As I mentioned last week on Facebook, I have completed the last of my major edits—a grueling process that took four months to complete. I was so far behind on my self-imposed deadline that I had to resort to getting up at 5 am every day to spend an extra hour or so pouring over the pages.

I’m quite pleased with the end results, even if there are still one or two problematic sentences yet to be tackled. The narrative feels stronger with a greater focus on character development.

For those of you who don’t know, towards the end of a writing project, after your multiple drafts are completed, you typically have three rounds of edits. This process starts only after you have “finalized” your story and have everything in place. On average, that process for the typical author is two major rewrites (1st & 2nd draft) and then 6-10 (yes, I said 10) majors editorial drafts (whole chapters and sections may get rewritten, deleted, moved, and added). After that, you come to the editing phase (presented in order):

1. Line Editing: a detailed, stylistic edit of word choice (stronger verbs, adjectives, and adverb removal), overall sentence structure, sentence flow, reworking awkward sentences, splitting or combining sentences, deleting redundant sentences, and modifying for greater clarity and pacing, etc.
2. Copy Editing: a traditional spelling and grammar check.
3. Proofreading: final run through, often times checking for formatting errors before publishing in a particular format. Epub, paperback, and hardcover will each require its own formatting.

Which round did I finish you ask? The Line editing. And I have already begun the process of Copy Editing and I’ll dive right into Proofreading immediately following. I estimate 2-3 weeks.

Now, I know Wes is asking right about now (along with several other eager family and friends), when can I get my hands on your book? That’s a complicated question, and here’s why.

I’m going to try my hat at traditional publishing. Sure, I can self-publish on Amazon post haste and see what happens. That’s always an option, but once I self-publish, I can’t shop for a publisher. So I want to leave self-publish as my last resort.

“Is your book good enough for traditional publishing?” I have no idea, but you never know until you try. With that said, let’s take a look at the process of traditional publishing—and indie-publishing—to get an idea of a potential timeline for my book.

First off, you need to understand the publishing world. There are hundreds of traditional publishers, many of them focused on certain areas (ie education vs fiction) and sometimes limited to specific genres. Famously within publishing, you have the “Big Five” that most of you are probably familiar with as their names adorn the majority of books on your shelves: Penguin/Random House, Hachette Book Group, Harper Collins, Simon and Schuster, and Macmillan.

The Big 5 and the majority of trad publishers out there do not allow direct submissions from authors. Doesn’t matter if your name is Clive Barker or not, you have to have an agent. So, step 1: Find an agent.

From what I hear in the writing community, finding an agent is as enjoyable as riding the Tour de France with the bike seat replaced by a cattle prod. It’s long, grueling, and just plan torturous. But, it’s where the fame and fortune begins—or at least sales beyond your immediate family, best friends, and colleagues you coerce into purchasing a copy.

In general, you need four items prepared before beginning this process: a log line, a query letter, a synopsis, and manuscript (duh).

• Log line: a single sentence which encapsulates and summarizes your novel. This is the absolute hardest thing to write, after all how do you condense 92k words down to 10-15?
• Query letter: this letter is the meat of your pitch. It’s maximum 250 words and should include the title of your work, a hook (a 2-3 paragraph description that should pique the interest of the reader—no spoilers contained), what novels that agent represents that your book is similar too, and a biography. Again, in 250 words or less!
• Synopsis: 1-3 pages (usually 1 page) description of your story that contains plot, themes, story/character arcs, and possibly even the spoiler to any twists.
• Manuscript: the final draft of your novel as refined as possible (near or at publication ready state).

Once I have these (which I have also started), I can start the querying process—which is the process of seeking an agent. On average it takes authors 1 day to never to get an agent. The timeframe for finding an agent is so random, that it’s impossible to actually give an average. But, there are processes that can shorten the time and or make it more successful.

First, I have do research on agents and agencies. Quite often, they specialize in select genres, so there’s no need wasting time and effort querying the wrong agent/agency. While I’m researching them, I need to check what books they already represent, because they often prefer certain styles. So if my book pairs well with ones they helped get published, then I have a better chance.

