When you want to publish a book there seems to be a few common mistakes that every writer is prone to make. In fact most writers will do one of the following things when writing a book, then they tend to worry and fret over the fact that traditional publishers do not what or need their book.
Below are the two most common mistakes any writer will make in terms of publishing a book either with a traditional publisher or by self publishing. Both are easily fixed in terms of wanting to do so, but the ones who do fix them have a better chance to see their book s published.
1) Not having a professional editor edit their work: It is great if you as a writer are also “good” at editing, but the biggest problem is editing your own work. You can not see the mistakes, and often will make more mistakes because of this. A professional editor is one who will look over your manuscript and will make changes. They will offer suggestions from fixing grammar to fine tuning the book. In fact a great professional editor will do more than just look for grammar and spelling mistakes they will look for flow and the idea that the book is attempting to convey. This does not mean you should avoid editing your work yourself, but give yourself a hand in terms of publishing a great book. Have a professional editor read and correct your work. A professional editor is someone who you pay to fix up your work, you can find them online or by asking other writers and publishers for a recommendation to a good editor.
2) Not knowing anything about Publishing (Or the industry): It may seem that is an insult, but often most writers do not think about publishing beyond the fact that at some point they must go and try to send out a query letter and have the manuscript looked at by a publisher. It is important to know what happens in terms of the publishing process. Writers need to understand how long something takes to be written and how long it takes to be published. Often it can take a year for a book to get published, which includes more editing, getting a marketing plan together, designing a great book cover, and having a good business plan to make certain that the book sells. Even with self-publishing there is a timeline. One which should never be altered. It usually takes about 6 months from editing to design to rewrites for a self-published book to be “marketable.” when you understand where and when you should consider self-publishing, the process for understanding publishing and the industry becomes clearer.
This is not to say that there are not other common mistakes, but editing with a professional and having some knowledge and understanding about publishing a book will help avoid the common mistakes such as these.
Rebecca Emrich is the author of many hubs on publishing on HubPages and writes a blog on publishing called the Ups and Down of Publishing. http://rebeccaemrich.wordpress.com where she discusses challenges and views of publishing. This article can be found on this blog.
