As far as publishing goes I will explain: I have just finished my WIP first draft. That is all. Contemporary fiction Roughtly 380 pages in std paperback and I am now stuck. What do I do. People ask "What sort of editing do you want?" I don't know This is totally new to me so can someone please tell me what to do. Maybe advise me what to avoid and common mistakes made. Imagine I am an alien asking and go from there Thanks
https://blog.reedsy.com/types-of-editing/ I’ve never been published, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but sounds like a editorial assessment may be what you need?
I think you are right reading your blogpost I am then wondering how I know it is finmished and what to do next
what is your end goal ? ie self publishing, or getting a traditional deal ? the answer to that will determine what sort of editing you need
What I would love is a deal but I bet that is like getting signed by a big music label Can I be cheeky and ask what both would entail What is traditional for a first novel?
Well, the favoured route seems to be trying for an agent, which means sending out a query—after editing your novel to a high standard. How you do that is up to you. You could use editing services, or beta readers. Those two routes are not exclusive to each other, but I bet having a few strangers go over your manuscript would tell you how far along the 'getting published' route you are. Regardless of where you go, self-publishing or trying for an agent, it's mandatory that you have the best version of your manuscript that there'll be. If you go the self-publishing route, people who buy your book expect professional standard in words and storyline (think of it as giving value for value/money received). If on the other hand you try for an agent... I expect they'll not look at your manuscript past the first SPaGs. So make sure you've a manuscript you're not ashamed of showing to a professional in the field, and they can evaluate if what you've written can be sold to a publishing house. There are differing opinions on if you should hire a professional editor first, because once they sell your manuscript it'll get edited by the publisher anyway, but my point stands. Don't loose out on your product, or you'll not get the foot in the door. I'm not published either, so this made me chuckle We're all just trying to help each other, so welcome to the club!
the major difference is that in a trad deal editing is part of what the publisher does for 90% of your royalties... therefore you need only do whatever it takes to produce a manuscript good enough for submission... beta readers, editorial assessment if you think its necessary, may be proof reading if you are prone to spag errors if you self publish obviously there is no publisher so you need to do everything required to take it to publication yourself... exactly what that is will deoend on your experience but for a first novel i'd suggest beta readers, followed by a structural and line edit, followed by a proof read... the likely cost is about £1000 for editing and maybe 3-500 for proof read
Going back to the whole "I am an alien" thing. Do I just google "book agents" or is there a respected directory? Whatever happensI want to get at least five ior ten paperbacks made for gifts and prosperity. Is there a way I can do that?
Look into what's called a 'Print on Demand' service. People here can probably recommend some by name, sorry I don't know. You upload your book to their site and then you order as many copies as you want & they'll print and send them. A friend of mine made a book some years back and sent copies out to a whole group of us. It looks very professional.
The two big ones are KDP print or Ingram Spark ... if you want to trad pub and only want author copies though i'd stay away from KDP which is really for listing on amazon. Lulu is another option but they use Ingram for their production so... Note that ingram charge a set up fee but there are always codes around to negate it - NANO2020 works currently
Well if you only have a first draft you need to finish it. Then it needs to be carefully edited. But before paying to have it edited you might want to find some beta readers to give you feedback so you can make changes that improve it. 380 pages seems longish. What is the word count? Are you using the standard 250 words/page? You might do well to shorten it and make the writing tighter. There are 5 levels of editing. So yes, you need to identify the level/type you want. Is it helping get the story organized and planned, or is it just checking for spelling , grammar, and punctuation aka SPAG; or is it one of the middle levels? I would suggest that with the experience you have that next you study all aspects of writing and publishing then do the next novel better.
What is the difference between a first draft and an unedited novel? 380 is what I am told it converts to in standard paperback format. Not office pages. 380 of those would be way too much I know. Plus I am not that proficient
My process goes: a)First draft... wait at least 3 months , b) first self edit and revision... wait another couple of months.... c)second self edit and revision... d)editor... e)revision... f)proof reader...g)revision... h)format.. i)final read through, publish If you are also using beta readers they'd go between c and d (course if you're going for a trad deal you might want to use betas instead of (d) and after that it would go revision, proofread,revision, query ) If you are currently at point a) you are significantly far off being ready to publish or submit
I would say more like b. I have tidied up and added another chapter for character development Another issue is Covidundancy in July. I have a contract role that ends in Feb so I am skint. I have a family so an editor is not easy to fund
There are many editors of all sorts out there and they are not that hard to find if you look in the right places. Also, I helped a friend publish his book and he got an English teacher to edit it for him at a much better rate. it takes a little effort but you can find an editor without it being a major hurdle. I would make sure that you know which level of editing you want/need and make sure the person you choose is a match for that type of editing.
i'd suggest leaving it a while, while you write something else then going back to beta readers for another round.. by the time you've exhausted the potential of self edits and beta readers wh knows wher you'll be emploment wise... you may be in a better place to pay for editting...but if not at any rate you'll have a cleaner manuscript so the cost will be lower... or you might chose to go the trad route in which case you'll have a cleaner manuscript to submit
