7 Key Steps Authors Should Follow From Beginning Their Book to Publication

Planning your book from beginning to post-launch is the key to the success of your book

The concept of writing a book feels like an immense task in itself. And the process of publishing a book can feel just as immense.

This is why it is important for writers to have a clear process when it comes to the writing portion of their book as well as the publication process of their book. Because without putting a process in place, tasks can quickly become overwhelming or slip through the cracks. Tasks that could make or break your book.

Step 1: Lay the Foundation

When laying the foundation at the beginning of your writing process, you are figuring out the base of your story as well as your goals for the book.

Figure out why you’re writing this book and your end goal.
Do your market research by analyzing your genre, target audience, and successful comparable books.
Brainstorm multiple story ideas, then narrow them down to the most compelling or the most interesting ideas. (Because if you don’t find the plot interesting, readers will be able to tell and it will be hard to write.)
Establish a consistent writing routine to develop momentum. Try to figure out the best time of day to consistently carve out time to write your story, and do your best not to skip it.
Draft a comprehensive outline to serve as a roadmap for your story or nonfiction book. The great thing about an outline is that you can always change it down the road.
Draft the first chapters to establish tone, voice, and pacing.

After taking all of these aspects into consideration and trying to apply them, you will find yourself off to a good start.

Step 2: Complete the First Draft of the Manuscript

More often than you would anticipate, writers who begin their book’s first draft don’t make it to the finish line.

Why?

It could be they lost their set writing time and never got back on track. They could have lost inspiration. Or they could have just decided they didn’t want to continue.

Here are ways to help you to that first milestone:

Set Writing Goals: Establish a daily, weekly, or monthly word count goal to keep yourself on track. Know that you won’t always make it there and that is fine.
Deepen Plot and Characters: Use tools like character arcs and plot beats to create a richer, more compelling story. Even creating a character bio with an image mock-up accompanied by their likes and dislikes could help with this.
Refine Voice and Style: Focus on “show, don’t tell” techniques and vivid descriptions. This will also continue to be refined in your later drafts.
Accountability Check-ins: Partner with an accountability buddy or join a writing group. You can often find writer’s groups at your local libraries, online, or at bookstores. Or you could do this with another author you meet through social media.
Complete the First Draft: Finish a complete manuscript from beginning to end, no matter how rough it is. (Some days this will feel impossible.)

Step 3: Revise and Restructure

This is the step that is our least favorite, doing edits and revisions.

However, consider something first. If you are open to finding people to read your work and help with the editing stages, these readers who read the first or second drafts of your book and provide feedback are called Alpha Readers. You can gather a list of Alpha readers to help you and when the book comes out give them a free eBook copy as a thank you.

Having someone else read over your work can be a game-changer as we often fail to find our own mistakes.

Here are some things to consider for this step:

Take a Break: Step away from your manuscript for a few weeks to gain a fresh perspective. Coming back to it with fresh eyes will help you find any errors you hadn’t previously noticed.
Self-Edit the Story: Address structural issues like plot holes, pacing problems, and character motivations. The best way to self-edit is to read your book out loud. It sounds crazy but it works.
Refine Chapter Flow: Ensure that each chapter has a clear purpose, hooks readers, and advances the plot. Consider your genre with this tip. Do you need more cliffhangers to keep the reader reading? Or do you need to rearrange events to make it flow better?
Enhance Emotional Impact: Deepen emotional beats, conflict, and stakes to engage readers. How can you help the reader sympathize more with your characters? Putting yourself in the reader’s shoes here can make a huge difference.
Seek Feedback: Share your work with alpha readers to gather insights on readability, plot, and character development. After a few rounds of self-editing, alpha reader feedback, and a professional editor, then beta readers come in with last-minute feedback on the plot.
Revise Again: Incorporate feedback, address major story issues, and polish your writing. This is where you make your book shine for the last edits.

Step 4: Polish the Manuscript

Once a bunch of early readers have had a chance to read your work and provide feedback, it’s time to make your book the best it can be.

Now is the time to polish the book until it shines.

