Commentary: Plotting success: 7 steps to writing and publishing your book

When I entered the new season of my life called retirement in 2007, a multitude of “I’ve always wanted to _______ ” thoughts floated through my mind. One that kept bubbling to the top was, “I’ve always wanted to be an author.”

Have you ever thought, “I’ve always wanted to be a writer, and now is the perfect time?” If so, my hope is this column can serve as a guide and help fellow writers avoid costly and discouraging pitfalls along the way.

When I began my serious writing journey, in 2014, I expected a short, straightforward path to the goal. After all, I loved English literature in school, nailed grammar, have always been an avid reader and I have a life of experiences to inform the great stories and plots percolating in my head. Just spill it out on paper (that should take a month or so) and a publisher will be waiting to print it into a bestseller.

Not quite.

I learned that becoming published is a process that requires more steps than I ever dreamed. It’s a long, hard trail from the story in your head to the book launch. Below are tips for navigating that trail. If you, too, dream of being an author, don’t rush through or skip any steps. At the end, you’ll have a good chance of holding that book in your hands.

1. Educate yourself

Writing rules aren’t what they used to be. Many standards you may have learned in school no longer apply. Grammar and style rules and the use of commas, ellipses, italics, spacing and parentheses, etc., are continually evolving. Updating your knowledge before you begin writing will save much time in editing later.

Writers conferences can help bring you up to date on modern writing guidelines, as well as providing valuable advice about narrative voice, style, plot and structure. Conferences are spendy (about $200 for registration plus travel, food and lodging, so plan on about $600 total), but the intense learning experience will start you off on the right foot. Plus you can meet face to face with agents and editors from traditional publishing houses.

Another good way to burnish your skills is by joining a small writing group where members share their work and exchange critiques. It’s free, valuable feedback and provides a sense of community. There are several writing groups in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley. Some can be found through Facebook. Local libraries also are a source of information, or staff at Clarkston bookstore And Books Too, which carries the work of many local authors, may be able to connect you to a group. Or go online to find a group in your genre. Such access wasn’t available when I started writing, but now many groups meet via the internet nationwide.

Books are another good source for brushing up your skills. There are many great books on writing, but be sure they were published in the last eight years to get the most up-to-date information.

2. Plan your story

Next, plot out your book from start to finish. Think of this as the skeleton of your book. A good working framework will include a list of characters, a timeline for how the action will unfold and a rough sketch of the highs and lows that will move the narrative along.

3. Start writing

Once you’ve hammered out your first draft, remember that’s what it is — a first draft, not a finished masterpiece.

4. Self-edit

Take a break from your book. Let the manuscript sit for a while, then reread it, rewrite and self-edit — give it new life. Be on the lookout for weak areas, holes in the plot, areas that drag, implausibility, poor wording, flat characters, etc.

Seek feedback by sharing your story with a stranger (friends or family members will be prejudiced and may worry about hurting your feelings). Take criticism to heart and rewrite. Self-edit again and again. Make every word count.

5. Turn to a pro

Next step: Hire an editor. This will be your first big outlay of money. A good editor gives your work a professional polish.

Specialties include:

• Content editing, or developmental editing, where the editor reads through to find missing, misplaced or excess information that hinders understanding and flow of the story.
• Line editing, where the editor corrects sentence structure and eliminates unnecessary words that don’t move the story forward.
• Copy editing catches punctuation, capitalization and spelling errors, etc.
• Proofreading is the final read-through to ensure there are no mistakes that will throw off the reader.

Manuscripts should have all these edits to produce a professional, well-written book. Because few editors do all four types, you may need to hire more than one. Or you might find one who is excellent at all types of editing.

This necessary process can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars, depending on the scope of your project and your self-editing skills. Editors charge by the hour, line or word. Ask prospective editors what kind they do and how much they charge.

You also want an editor who allows you to keep your writing voice, not inserting theirs in the suggested changes. I’ve had the good fortune to have an editor in my writing group and also a connection to an editor with a recent degree who knows the latest methods.

Research recommendations for editors. Writing groups, published authors, writer’s conferences and editor websites are a good place to start.

6. Rewrite again

You’re nearly there. Go back through your book and make corrections recommended by your editor(s).

7. Publish your book

Your story is written, edited and polished. The next step is choosing a publishing route. The book industry has undergone drastic change in the last decade. You have three basic choices:

• Pitch your book (sell it) to a traditional publisher;
• Hire an independent publisher (indie publishing or hybrid publishing); or
• Format it to self-publish.

Traditional publishers look for book proposals they’re sure will make them money. No matter how great your story is, they won’t consider it unless you can assure them you have a big following who will snap up your book and sell, sell, sell. This means you must have done a great deal of marketing before you even approach the publisher.

At writers conferences or in response to query letters, (which are sent by writers to a publisher to see if they’d be interested in their book), traditional publishers will ask writers how many followers they have. You want to have evidence of thousands — not hundreds — of followers.

Speakers at writing classes I’ve attended urge prospective authors to begin compiling a follower group list before even writing the book. Start with your friends. Tell them you’re writing a book and ask them to be a part of your support group. Using social media and an email group list, give supporters little teasers of your story as you write. Ask them questions. They can help when you’re stuck and give feedback. You can ask your followers to invite their friends to join in this journey with you. Always be on the lookout for people to add to your list. Building this marketing foundation is a time-consuming part of the process.

