Selling Books

Your Guide to Writing, Publishing and Marketing Books and Ebooks

  • Blog
  • Free Newsletter
You are here: Home / Book Publishing / Publishing a Book – Common Mistakes

Publishing a Book – Common Mistakes

May 31, 2010 by Rebecca Emrich

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.

Related Posts :

Can I Self-Publish My Book and Then Sell it t...
Why Self-Publish?
What Is Involved in Self-Publishing?
Advantages and Disadvantages of Self-Publishi...

Filed Under: Book Publishing Tagged With: Book Publishing, publishing a book

Sell More Books!

FREE! Sign up Cathy Stucker's Selling Books newsletter. You will get useful tips and techniques for writing, publishing and selling books, plus member-only exclusives such as free webinars.

BONUS! Get instant access to Cathy's audio program on how to Build an Effective Author Platform!

I respect your privacy & will NEVER sell, rent or share your email address. More than a policy, it's my Privacy Pledge.

Recent Articles

  • Save the Cat! Writes for TV
  • Summarize Your Book and Increase Your Book Sales
  • Why Structure Is a Friend, Not a Formula
  • Save the Cat Story Cards
  • Save the Cat! Cracking the Beat Sheet
  • Stop Procrastinating, Start Writing
  • FAQs About Children’s Book Illustrations
  • 5 Posts Every Author Should Write on their Website
  • Reducing Everyday Distractions So You Can Get More Writing Done
  • E.S.Danon – Moon in Bastet

Pages

Contact
Contribute Articles
Contributing Authors
Free Newsletter to Help You Sell More Books
Get Interviewed
Publishing Resources
Subscribe/RSS
Privacy/Disclosure Policies

Categories

Agents Amazon.com Article Marketing Author Interviews Author Platform Blogging Book Business Book Design Book Marketing Book Proposals Book Publicity Book Publishing Book Reviews Book Signings Bookstore Book Titles Book Tours Cathy's Blog Children's Books Content Marketing Copyright Copy Writing Ebooks Editing Fiction Writing Freelance Writing Get Published Ghostwriters Internet Marketing Marketing Fiction Motivation Networking Non-Fiction Writing Oprah Winfrey POD Publishing Public Speaking Research Resources for Writers Running Your Publishing Company Self Publishing Social Media Special Sales Video Marketing Writers Block Writing

Return to top of page

Copyright © 2006 - 2022 Cathy Stucker · All Rights Reserved

Log in to your account