Steps to Publishing a Book

This is a basic timeline from start to finish on how a book goes from an idea to physical book in hand. The length of the process depends on many factors including writing and revising speed, if illustrations are needed, and the availability of service providers.

Step 1: Drafting

The author writes their story. The goal of drafting is just to get the story out. It's okay if it's messy; that's what the next step is for!

Here are some word count ranges to aim for: 
  • Children's Books
    • Picture book: 300-1,000 words
    • Middle grade: 25,000–60,000 words
    • Young adult: 55,000–90,000 words
  • Adult Books
    • Romance, mystery, thriller, horror, memoir: 70,000–100,000 words
    • Fantasy, science fiction: 80,000–120,000 words

Step 2: Revising

The author reworks the manuscript several times to get it the best it can be. This is a good time to send it to others for feedback. You can send it to reliable family members, friends, readers, or other writers to get their thoughts on the story. 

Step 3: Developmental or Content Editing

A professional editor reads the entire manuscript and gives feedback about the content including characters, setting, plot, and pacing. ​A developmental edit provides feedback on the overall book, the big picture. No notes within the manuscript, but a separate detailed report. A content edit will give detailed content-only feedback within the manuscript and also some notes on the overall big picture.

Step 4: Copy Editing

A professional editor copy edits the manuscript. A copy edit corrects for conventions and editorial style. It polishes the manuscript for publication. Think punctuation, word usage, and grammar.

Step 5: Illustration (for children's books)

If you'd like illustrations in your book, they are completed after the manuscript is fully finalized. An illustrator will determine the art fees based off of the number of illustrations, the size, the medium, and the level of detail. 

Step 6: Cover Design

This is one of the most fun parts! Your cover is your best marketing tool, so you need to make sure it's a good one that fits your genre. It's always smart to do market research where you study other covers that are selling well in your genre. 

Step 7: Formatting

Your doc/docx is made to look like the interior of a book as a PDF file that will be used in uploading. There are two different styles when formatting the interior of a book: simple/classic style or decorative style. Simple formatting just has chapter numbers and text, no decorative elements. Decorative formatting uses a chapter header image (usually matching the cover somehow) and also more elaborate section break graphics. ​

Step 8: Uploading

A printer/distributor is chosen, and the formatted cover and interior file are both uploaded. This is where you will need your keywords, book blurb, and categories (metadata). 

Step 9: Proofing

A physical copy is ordered from the printer. Either the author or an editor goes through the physical book and checks for any typos or grammatical errors.​

Step 10: Publishing

Finally! Your book is available for purchase through retailers. You did it!