How I wish I’d known more about the process and pitfalls of publishing when I finished my first book in 2016. I had “A Bridge Named Susan” ready for print. The 1910-40 narrative story of Susan follows her longing for someone to build a bridge of love and kindness into her life during a time of great difficulty in our history. For more than a year, I tried to sell it to agents and editors at writers conferences. I wrote query letters to publishers. No one wanted to produce it because it didn’t fit their preferred genres.

Nonfiction writing was divided up into just a handful of categories: biography and autobiography, memoir, cookbooks, true stories and self-help. I was told it wasn’t a true memoir because it was written in the dialogue of another person; it wasn’t in the style of biography and it couldn’t be classified as a true story because no one was alive to verify it. This made it easy for the representatives of traditional publishers to turn my book down. (Since then, subgenres of Historical Narrative and Creative History have been added that better fit my books — now a series.)

As a first-time writer, I was frustrated. I believed readers in the Lewiston-Clarkston area would enjoy my story because of its local ties, but I didn’t know how to make it available. In January of 2017, I received a call from an indie publishing company saying it had heard about my book (I don’t know how) and wanted to publish it for the cost of $3,780. The company representative said he was convinced it was an excellent book and with the right promotions, it would sell well. I was naïve, flattered and excited to possibly have my book in my hands. I jumped on it, sent them the total price and, within three months, I did hold this book in my hands. The company even gave me a leather-bound edition, a release poster, news release to submit to the newspaper and bookmarks to give away at book signings.

But I hadn’t understood the implication of the representative’s words “right promotions.” Within a month, the publisher started pressuring me to pay for a promotion at a book fair in New York, another in Mexico, another in Germany; get book reviews by this reviewer and that reviewer. Buy copies for your book signings. By the end of the year, the promotional events cost $14,429. My income from royalties was $1,929. The pressure to pay more and more continued the next year, until I refused to answer their calls.

I had asked the publisher to reduce the selling price of my books four times. They refused to drop the price from $29 for hard back and $21 for paperback. I wouldn’t have bought my own book. Who would pay that much for a book by an unknown author? This company made me hate my own book, and I was furious with myself by the end of the second year. I had spent $28,000 total on this book. I’d learned a hard and very expensive lesson.

In 2020, I began to write the sequel, “Crossing the Bridge.” I looked into self-publishing, but I didn’t have the skills to properly format a book.

Each self-publishing company has formatting rules that must be followed. Amazon KDP will publish formatted books free, and the service includes instructions. For my second book, I spent three days trying to format each chapter, heading, spacing, margins, table of contents, USBN number etc. But every correction I made seemed to shift the formatting somewhere else, creating a new problem. Every time I thought I had succeeded, when I checked it the pages had moved. If you know your computer’s ability, you can probably do your own formatting. I don’t.

So I decided to ease my frustration by using indie publishing. I was happy to pay them to get it right.

I researched many independent publishers. Who could I trust? I was adamant about what I wanted, and I refused to be pressured into promotions.

Eventually, I found a company where the salesperson listened and respected me. I felt comfortable. I had the new indie republish “A Bridge Named Susan” so I could lower the price. The cost of publishing “Crossing the Bridge” was only $699.

Everything went well for the first four months. I received constant updates of progress and then suddenly nothing. I tried to make contact. “We’re working on it.” was the answer I would receive.

Eight months into the contract, I received notice that, because of financial difficulties, the company was publishing the book on Amazon’s KDP. What? If I knew how to format, I could publish on that site for free. Once again, I was angry and upset that I had been duped.

I was caught in the middle of a publishing revolution. More and more people wanted to write, but traditional publishers were accepting few unknown authors. So new pop-up companies flooded the market to meet the demand. Some indies are honest, some are not. The best way to find a reputable publisher is to do your research. Ask for references. Talk to other authors who have published with the company. Ask for hidden costs. Listen carefully for double-talk from the representative. Remember, they must make a profit to stay in business.

I’m very satisfied with my current publisher, which recently released “A Bridge of My Own.” There’s always a chance the company will close its doors, but I feel secure with its services, trust the word of the staff and still own the rights to my books. That’s most important.

Don’t plan on making a living by selling your first book. Whether you’re self published, hire an indie printer or manage to sell your work to a traditional publisher, promotion and marketing never stops. This is your baby, and you’ll need to raise public awareness of its existence.

But babies aren’t cheap. Be prepared to spend more money than you make on ads, book signings and giveaways. Enter writing contests (you pay a fee), solicit reviews (you pay a fee), sell your book at writers conferences (you pay for travel, lodging and entrance fees). Oh, and you’ll need a business license (there’s a fee).

My experiences have made me more thankful for authors’ sacrifices so we can enjoy their stories. Hopefully sharing my shaky writing journey makes you more aware of the obstacles — but not discouraged. Just plan ahead; avoid some of my mistakes.

I continue to write, and I hope you do, too. There are still stories that need to be told.

Chase Hoseley is a freelance writer and retired kindergarten teacher who lives in Clarkston. She can be reached at shoseley8@gmail.com.