A Crash Course on Publication
- Camille Rosas
- Apr 7
- 3 min read
Writers love talking about the long, arduous, but rewarding process of creating a manuscript. However, there's not a lot of talk about what comes after—getting your work published. The publishing process can be divided into several steps: acquisition, editing, production, marketing, and sales. Let's tackle each step in detail. Remember: while writing is an art, publishing is a business.
Research
The best first step is always research. This will help you make informed decisions throughout the entire process. Does your book fill any sort of niche? Are there agents and publishers who specialize in your book's genre? How’s the competition? Find out what kind of books are popular in your location. Attend your local bookstore's events to find out how they approach marketing. By doing market research, you can familiarize yourself with the publishing business and take the right steps to getting your book out there.
Acquisition
The next step is crucial: getting your book acquired. This does not mean sending your manuscript to as many publishers as possible and simply hoping for the best. It takes strategy. Before you send out your manuscript, make sure that it is packaged in a way that would make it appealing. Choose publishers you'd want to work with, and who you think might want to work with you. Getting an agent could might make this step easier.
If a publisher likes your work, you’ll be called in for a meeting and offered a contract. In some instances, you could be offered to sign on for more than just the manuscript you already finished. Fingers crossed!
Editing
Once you’re signed, the editing process begins. Publishing houses often have an editorial department who will work with you to further improve your book, which could mean improving the flow, tightening up the language, getting rid of errors, or generally just making it more readable. Remember: editors are here to help make your work better.
Production
After editing, your manuscript goes to a production team. Editorial teams improve content, while production teams improve the way your book looks. Production collaborates with you to come up with the layout, the cover, the size, and the book's other physical characteristics. They are also in charge of making sure that your books make it to printing and binding; or, e-book creation, depending on the agreed-upon format.
Marketing
As soon as you're signed, a marketing team starts planning how to sell your book. This includes forming publicity strategies, creating a timeline for release, tapping your book’s target market, making teasers, giving your book’s synopsis to potential buyers, and so on. The strategies employed by the marketing team depend on many factors, such as your target demographic, your book type and format, and whether or not you’re already a published author.
Sales
Similar to marketing, the sales department's job is to sell your book. They make sure that your book not only hits the shelves but also flies off of them. This department strategizes which bookstores to consign your book with, and how many books should be printed and consigned to each store. They are also in charge of selling the rights to your book to be translated and published in different languages and formats
Ready, get set, publish!
Getting your work published can feel like fighting your way through a maze, but knowing that your story is about to find its way to the right readers makes it all worth it. If your book sells more than you expect it to, congratulations! If it doesn’t sell so well, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re already a published author, so congratulations nonetheless.
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