You may be wondering how to publish a book – where to start and the steps to publish a book. If you have reached that point and your decision is firm, this article will help you solve your questions.
On average, your publishing project takes about six weeks to take the form of a book. Each phase varies according to the characteristics of the work. Therefore, we must remember that, depending on the length, steps will last longer than in other cases. But we insist six weeks is the average duration. Shall we start the adventure?
Contact the publisher
The first step in the process of publishing a book is called reception. This is the first phase, that of sending the raw manuscript to the publisher for evaluation.
In this phase, each editorial team member reads the work received and decides if the content fits the publisher’s style and is publishable top literary agents. A vote is usually taken among all department members to reach an agreement so that all parties are involved.
Communication of elaboration
Second process. When the work is suitable for publication, and the author so decides, the decision is communicated to the publisher to begin the work.
To formalize this agreement, it is necessary to sign a contract in which all the clauses and conditions of publication, distribution, and sale will be explained in detail.
The dream begins
Now it is time to dimension the work. Dream its format, imagine the inside of its pages, and give it shape. You must keep taking steps to publish a book, but you are going in the right direction.
The first step is the orthography revision. An essential phase is when an expert proofreader polishes the author’s text to eliminate typos or spelling mistakes. In short, he or she works on the rough copy to enrich the text and achieve a quality product.
Regarding editing and proofreading, publishers have their in-house editors. And if you need to edit some small essays or other written works, you can use specialized services such as Paperhelp. If you are suddenly worried about “is paperhelp.org safe?”, we can assure you that – yes. The service is reliable, safe, and has a large customer base.
Once the spellchecker reviews the manuscript, the editorial department reviews these corrections, approves them, and sends the polished text to the layout department.
Now it is time for illustrators and designers to compose the book’s pages, considering all the elements and format. It is a matter of fitting the text on a page, taking into account the margins and the size of the page.
After this work, it is time to design the cover. Always hand in hand with the author, the design team will consider the author’s wishes and feelings of the work to design a cover that meets their requirements and adapts to their needs.
Once we have the work laid out and with its cover perfectly designed, it will be printed and sent to the author. This is known as galley proofreading. In other words, the author receives all the pages at home with the layout and cover included so that he/she can read and review all the changes, detect errors that may have escaped the proofreader’s sight or make the last content changes.
Tangible, real, printed book
Once the author, editor, and layout artists have finished their work and created the final artwork, it is the turn for printing. As part of the steps to publish a book, it is time to print and bind the text according to the requirements agreed upon by the author and publisher.
As many copies will be printed as agreed in the contract with the author and as many as are necessary to register the book in the Legal Deposit and to obtain the ISBN.
Promote yourself as a writer
And now what? Is it over? No way! This is just the beginning. We have finished the steps to publish a book, but now comes the whole process for its diffusion. The Marketing department and the author must work on promoting the book.
Web, blogs, social networks, forums, debates, and book presentations. It all adds up. The writer must work on his or her brand by attending events, managing social profiles, and participating in conferences about writers.
Presentation of your book
What is a writer without a book presentation? Find a place, date, and time, and invite your friends and family to tell them more about your book. Find an added value for your conferences and get the attraction of the public.
Sit at your table, be confident, and talk, respond, and get followers. It is time to tell your experience, give some unpublished details of your work and leave the honey on the lips.
The publishing project must be watered every day. It is necessary to move to add readers. Everything counts – a post on Facebook, an image on Instagram, or simply reciting a fragment of your work.
Always keep your book alive
Only you can keep the soul of your book alive. Now it’s up to you to be creative, light the spark, and play so that it never goes out.