You Wrote a Book. Now What?

Many authors think that writing a book is very hard and that once
you finish your book, the rest is a piece of cake.


Well I would argue about that. For example personally for me the
writing process is more enjoyable and much easier than everything
else that needs to be done after that.


Once you have completed your manuscript there are so many things
that you need to do after. It may even make some writers feel
overwhelmed and confused.


So let’s understand what should you do once you finish writing
your book? What are the things that you will have to deal with.
Get feedback Who you should get feedback
from?

Well many rush to their friends and family but I personally think
that it is not a good thing. First of all – they are people who
might not be able to be objective. Second, they may feel bad
about hurting your feeling and may not provide any negative
feedback. And the third thing is that they may not be your
audience. For example I write women’s fiction and it is logical
that my husband is not the most suitable person to approach for
feedback. So try to find readers, who enjoy reading books similar
to the one you’ve written.
Consider modifications based on feedback Just
because you have received feedback does not mean that you have to
change the book based on absolutely all the points that were
brought up. Try to objectively evaluate what you received and make
those changes that will benefit your book and which were
objectively true. Self-edit

Your manuscript has to be self edited. In fact maybe you will
need few rounds of self-edit. One before you send out the text
            for feedback and one
after you have made the final changes to the manuscript.
Proofread There will always be typos and
grammar mistakes which you have not caught so you should take that
fact as granted.

          Ideally you should get
professional help; but if you can’t afford it, have at least 4 to
5 different people go through your manuscript. That way you will
minimize the remaining errors.
Professional editing Many authors I have
interviewed so far have mentioned the importance of having
professional your book. It definitely will make the experience of
reading your book much better one. It will also ensure that your
book ensures good quality text. Research your
competitors Ideally you will have to do that before even
starting writing then book, but if you have not done it yet n case
you have not done it do some research. See which books in your
genre are bestsellers now. What are they about? What do readers
like about them? How are they priced? What do their covers look
like? And so on. Make sure you have the picture of where are you
getting into and how to make sure that your book is at least as
good as other books in there and make sure you know what
differentiates your book from the others. Decide about the
platform Yes, Amazon is still the obvious market leader
but it is not the only self- publishing platform out there. You can
also consider – B&N, iBooks, Kobo, etc. You have to decide
whether you would like to concentrate exclusively on Amazon Kindle
Direct Publishing or embrace all the possibilities. Format
the book Yeah… that is yet another boring thing that needs
to be done. Each platform requires a specific format of the book
and you have to make sure that the book is formatted well and it is
easy for the eye to read. Choose your category
Choosing the right category and subcategory is very crucial. It
will help you with your books rankings and visibility. That is why
you will need to spend some time...