Once I got my list of about 20 candidates (this number varies in opinion between authors), I’ll need to tailor my query letter to them, specifically on the book comparison of my work to the one they currently represent. Then, find their preference for submission (email or online form) and send it off. Side note: NEVER query 2 agents from the same agency, that’s a no-no. I need to keep them 6 months or more apart after the first rejection. Depending on results, I may need to repeat those last two steps 2, 3, 4, or even 5 more times. It’s not uncommon to send out over 100-150 query letters. J.K. Rowling didn't get an agent for Harry Potter until her 21st attempt.

Then it’s a waiting game. Well, less game and really just a lot of waiting. More than likely, unless you’re the next Stephen King, they will indefinitely ghost you. General rule of thumb is if 6 weeks go by with no response, it’s a no. Many agents actually state that before hand on their website. And you should never send follow up messages, it just makes them mad. Along with that, you should wait 6-12 months before sending that same agent another query letter for another book. If they are feeling nice that day, or they think the book has potential, but just not a fit for them or their agency, they might send a rejection letter. It’s nice of them, but hurts regardless—all rejection does.

Now, if they say yes, then I need to pay close attention for my next steps. They may ask for a partial or full request. A partial request can be the first 3 chapters or the first 50% of my book. I need to know before sending the manuscript what they want. That, and formatting needs to be specific. There is no standard format for a manuscript. It’s kinda like writing papers in college, you got APA, MLA, Chicago, etc. They share a lot in common, but also have distinct differences. Manuscript submissions are the same. Each agency has their format preferences and if you don’t follow it, they will trash it without reading. In short, you gotta check their preference. If they like the partial, then they will do a full request. Again, some agents will ask for a full request right away. Lots of factors why—to many to go into.

If I get a yes at this stage, which could be a week or even several years after I send my first query letter, then I have myself an agent! At this point, my new agent may set me up with an editor to do another round before seeking a publisher. So I could end up repeating those editing steps from up above, but this time with a bonafide professional editor.

Then I wait some more as my agent shops around for a publisher that’s a good fit. This is where the log line and synopsis comes into play as these are things publishers want to read. If a publisher say yes, I am now golden … sort of. There’s lots of complicated contract stuff to deal with. But in general, this is where I’ll see my first payday (and possibly last): the book advance. What people get for an advance is hard to average out. Some first time authors get anywhere between a 1,000 to $10,000. Some lucky folks (the rare one-percenters might get +/-50k). Established, successful authors could get >250k (again, Stephen King type folks).

After contracts I get another editor. Its all about the editing apparently. I’ll also get a professional cover artist, even though I already have a cover. If I’m lucky, I’ll get to keep my cover concept; if I’m really lucky, I’ll get to keep my cover. Let’s face it, we aren’t supposed to judge a book by its cover, but we all do. Which is why they are nit-picky about them.

Next up comes all the marketing for the book. I already have this website/blog and social media accounts, so they will start boosting those and help me with content. There will more than likely be some events I’ll be asked to attend to promote my novel. All in all, that could take another year. Trad publishers don’t jump in and start printing right away, they have their process.

Finally, after all that, I’ll get a release date.

Now, indie-publishers are similar in nature, but much of the process is streamlined as they are in fact smaller companies with smaller budgets. Many indie-publishers allow direct submissions, so I can skip the agents process. I do have one indie-publisher I’m interested in who specializes in horror, so I will submit my novel to them immediately. Obviously, while there are positives to indie-publishing such as more control over your work and streamlined timeframes, you also get smaller advances, less marketing assistance, and less over all sales initially.

So, with that said, dependent when/if I get an agent, this is what I’m looking at. If I get a traditional publisher, my book could be out sometime in late 2025. If I get an independent publisher, my book could be out sometime in late 2024/early 2025. If I self-publish, my book will be released this September/October.

Keep your fingers crossed. Like and share my posts to get the word out there. There is no better marketing than word of mouth, which is you, my friends and family. Till next time, Happy Easter and stay spooky!

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