Nowadays, most writers can’t simply write a story, send it off to an agent or publisher and sit back and wait for the praise and money. Of course, it’s always been true for most writers that once the story has been written, they must take off their writer’s hat and put on their editor’s hat.

It’s been a long time since a writer could send a manuscript to an editor and expect the editor to fix spelling, punctuation, grammar, and context. Most agents and editors expect manuscripts to be 90% ready to publish when received. That means, unless a writer is very good at self-editing, he or she must find/hire a freelance editor to make certain the manuscript is 90% (or better) ready to be published.

Then there’s the salesman hat (or is it salesperson?). The writer must search for, find, and convince an agent or editor that the manuscript should be published. As most writers know, the query letter and search for the right agent or publisher is not only time consuming, it is a talent in itself.

Once a publisher goes to contract with a book (or short story), the process of formatting and design (cover, inside material) becomes the publisher’s job. But maybe not completely. Most publishing and agency guidelines now have specific directions on how the manuscript should be formatted. And, of course, the writer will need to give direction on cover design and will need to provide a short bio and any acknowledgments, etc.) Oh, and it’s usually up to the writer to get blurbs or quotes from other authors.

If a writer chooses to self-publish, then he or she will have to put on the publisher hat. Now the writer must either do the formatting for an e-book or paperback or hire that task out; must hire a professional editor; and must either hire a cover artist or design the cover. Decisions must be made regarding how much to charge, when to release the book, which self-publishing venues to use. The writer must (should) purchase ISBN numbers for the e-book and paperback and should pay to have the book copyrighted.

Once the book, either traditionally published or self-published, is ready to be released, the writer must put on the marketing hat. It used to be the publishing house handled all of that, but nowadays I would say 60% of marketing falls on most writers’ shoulders. With the marketing hat on, the writer must arrange blog tours, pay for or create advertising, solicit reviews, send out newsletters, arrange library and book store talks (under normal circumstances), and do whatever one can to get word about the book out to potential readers/buyers.

There are times when it’s fun to switch from one hat to another, but sometimes, like yesterday when I spent over an hour filling out the form to copyright my book, I wished I could simply wear the writer’s hat and let others wear the rest of the hats. (Ignorance may be bliss, but not when dealing with computers.)

Copyright Craft Craft E-books Publishing Self-publishing Writing Ideas

Tags: editing, formatting, marketing, publishing, query letter, search for agent or editor, self-publishing