A few people asked me to write a blog post on my publishing process around the time Rules of Redemption came out. It's taken me a while but I've finally circled back to this question. Not sure how many of you are interested, but here you go. Warning - long post ahead.
The important thing to remember is there is no one way to do anything dealing with writing. This post simply speaks to my experience and what I've found to work best for me over the last eleven or so books. My process also isn't static, meaning I add new steps as I find problems with the old ones.
The other thing to remember is that I'm what they call an Indie or independent writer, which means I self publish my books myself. This post only speaks to that. If you go to a traditional published author then their process might vary.
Everything starts when I have a first draft. Usually, I hate the book by that point and I'm half convinced it needs to be trashed. I resist that temptation, however. Otherwise, I'd never publish. I do a read through to see how bad the damage really is and to identify places where the story has gone off the rails or to bookmark where new scenes need to be written to fill in the holes. Technically, I try not to fuss with the wording or editing too much, but in reality I do a pretty thorough line edit.
After I finish that read through, I start working on the scenes I've tagged that need work or need to be re-written. Then comes the second read through to make sure my patches hold. This also comes with another line edit.
By the end of this draft two or three, I should start liking the book again. If not, I fiddle with it until I do. From here, I usually send to my beta readers. These people are tasked with reading what I've created and then letting me know what works or what doesn't. If you have followed me on the blog, I've had other posts outlining my expectations of beta readers.
Once I have all the feedback, I sift through to determine which pieces I agree with and incorporate edits on. I'll be honest, when I first get beta feedback I can be a little stubborn. It's hard not to immediately reject their input. All writers tend to want to think their writing is perfect. I'm no exception. It's why I give myself time to digest their feedback and see if other beta readers agree. Usually, I talk myself into conceding they have a point when they highlight a potential problem.
After this, I either do another read through or I send to my editor. This person is someone I pay who does this for a living. I learned after my first book that editors are invaluable and can help you carve out the best story you're capable of.
After I've incorporated their feedback, the book goes to a copy editor. For me this is a fan who has been invaluable over the last few years. She loves grammar rules in a way that I do not. I'm more of a rebel who likes to make things up as I go along and who is utterly incapable of being consistent in the rules I do apply.
Once she sends the manuscript back, I do my last and final read through to catch all the things that have been missed so far. You'd be surprised at how many things I find. Sometimes, it's minor errors and sometimes it's the wrong character's name in an odd place. The last stage is formatting. After that, it's ready to be uploaded.
It seems like a long process, but it's the best one I've found. I'm not super detail oriented so going through the manuscript several times myself helps me catch the maximum issues.
My books are the only part of my life where I'm a bit of a perfectionist. Reading and the magical worlds contained in books have accompanied me through some of the darkest and loneliest parts of my life. Creating something that might do the same for others is important and it's worth getting right.
The important thing to remember is there is no one way to do anything dealing with writing. This post simply speaks to my experience and what I've found to work best for me over the last eleven or so books. My process also isn't static, meaning I add new steps as I find problems with the old ones.
The other thing to remember is that I'm what they call an Indie or independent writer, which means I self publish my books myself. This post only speaks to that. If you go to a traditional published author then their process might vary.
Everything starts when I have a first draft. Usually, I hate the book by that point and I'm half convinced it needs to be trashed. I resist that temptation, however. Otherwise, I'd never publish. I do a read through to see how bad the damage really is and to identify places where the story has gone off the rails or to bookmark where new scenes need to be written to fill in the holes. Technically, I try not to fuss with the wording or editing too much, but in reality I do a pretty thorough line edit.
After I finish that read through, I start working on the scenes I've tagged that need work or need to be re-written. Then comes the second read through to make sure my patches hold. This also comes with another line edit.
By the end of this draft two or three, I should start liking the book again. If not, I fiddle with it until I do. From here, I usually send to my beta readers. These people are tasked with reading what I've created and then letting me know what works or what doesn't. If you have followed me on the blog, I've had other posts outlining my expectations of beta readers.
Once I have all the feedback, I sift through to determine which pieces I agree with and incorporate edits on. I'll be honest, when I first get beta feedback I can be a little stubborn. It's hard not to immediately reject their input. All writers tend to want to think their writing is perfect. I'm no exception. It's why I give myself time to digest their feedback and see if other beta readers agree. Usually, I talk myself into conceding they have a point when they highlight a potential problem.
After this, I either do another read through or I send to my editor. This person is someone I pay who does this for a living. I learned after my first book that editors are invaluable and can help you carve out the best story you're capable of.
After I've incorporated their feedback, the book goes to a copy editor. For me this is a fan who has been invaluable over the last few years. She loves grammar rules in a way that I do not. I'm more of a rebel who likes to make things up as I go along and who is utterly incapable of being consistent in the rules I do apply.
Once she sends the manuscript back, I do my last and final read through to catch all the things that have been missed so far. You'd be surprised at how many things I find. Sometimes, it's minor errors and sometimes it's the wrong character's name in an odd place. The last stage is formatting. After that, it's ready to be uploaded.
It seems like a long process, but it's the best one I've found. I'm not super detail oriented so going through the manuscript several times myself helps me catch the maximum issues.
My books are the only part of my life where I'm a bit of a perfectionist. Reading and the magical worlds contained in books have accompanied me through some of the darkest and loneliest parts of my life. Creating something that might do the same for others is important and it's worth getting right.
