Tips on Publishing your First Book

If you are writing your first book, there are some important things you need to know.  It is a huge accomplishment to write a book! Many people go through their lives wanting to write a book but never actually do it.  You can look at your accomplishment with a sense of pride and take a deep breath - but your book is far from complete until you have done the following:

• Edit your manuscript.  This is a very important step in the writing process.  How you choose to edit is entirely up to you. What works for one writer does not necessarily work for another writer.  Some people edit as they go along. Others find it better to complete the manuscript and then go back and edit because they do not want to interrupt their writing flow or creativity.  After you edit your book, give it to someone else to edit, preferably another writer or editor. You may even want to give it to a couple of people to look over for you. 

• Proofread your manuscript.  Even more importantly, have a couple of other people proofread it for you.  Someone else is more likely to catch those small grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors simply because they are not as familiar with the manuscript.  Many beginning writers make the mistake of doing all of the proofreading themselves. The end result can be a book filled with mistakes, and when the reader sees those mistakes, your writing will be greatly diminished in the eyes of the reader.

• Title your book.  Spend time deciding on a great title for your book.  This is no easy task because a book title can either spark interest or turn a potential reader away.

• Traditional or self-publish?  Decide if you want to publish your book using the traditional route or if you had rather self-publish.  There are pros and cons to each method, and depending on which route you take, your responsibilities will vary.

Regardless of how you choose to publish your book, the above steps are very important.  There is nothing quite like holding your first published book in your hands, so it needs to be as perfect as possible.