“Just three?” you may wonder if you came here for a list of things to do before publishing your writing.
It’s not quite that simple. Your pre-publishing checklist depends on your goal and the type of writing you hope to share with the world.
No matter what kind of text you’re publishing, that checklist will generously feature tasks that have absolutely nothing to do with your writing. Forbes reminds us that self-published authors can become bestsellers, for instance, but also that that takes a lot of work. Your social media strategy is one of the factors that can make or break your sales. By the same token, aspiring authors who wish to be traditionally published have to query literary agents.
This guide isn’t about the parts of the process that have nothing to do with your writing but with those that do. You won’t find anything beyond common sense here, but too many writers skip steps that could transform their work from good to great.
Self-Edit Your Work to Death
All writing you genuinely care about is a struggle as well as a joy. You’ve made it through the highs and lows and are finally finished. That’s exciting, and you probably feel you deserve a much-needed break. You do, and you should take one. Your wiggle room depends on any deadline you may be stuck with, but on the whole, it’s best to allow longer manuscripts to “percolate” much longer than short stories.
After you’ve physically and mentally recovered from your write-a-thon, pull yourself together and remember that the text in front of you is nothing but a first draft. This diamond in the rough still needs to be refined.
Read the manuscript or text all the way through and ask yourself if it is a coherent whole with a beautiful flow and content you’re happy with. In the case of longer manuscripts, your style may have shifted over time and require some adjustments. Ponder how you could improve the work, keeping your audience in mind. You’re almost always able to improve your writing during this first read-through.
Once you are satisfied with the content and structure of your work, get down to the nitty-gritty and give every chapter, paragraph, sentence, and word a closer look.
Don’t race through the editing process, but give yourself time. Like a fine wine, your manuscript gets better if you allow it to age.
(No, you can’t expect your work to be perfect after your self-editing efforts, but it will certainly be better!)
Get Honest Feedback
Have you self-edited your manuscript or other work to the best of your ability? Sharing it with others and asking for feedback is the logical next step. You know what you think your work is like. Now find out how others see it.
The quality of the feedback heavily depends on the people who give it. Don’t ask an aunt who thinks everything you touch turns to gold to read your manuscript. The same goes for the people-pleasing coworker you always eat lunch with. These proverbial pat-on-the-back machines may temporarily make you feel good about yourself, but they can’t help you improve your work because they’ll say it’s great even if it isn’t.
Writers crafting professional manuals, PhD theses, white papers, policy documents, and other more technical documents should consider asking for feedback from subject-matter experts. They can ask excellent writers to critique their work once they are sure the content is in a good place.
Those writing novels, memoirs, short stories, personal essays, and similar more literary texts can start by asking close friends and relatives to read their manuscripts.
Beta readers also play an important role in the process because they don’t care about you — they only care about your work. Hence, you can expect brutally honest feedback that may send you back to the drawing board, allowing you to emerge with a masterpiece.
You can also choose to work with a critique partner. These fellow writers look out for plot holes, glaring errors, and other terrible mistakes, asking you to do the same for them in return. Thanks to the internet, finding beta readers and critique partners is easier than ever.
Work with a Skilled Professional Editor
Not every work needs to pass through a professional editor’s hands. Feedback from people you know is usually good enough if you’re writing a mission statement for a small business, a memoir only your grandchildren will read, or a quick blog post.
Should you be working on a manuscript you’re hoping to publish or self-publish, however, or even an important message to post on your business website, you absolutely need an editor.
Aspiring writers hoping to be traditionally published may wonder why they need to hire a professional copy editor. Won’t the publishing house take care of that? It’s true that your publisher will want some control over your manuscript. Working with a professional editor and getting your manuscript in tip-top shape simply helps you land a literary agent — and later, a book deal!
The Bottom Line
Writing is a long process. It’s often painful. You may feel you’ve reached the end of an epic journey when you finally complete your manuscript or other important text. You haven’t. You’re not even halfway done.
Self-editing, requesting honest feedback from qualified readers, and asking a professional editor to take your work to the next level are essential steps you shouldn’t skip if you’re hoping to publish something that really matters to you. Taking all of these steps in that order ensures your work is the best it can be, allowing it to shine.
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