When (Not) to Publish your Manuscript

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Novel Writing Basics Week


You have reached the point where your novel is finally done. The last word is on the page, the last period is at the end of the final sentence. You did it.

So, now what?

For those that want to publish their work, finding a route to publishing seems like the next step, but often there are a lot of steps in between.

So whether you have been working on your novel for a long time, or just finished NaNoWriMo, there are a few things you need to ask yourself – and answer honestly – before you even take the first step towards publishing.

   
 1.       Is your draft complete?

Meaning, does it have a beginning, middle, and end? Is it an actually fully realized draft with rising action, climax, etc? Novice authors with no publishing record are almost never asked to send the first three chapters of a book to an agent and ‘just write the rest later’. You will need a full manuscript.

   
 2.       Has your draft been edited?

And I don’t mean that you went over it once two days after you wrote it and fixed a few grammar errors.  I mean, have you sat down with the red pen and really edited it for both spelling and grammar, and also content? Here are some examples of what I mean:

  • Have you checked for chronological inconsistencies? Are there any places where there are time jumps, or information has become available to a character, though they never actually received it?
  • Are there character inconsistencies? Places where the characters do not act like themselves or do something for the sake of the plot only? If so, you might need to rework what is going on. (for instance if your character is said by everyone to be unfriendly and stoic, but is in the habit of giving a lot of hugs.)
  • Are there plot holes? Things that just don’t hang together, don’t make sense, are infeasible? You might catch some of these yourself (I know I have), after rereading one of your drafts. (For instance if your character falls down well and gets stuck, but said character is a superhero that can fly… why don’t they do it?)
  • Are your character’s names/place names always spelled correctly? Do a search and find in Word to make sure. I see that happen a lot with Sci Fi and Fantasy novels.
  • Are there dangling plot threads? Things you forgot to wrap up? If the character sees ghosts in chapter 5 but they/the ability never come up again, that is a problem. Don’t leave Chekov’s Gun on the mantelpiece.

There are more, but those are just some examples.

Furthermore, when I say edited, I do not mean that something has been edited once. I mean that you have edited it multiple times. You will need multiple drafts of something to get it right, and often, you’ll find whole scenes need to be deleted, or reworked, or replaced. Sometimes whole characters. Multiple drafts is about molding your draft into what it needs to be, because sometimes you also need time between readings to come at things with fresh eyes, or you won’t see the mistakes. But what you can do in the meantime between readings brings me to my next point…

    
3.       Has your draft been edited/looked at by someone else?

Beta readers are essential. A beta reader is not meant to rewrite your story for you, but definitely there to catch and point out things that you didn’t see. Since no two people think alike, some things in your novel that make perfect sense to you might not to your beta or betas, and you will know what information needs to be added to make certain aspects clearer. They will also catch spelling, grammar, clunky turns of phrase you might not have noticed because you were too close to the manuscript to see it.

So who should be your beta?


While any person who can read will have valid opinions of whether or not they like your work, or if it makes sense to them, you will need at least one beta reader whose literary skills you trust. If you can, get a published author, even if it is someone who only published for a college magazine or does journalistic work for a small campus newspaper. This person will at least know the basics (we hope) of spelling and grammar, and so can edit your work for that.

Also, try to find someone who you trust has a good sense of story. Someone whose writing you admire, who you know will be able to point out places where your plot doesn’t hold water, or where something is out of joint.

Remember that you are asking a BIG favor. Be polite. Be grateful. Reading a novel is a time investment of no small proportion.
    
4.       Have you decided how you want to publish?

This is a major point. You need to decide if you want to go the self publishing route, or the traditional publishing route. There are pros and cons to each. So this part means research and leg work for you.

Places like absolutewrite.com are good places to start in terms of getting quality information. Here are a few more places to start gathering info:

writersrelief.com/self-publish…
 

www.thecreativepenn.com/self-p…

Once you have chosen, you need to do the work of finding out how to publish, which means you must first learn the rules and then you must follow them.

            4.a If you choose self publishing, then have you done the research on the publisher you want to work with? Are they a scam? Do you understand the contract terms they are offering, what you will have to do, and what they will have to do for you? Are you alright with eating the cost of editing, cover art?

Also, you will need to do a lot more marketing. Are you ready to market? Have you researched effective methods, or methods that you think will work best for you? Have you contacted other self published authors on forums to ask for advice?

            4.b If you decide to go with traditional publishing, do you understand what that entails? Are you prepared to write a query letter and get an agent? Do you understand what it means if you don’t get an agent? (hint: you need an agent. There are few exceptions to this, but not many). Again, do you understand the terms of the contracts they will present you, do you know what kind of a contract you want/need, what you should negotiate for?

Are you prepared to do some of the marketing, and do you understand what even a traditional publisher will expect from you in terms of promoting your own work?

Again, for answers to most of these questions I suggest the Absolute Write Water Cooler.

Once you have answered all these questions and you are well informed and well prepared to deal with the route you want to go down, by all means, set off on it.

    
5.       Is your manuscript polished?

And by this I mean, ready to be sent to an agent/publisher because it is correctly formatted to fit their rules. I cannot stress this enough. You must follow their rules. Agents and publishing houses alike, even small ones, receive loads of manuscripts every day.

If you do not format properly, if your cover letter isn’t correct, they will throw it in the garbage straight off because no one wants to deal with an author who is too lazy to read and follow directions.

So research your target. Figure out what they want, then make sure your typesetting and format is proper.

   
6.       Are you prepared for criticism and rejection?

Trying to publish means rejection. Get ready for it. It happens to all authors. You might simply get a rejection letter with only a ‘no’, you might get a no, and some feedback on how to improve, but most times you will just get a ‘no’. If you do get feedback, most publishers will be straightforward, they will not couch what they have to say to you. Be prepared to take this criticism at face value and not personally.

And if you get rejected, move on, try again. It might be that publisher didn’t like your work. It may be they don’t think there is a market for it right now. It may be a lot of things. So all you can do is keep trying with other agents, other publishing houses, until either someone tells you what to change, or accepts the manuscript.

So, if you can go through all of these steps with questions answered, then yes, you are ready to try publishing your manuscript. If not, back to the grind! But don't worry, with enough hard work, you'll get there eventually.



© 2016 - 2024 doughboycafe
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BATTLEFAIRIES's avatar
Good one! I'm sure you saved a lot of people a lot of distress there