What to Expect When You’re Expecting to Get Published

By Jamie Anderson, author of Someone to Kiss

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).

6. 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.
7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. More rewrites
    Now your book is even BETTER if you can believe it.

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. Launch your book!
    This is very exciting, or at least I assume it is, as of writing this, my book has not launched yet.

22. 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.
23. 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

Jamie 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.