3 Ways to Start Publishing Your Novel

So, I’ve been finishing a novel in my 3-month sabbatical from the blog.

That’s not the main reason I gave the blog, and the internet in general, a break. However, my self-prescribed hiatus, brought on by a need to spend more time with God, actually ended up providing the necessary clarity I needed to stop being wishy-washy and start working on truly getting my novel published. I thought getting my novel ready for publishing would be a fairly straightforward process. For those of you laughing at my naivety, thank you – I have since learned how truly involved and un-straightforward the process is if you’re not prepared. So, for those of you who, like me, are writers with stories to tell but lack the resources, platform, or basic idea of how to even get started, let me share a few things I’ve been learning along the way towards being published.

1. Information is Out There

Of course, everyone’s first instinct is to type “How to publish a book” into Google and see what shows up. I’m not telling you not to do this, but I am telling you to be prepared for the thousands of blog posts, websites, books, magazines, newsletters, and infographics dedicated to helping you, first-time author, get your novel into the hands of Joe Public. I got so overwhelmed by all the advice I tried to comb through, because everyone has their idea of how to truly do this book publishing thing right. As someone who knew they had a solid book idea but also had trouble articulating said idea, it was sometimes disheartening to read how much I would need to market myself, get on ALL the social media, get out and meet people, etc., just to get my book noticed. I learned quickly to hone my search skills so I wasn’t pulling up every terrifying step, looking instead at the manageable baby steps. Checklists are truly my friend and have definitely helped me keep track of where I should be and what I should be working towards, so that the process doesn’t feel overwhelming. Here are a few free ones that I have found useful for helping me keep on track:

Jane Friedman’s Self-Publishing Checklist – This is a great tool for authors looking to self-publish. There is a breakdown into all of the little details that hadn’t even occurred to me (like finalizing a title AND subtitle, and developing a creative brief for getting a cover design done). It lists how much time should be expected for each activity so that you know how to set goals and how to budget time, and she even provides an interactive version so you can adapt it to your goals.

Mill City Press Self-Publishing Checklist – While it doesn’t have the timeline that Jane Friedman’s has, I like this checklist because 1) it’s simple yet extensive, including items like marketing the book; 2) it gives a “why” for each item, so that you’re not wondering what the point of the item is; and 3) its colorful!

Reedsy’s The Book Launch Checklist – Definitely the best I’ve seen so far. This checklist provides a wonderful step-by-step walkthrough of how to go about getting your book published, from researching the target audience before you’ve even written anything, to pre- AND post-launch marketing strategies. You do have to subscribe to get the checklist sent to you, but it’s free, and Reedsy provides a lot of awesome content, advice, and services (including editing, marketing, design) for new and returning authors who are self-publishing. You might hear me talk about this platform a lot, I really like it!

2. Get Professional Help

I think I had this idea that, because I have always been very good at writing and am very used to editing other people’s work, that my novel would just be awesome how it was written and there would be no reason to get it edited. I truly had to wrestle my pride to the floor and accept that, even if my writing is good, a professional can only help make it better – and one did! I have had my novel edited twice so far – once was a developmental edit (broader feedback at the plot, character development, dialogue and setting of the novel), and the second time was a line edit (more qualitative improvements at the sentence and paragraph level to help with prose and give feedback on the manuscript). The developmental edit helped me realize I was doing that dreaded no-no of writing – telling, not showing – which drastically changed portions of the novel by developing more active, compelling scenes instead of a couple paragraphs of commentary. The line edit caught point-of-view issues that I had never thought of as important but realized could definitely cause confusion for readers at the end of the day.

What I’m saying is don’t go the process alone. You’ll be happy you got a professional to at least give your work a once over to make sure your spelling is correct, your dialogue is not anachronistic, and that you’re providing the best work for the audience you’re targeting. Which leads me to my last point…

3. Pick an Audience

Everyone is not an audience, I found out. Not that I assumed that everybody everywhere would be interested in a historical Western novel set in the Post-Civil War South (but really, isn’t that everyone’s favorite afternoon read?), but I just assumed novel publishing was a “build it, and they will come” business, not a “bring them while you build”. It was so important, even as I was sending requests out for editors and cover designers that I know who my target audience was, and to do that, I really had to think about the sort of book I was writing. Who would be the audience for a novel exploring a young woman’s journey to discover her purpose against the backdrop of race, privilege, and faith? Perhaps young women developing into their own, looking to reconcile their aspirations and their obligations while discovering their purpose in life.

So, who’s the audience for your novel?