Why Does It Take So Long To Publish?
I’m talking more about my upcoming book recently, ramping up, generating interest, and building excitement. But, in exposing more information about the book, more questions have been surfaced, too. Mostly, I hear, “Why does it take so long to publish?”
We’ve all grown accustomed to instant gratification, instant access, instant answers, but writing a book and publishing it professionally, are not instantaneous. Most people don’t know what goes on behind the scenes, so I thought I would share the process. I admit to doing this partially as a defensive move, because many who know me and how fast I move through life, are incredulous that taking an idea from start to finish has taken three years. So, here’s what that has looked like:
I have the idea of a plot, a theme, and for me, an overall goal. What do I want the reader to take away from this book?
The Characters are created
I picture the main character and map out characteristics: What does he/she look like? How old will they be as the story unfolds? What personality traits does he/she have? For instance, my character is in her late twenties, brunette, average-sized, and mostly alone in the world. She talks to herself a lot and bites her nails when she’s nervous.
In order to plot a believable road-map, the main character must interact with other people. Who will they be? Why are they important? Are they friends she’s had for years? A stranger she meets on the bus? Who is the antagonist? Why Is this person a problem for my main character? What makes their interaction suspenseful?
All of these people must be given names, traits, and extinguishing trademarks, so the reader will know who’s who and relate to people walking in and out of the story. Because they’re all new to me, too, I usually create an outline to help me initially keep them straight. If I get them confused, or suddenly indicate someone is 40 years old when they were supposed to be 30, the reader will be equally as baffled.
Where will this story primarily take place? For me, this starts broad and narrows as I develop the plot. I may start off with something as simple as, “The majority of this story will be in Savannah, Georgia.” I then write out everything I know or research about Savannah: The central highway systems, a few good restaurants, well-known places to visit, the weather, etc. These can then be woven into the story as the character moves along, drives to work, has lunch with a friend, etc. If a big part of the story begins to take place at work, I will then create that environment. And, so it goes.
Creating and developing the story, the people, the setting, and outlines may take a month or more.
And write and write. Here the manuscript takes on a life of its own as I build in the back story, the dialogue, the bits and pieces which hopefully take the reader along on the journey. This can take a year.
Once I have the story arc completed, I ask friends and family to read it. This can take a while, because first I have to convince them to give of their time, and then be unbiased but thorough in their feedback. Are there holes in the plot? Do you relate to the characters? Are there areas that bog down or move too fast?
Gathering input is time-consuming. There may be a month or more spent on this portion alone. And, more times than not, there are issues with the story. As the author, I know what’s happening and without meaning to, often take shortcuts, or make assumptions. These new readers are not privy to what is in my head and point out areas of concern.
Based on the feedback, chunks of the story need to be re-written, tightened or expanded. Fixing chapter 8 might affect something which happens in chapter 12. This takes 1-2 months.
Editing for me, is a four-stage process. I run it through basic software looking for grammar and spelling errors. I then pass it through a more extensive software program looking for repetition, deeper grammatical issues, etc. I read it aloud which always results in me finding something else. I send it off to be professionally edited. This can take anywhere from 2-4 months. The professional edit involves more re-write so there went another month or so.
I can’t seem to leave the book alone at this point. I wake up with a little tweak, a small change, to make the plot smoother, tighter, faster-paced. Give this process another 2 months or so. Mostly, I’m having a confidence issue at this point. Have I done everything possible? Have I covered all the angles? Is it even interesting? Eventually, I have to let it go and trust instinct, but that’s difficult having poured so much into the story.
I am not an artist. I draw terrible stick people. I am, however, creative and usually have an idea for the cover. I research, look for pictures, pick the brains of readers, cruise around Amazon to see what others have done. Then I get a graphic artist involved. I don’t care what the powers that be spout; a book is chosen by its cover. This process can take a month.
I use a professional review company, so this goes quickly. I can expect reviews in about 2 weeks. If nothing is glaring, I then find at least 3 readers who don’t know me well and ask them to read the entire story. This is my last good look before publishing. If there’s a lingering problem, I’ll know it here. The whole process takes a month or so.
Share it with Potential Agents:
I develop what’s called a query letter, which is a one-page compelling (I hope) letter. Here I need a one-sentence hook which encapsulates the story, and a short synopsis. This is harder than writing the book because I have so much to say and so very little space. Sending it out and waiting for responses can take six months. If an agent loves it (and this is speculative as they each have their own preferred genre and input from publishing houses as to what is popular at the time), it will then take approximately 14-18 months to go to print. Meaning, if they accept my book in January of 2020, it will not be in print until Summer 2021. I’m not always that patient.
Now the manuscript needs to be formatted into a book ready document. While it’s in the writing, editing, and review stage, it’s written on 8 1/2 x 11 paper, double spaced with one-inch margins. Now it needs to be condensed into 6 x 9 pages, with a more considerable left-hand margin to make room for the spine. Chapter Numbers or headings need to be bolded and more substantial. I look for chapters that may have one or two sentences that run over to the next page. I find this irritating as a reader and try to remove such things from my book. This can take another month to get it ‘look’ right.
I learned the hard way not to simply trust what the book looks like on my computer screen. So, I order a printed copy and go back through it to ensure it’s pleasing and doesn’t have errors.
While I’m waiting for the author's copy to show up and be reviewed, I start getting my marketing campaign together. This requires updates on my webpage, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc. I will create an ad, a newspaper posting, and a press release. These need to be timed within a week of the book actually being published and released to the public.
Between the author copy and the marketing allow at least a month, most likely 6 weeks.
Finally, a release date is set! And this is why it takes three years!
