Silly me. I wrote a book and celebrated when I finished it. Ha! What an amateur! The truth is that finishing the book was only the beginning of this adventure. I had no idea what I didn’t know. There are about 9 million ways to proceed at this point and getting to publication seems like an overwhelming and daunting task. But, guess what? I’m game!
Developmental editing- where the editor reads and comments on your book organization, flow, concepts, clarification, elaboration, etc… and also edits the big mistakes. Oy Vey! This is one of the biggest expenses because it is a huge task for the editor. I really had no idea. I thought they fixed your capital letters and punctuation- who knew just how critical this step is? I am lucky, though, because one of my very best friends is doing this for me. I am lucky that she allowed me to hire her and give my “baby” to her. I trust her and she is making me a better version of myself. I picked up the first 2/3 of the book about two weeks ago. I’ve made it through almost 4 chapters of making changes and still have 15 to go. That’s my goal for Spring Break. Y’all… it’s crazy. I thought it was good when I wrote it, but going back I find myself wondering what I was thinking… Anyway, it is a new experience and a new leg of this journey. I love it and can’t wait to dive deeper into the process.
Next will be beta- readers… I will give a raw edition to a few people for raw feedback… make final changes then send to a final editor… who will fix all the things… then…. there is the formatting and decision piece- getting the cover design, deciding how to make chapter headings look, etc… There’s really just a lot that goes into this and I just didn’t know. The expenses involved in this are WAY more than I anticipated, too. So, I’m praying about it and working through as much as I can on my own. My target date for publication is July 11th. However, I will only release a really good book- and so I am giving myself the gift of time and grace. Here’s what I know… Eating an elephant requires you to take one bite at a time. I am so excited about my working vacation and the beginning of something truly beautiful… #BecauseYES
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