It looks like:

Line Edits: Focus on sentence-level clarity, grammar, and stylistic polish. This will make a difference in the readability and sentence flow for readers.
Hire Professional Editors: Work with a developmental editor and line editor to ensure your manuscript is as strong as possible. It is possible to find quality editors at an affordable price. I personally hire freelance editors from Upwork and Fiverr.
Proofread: Correct any lingering typos or small errors. As I said before, read your book out loud! You will find mistakes this way. We tend to autocorrect things in our heads.
Final Read-Through: Do a final read to ensure the manuscript is clean and consistent. Before you do this step, take some time away from the book so you come back with fresh eyes.

Step 5: Prepare for Publishing

Despite whatever the path of publishing that you choose, know that in order to increase the chance of success for your book you need to research your genre, and the comparable books in your genre, and provide yourself with a planned pathway to publication.

Being prepared from the start will only help you in the end.

Consider these:

Decide on Publishing Path: Choose between traditional publishing, self-publishing, or hybrid publishing. The type of path you choose could differentiate the steps you need to take.
Submit to Agents (if traditional): Write a compelling query letter, synopsis, and proposal. Help yourself by having other people read over these before you send them out.
Format the Book (if self-publishing): Format the manuscript for both print and e-book versions. If you haven’t formatted a book before, Reedsy.com is a great resource as it allows you to put your book in and it formats it for you for free!
Design the Cover: Work with a professional designer to create an eye-catching book cover. Or if you have a little design experience try your hand at it. But, be sure to test the cover on other people and get some different perspectives.
Register Your ISBN: Secure an International Standard Book Number if self-publishing. Some publishing services like Amazon’s KDP offer you an Amazon ISBN, but it’s beneficial to have your own.
Plan Your Launch: Develop a launch strategy, including pre-orders, giveaways, and launch events. Make a timeline, set dates for these, reach out to other people who can share your posts, and more to make sure this goes off without a hitch.

Step 6: Market and Launch the Book

Know that the best marketing happens from the beginning of your writing process.

You should be openly talking about your book as soon as you start writing it so you can gain momentum for it. Because without you talking about it, no one will hear about it. These posts can be as simple as: talking about characters in your book, your current word count in your book, the research you’re doing for your book, and so much more.

Create a Marketing Plan: Identify your target readers and where they’re most active (social media, book clubs, forums, etc.). Knowing where your target audience is will give your book a better chance of being noticed by your audience.
Build an Author Platform: Create an author website, grow your mailing list, and establish a presence on social media. Having all of these elements is crucial to helping your audience find you. And once you begin bringing readers to your website or newsletter, you have a direct line from your books or information to them.
Generate Pre-Launch Buzz: Use cover, characters, location, description reveals, early reviews, and advanced reader copies (ARCs) to build excitement.
Book Launch: Announce the book’s release with events, giveaways, and social media promotions. Make sure you aren’t rushing this part. Give yourself achievable timelines so you can make your goals. Because once you announce them to your audience, you don’t want to have to change them and confuse your audience.
Engage with Readers: Respond to reader feedback, attend book clubs, and maintain an ongoing connection with your audience.

Step 7: Post-Launch Growth

Even though the majority of your marketing will be done pre-launch, you will still be marketing your book post-launch.

Continue Marketing: Promote the book through newsletters, ads, and book promotions. If you can’t afford paid advertising, consider free organic methods such as using hashtags on social media, asking readers or your audience to share your posts, or creating interactive posts such as polls or quizzes.
Solicit Reviews: Encourage readers to leave reviews on platforms like Amazon and Goodreads. You can do this by simply placing a small paragraph in the back of your book asking people to leave a review where they bought the book. Sometimes just that reminder prompts the reader to review.
Participate in Events: Join book signings, interviews, and online panels to boost visibility. You can hold book signings at local businesses that align well with your book or your local libraries or bookstores. In addition to this, there are always book review websites and podcasts looking for people to interview.
Plan the Next Book: Use reader feedback and lessons learned to begin work on your next book.

My hope is that these seven steps help you organize your process and get you from starting your book to publishing it.

Know that with planning and dedication, you can do it.