I wanted to give everyone an update on my journey to self publishing. So far, the ride has been amazing. The manuscript is finished, the book cover has been chosen, and I have spoken with an editor. The revisions will be completed by the end of this month and then it will be sent off to a few lucky beta readers.
If you are interested in beta reading the novel, go to the contact page here and send me an email. Once I have received feedback and made revisions, it will be sent off to the editor and then published. In the spirit of sending my manuscript off to the editor, let’s talk about the different types of editing.
The Developmental Edit
Developmental editors look at the whole story. It is a very thorough edit and may require substantial changes. It looks at structure and consistency, whether your characters are relatable or forgettable. This is a very important edit, especially for new fiction authors, and one that should not be skipped, even if you decide to use beta readers.
Copy Editing
Ah, the copy edit. This edit will dive into your sentence structure and your actual use of words. These are the “grammar nazis”. They will look for your use of repetitive words, which I assure you we all have. At this point, prepare to have you manuscript ripped apart and pulled back together into a more intelligible form of its former self.
Proofreading
The first rule of proofreading is don’t skip the proofreading. You may think that if your manuscript went through a developmental edit and a copy edit, that surely, it is ready for publishing. However, you still shouldn’t skip the proofread. There are simple things such as spelling and punctuation that could have been missed during the other edits. Just suck it up and get the proofread done.
What I’m Doing
As much as I want to get this book out to you all as soon as possible, I also want it to be the best that it can be. I have been in contact with an editor and they offer group rates for their editing services. I’m not going to mention their name right now because we have not yet agreed to work together, but once everything is finalized, I will let you all know. I will also do an update post on the cost of editing.
The current plan is to send some advanced copies of the revised novel to beta readers. I will make further revisions, then send it off to the editor. At that point, it will undergo the developmental edit which will take somewhere around two to four weeks. After that the copy edit will take place and will likely take another two weeks. Finally, the proofread…don’t skip it. Once all that is complete, the book will be ready for publishing on Amazon.
It will be available in Kindle, paperback, and eventually audio. My goal is to have it out sometime in April. Go join my mailing list here to be the first to know when the sale goes live. If you are a Kindle Unlimited subscriber then you should be able to read it for free with that program. If you aren’t a Kindle Unlimited subscriber and would like to try it out free for 30 day, then click here. I do receive some compensation for purchases through this affiliate link.
