals they have set. (How to Change Your Mindset, 2016)

The statistic led the people of 7 Mindsets to understand the difference between the sub 10% of people who achieve their goals and the rest who do not achieve their goals.

They concluded that those who can achieve their goals have a different and more learning-oriented mindset. This mindset allows them to deal with failure and succeed in learning failures along the way.

This more positive and growth-oriented mindset appears to be what sets them apart. A fixed mindset usually causes a person to be more pessimistic about their abilities to succeed at the new things they try. It doesn't allow for the necessary changes and brain growth that need to occur to complete a new task correctly.

With the right mindset, a child can and will grow into an intelligent and successful adult.

If you're interested to know more about this, make sure to look up Daniel's book Teaching Children A Positive Growth Mindset on Amazon!

Master Stock Market Investing in two Hours by Abdullah Mamun

1631778722Want to learn how to make money in the stock market without losing money? You read many articles and probably watched many YouTube videos. You feel motivated. Still, you are feeling nervous inside. You are afraid what if it could go wrong. You can lose your money.

You thought about investing in the stock market five years ago. Still, you are learning everything about the stock market without investing much.

You heard a lot about Index Fund, Mutual funds, or Tesla stock. Not sure, which is the best option to start.

Probably, you invested a little bit of money, you saw a positive result. You want to double down the investment.

Still, you are not sure what is the best route.

We all are busy. Some of us don’t have time to watch the market trend every day and make decisions. Lets be honest, stock market is a complex area to discuss.

That is why I cut all the BS and only put the necessary information that you need to know.

There are lots of books out there, why this book is different?

In the traditional stock market books, theories were explained in difficult language. You can’t figure out everything by reading one book. Some of the theories and knowledge are outdated. For example, value investing is a buzzword. There are lots of books out there that talk about value investing.

In today’s overpriced market, you can’t practice value investing correctly. However, I shared one practical tip about value investing inside the book.

After reading this book, you will get a complete understanding of the stock market as a beginner. You would understand how does the stock market work.

You should read this book for these five reasons:

 

a) Learn to think correctly

A non-stock market investor thinks that investing in stock is a gamble. They don’t realize that you can make money by taking calculated risks. In fact, the whole world is working day and night to grow the companies. You can’t be that ignorant. As per the past trend, the stock market dipped and bounced back quicker than the housing market. People made more money for long-term investment. If you invested $5,000 in 2008, you could make a return of $185,059.22 in 2020.

This book will help you clear all the myths and help you think correctly.

 

b) Save your capital first

As Warren Buffett says, save your capital. I do believe your number one priority should be saving your capital. The question is how do you save your capital?

This book will teach you fundamental and technical analysis so that you can learn to save your capital. After reading this book, you won’t make any risky investments. You will enjoy a higher return in the long term.

 

c) Learn to pick individual stock

Picking an individual stock is fun. Many people talk about Investing in a fund that grows passively. If you follow this advice blindly, you might miss out on the biggest investment opportunity. In my investing career, I identified few individual stocks that helped me double my investment in less than five years. You will learn about the exact stocks and how I picked those stocks in this book. Overall, you will be a confident investor.

 

d) Create a passive income effortlessly

There are lots of passive income opportunities through investing in stocks. You probably already know about index funds, mutual funds, and ETFs. How do you know which fund will return your investment? You will learn the exact funds which can give you more than 7% return year after year.

I also discussed how to create a dividend portfolio so that you can pay your rent or mortgage with the yield. You will learn the exact formula to create dividend portfolio strategies to create passive income.

 

e) Avoid costly mistakes

You can make mistakes in the stock market investing if you don’t learn from others. In my banking career, I saw people made the same mistakes again and again. There are common patterns.

In this book, I unveiled those mistakes so that you can be aware of those and avoid those costly mistakes. It’s true that a simple mistake in the market costs thousands of dollars. It might take you years to recover from that mistake.

 

f) Learn to grow wealth like a millionaire

Do you know the wealthy tricks? Do you know how the riches are getting richer? As I served many high-net-worth individuals, you would learn their wealth-making secrets in this book. You will discover the exact rules the rich use to make money from the stock market. Your eyes will be wide open.

In addition, you would also learn about penny stocks, the exact formula Warren Buffett practices to pick stocks, to name a few. You would learn how to create a trading account and start buying stocks. You will learn to create an investment portfolio with as little as $1,000

I am confident that you would learn a lot by reading this book. You don’t need to invest in an expensive course. You will get all the required knowledge in one place.

