Lessons Learned | Book Publishing

Lessons Learned

In 2020, I published my first book, only to find out that the process, things you need to know and the outcome was not going to be what I expected. In publishing books now you have so many options! The "traditional publisher "is great, but waiting for the right opportunity takes extensive amounts of work and time. You can "self-publish" and do all the work on your own or you can go with "Hybrid publishing" which is a combination of the two. Hybrid publishing was what I chose to go with, and in that process I found a publisher, asked them tons of questions. And at the end of the process, I was disappointed and embarrassed.

If you are preparing to publish a book, or have published before and you're considering going with hybrid publishing here is what I've learned so far.

Hire your own editor. Hybrid Publishers will give you a select amount of passes at your book with the editor that they offer in your contract. With that being said, if you are anything like me and grammar is not a skill set that you hold. Be sure to vet and hire someone to edit your book with you before you send it to the publisher and before you send in the final draft for publication.

Be real with your friends and family if the outcome is a bit embarrassing, after publishing Cultivating Curiosity I was so embarrassed to find errors in the manuscript and full sentences that didn't make sense. As my friends begin to read the book I started sharing my frustration in the editing process and sincerely apologized for the confusion. After talking with a newer friend, who I highly respect, he offered to go through the book and help me edit it himself. He went through the book and marked it all up and I went through the manuscript and changed the errors. The grace and compassion shown by being real and messy were refreshing. I do feel your pain and I know it sucks and yet you have the power to make it better.

Do not wait to offer or publish a second revision of the book. If you release a book and there are errors that compromised the Integrity of your text. Your own personal moral Integrity that you've sold the product and you are embarrassed by it, do not wait 3 months or six months, or nine months. Replace the manuscript and no longer allow the prior manuscript to be available. I get it and I know how this feels but you need to value every reader's time as well as protect your voice.

I truly wish you the best in your writing efforts, and I am cheering for you!

XO -B