You have written your book. You have hundreds of words in front of you. What happens after writing your book?
Many people feel overwhelmed after writing their business book and are not sure what to do next. You have all your notes in front of you in chapters, and it’s time to put it all together. This suddenly feels difficult to do when faced with deadlines and not sure what part of the process to do next.
Here are the things to think about at this stage:
1. Edit the book yourself
Before handing over your manuscript to someone else, you’ll want to gather your writing to make sure it flows and make modifications. In my experience, there are a few things you can do to make desktop publishing easier.
Check different things with each issue. First you may be organizing the flow of your words, then you can check for meaning, grammar, and typos.
It is important to verify the facts, names, and other information cited.
Print your book to read rather than review from the screen, especially during final edits. Then I find a quiet place to read them, preferring to take notes in a colored pen so that you will notice them later when updating the electronic copy.
If something feels a little clunky, read this out loud, and then you’re more likely to realize how you can make your message clearer.
2. Finalize the title and subtitle of your book.
For many people, trying to decide on the name of their book causes problems. They spend so much time thinking about it, it slows down the writing of the book.
From my experience, it is something that grabs you from the beginning, or you may still need to finish this at this last stage. If this is the case, ask your contacts and customers for feedback. Don’t try to be too smart with your title, or at least make sure the subtitle captures the essence of your book and who it is for.
3. Ask your friends, colleagues and other professionals for their opinions.
As an author, at this stage, you will probably be too close to your book. Find a small group of people to review the book for you, ask them to select anything that doesn’t make sense, and ask them for suggestions to improve it.
4. Have your book professionally edited and revised.
Even if other people have read your book, I think it is essential to have a trained professional do the final review. There is nothing worse than reading a book and seeing a lot of typos on the first page. While this adds costs if you self-publish, this is part of your branding, so a professional book is essential.
At the editing stage, your editor / proofreader will pick up on things that don’t make sense, need an explanation, and will make suggestions for improvement. Then they will check things like consistency, grammar, spelling and style as they are trained to do this.
5. Organize your cover design
You may have already done this if you have something specific in mind, but if not, this is the time to get a designer involved. When it comes to your cover, remember that you only have a few seconds to make a great first impression with your potential reader.
Whether you use a stock photo, get a custom design, or use photographs, just think about how your image will look in a thumbnail, that is, on your website or Amazon, before approving it. Ideally, have something that is simple and easy to understand. You may not even need a real picture, and the words can get your message across to your readers. Again, comments from others are ideal if you have a couple of designs to choose from.
6. Organize your foreword and endorsements
Although having a foreword is not essential, you can choose to ask someone to write this endorsement for your book. If you have a high-profile person in mind, don’t delay in asking them. You can also tell them why you are the perfect person to write the foreword.
To speed up the process, if you want to see your entire book, I would personally send you the manuscript before it has been professionally edited, but you can choose to wait until later. But at least ask them now. If you have a couple of people in mind, could the other people write a review for your inside cover?
7. Write your thank you page
The hardest thing about writing your thank you page is worrying about missing someone! When in doubt, be sure to include a screenshot just in case, thanking everyone who has contributed to your book, life, and work. Think about the key people who have been involved in the book, without whom it probably would not have been possible.
8. Write the copy for your back cover.
When someone takes your book and places it on your back cover, you want to get their attention from the first to the last word on the page. I often work one-on-one with my clients to help them write this as it can be difficult to see what makes their book stand out.
Think about the following:
For whom?
Why are they happening?
Why should they read it?
What will they get out of it?
Also include a short bio, and you can choose to put a longer page about yourself at the end of the book. You only have room for about 150 words on the back cover, so make sure it’s concise. You can also choose to include a photo of yourself and a couple of reviews, although this is not essential.
9. Get it published!
Once you’ve edited and reviewed all of your work, you’re ready to compose it, create the final cover design, and print the first copy of your books.