Find our more about securing your financial future, order this book today.

Best Cryptocurrency Book: “Cryptocurrency Investing” by Abdullah Mamun

1631777515You might be wondering why I am calling this book the best cryptocurrency book. Well, there are many other books out there in the market. You can learn pretty much all the theories about Bitcoin, Blockchain, cryptography and cryptocurrencies. When it comes to investing in Cryptocurrencies, you get very little information.

As an Author, I read many books. Only one or two books answered the investing strategies. I expanded this investm

ent idea further in this book. Because I worked in the investment banking world and work as a professional accountant, I know how to assess an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) proposal. I shared all the necessary information for you to understand about Cryptocurrency investment.

I also provided enough information to understand bitcoin technology, cryptography, how blockchain works etc.

You will get a comprehensive answer to the question, Why Bitcoin’s price fluctuates?

You will get much more confidence about investing in bitcoin. Apart from these, you will get information on three main areas.

1. Discover the Underlying factors: The aim of the fundamental and technical analysis is to provide underlying reasons to readers to choose the best coins. You can’t just invest in a trendy coin just because everyone is talking about it. You need to understand what makes a coin’s future? Is there any chance, you might lose your investment overnight? There are lots of examples, people lost their money by investing in overhyped currency.

That’s why in this book, I discussed the fundamental and technical analysis of various coins so that you can make investment decisions confidently.

2. Learn to Store Coins Correctly: I also had almost a heart attack, when I heard people lost millions of dollars just because they lost their passwords. Hence, I took an extra care in this book to discuss the appropriate methods to buy, receive and storing cryptocurrencies. You will have appropriate knowledge to secure your coins investment correctly.

3. Create a Crypto wealth correctly: You will get a solid understanding how to create a crypto investment portfolio. You will learn about the crypto taxation. You will learn how to minimise risks. You will learn how to spot a crypto scam. You wouldn’t just jump to the next big crypto thing. Also, you will learn the strategies to make a million dollar through cryptocurrency investing.

As a bonus, you would get an idea about Crypto mining. In this book, you would learn how to earn $1,000 by mining.

One thing I can tell you that even if you don’t want to invest in crypto today but you would avoid costly mistakes in future by reading this book. The knowledge will help you in every possible way.

So, without further delay, order this book today.

29 Tough Questions and Answers by Mohit Arora

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Unless you have a medical problem, as a parent, you can always pull up additional energy. How?

Ask yourself what makes you truly tired? Is it your daily endless grind with children that mentally tires you or is it just about energy? If it's the daily grind, then are you making the mistake of looking at your child as a chore as opposed to a rare life-uplifting opportunity?

Will shifting your perspective and being just a playful child who is equal but not superior to your children help and give you that energy boost? As you head home after work, is your boss and job still occupying your head? But they pay you only for 8 hours? Why accept uninvited and unpaying guests into your home? Will filling up your mind with intense thought of you playing with your child not be the best antidote to these uninvited guests?

You also become satiated with uninvited guests reducing your own effectiveness in dealing with them at work. So, getting them out of your mind will allow you to refresh and think of new ways of dealing with work and your boss.

If it's just energy and you are still not able to physically muster energy despite your desire to play with children, you may want to look up breathing exercises or yoga that takes just 15 to 20 minutes but can give you a daily boost. Will waking up 30 minutes sooner help? Can you cut back on gossip at work and get back home sooner? Can you cut back digital or news binging to make some extra time and energy? Are you reading on digital devices before sleeping that sap your energy? Are you distracted in your sleep? Are you eating the right food? Will eating some energy-boosting nuts and fruits help? Will a short course of vitamin B and D help?

Will just longer cuddling with your child help? Are you lonely and an embrace of your spouse will help? Can you delegate cooking or any household chores to your spouse and talk to him about it? Can you find a paid source of home-cooked food? Can you engage children to help you with chores or make less mess so that you have more time and energy? Ask your children and spouse how they would like to contribute to taking away less of your energy?

Often the answer lies in shifting the perspective and taking a detached view of the issue or just engaging with unquestioned kindness.

Interested in the rest of the 28 questions? Find our more HERE!

Click here to buy the 2-Way Parenting book!

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