You Wrote a Book. Now What? - a podcast by Ani Alexander

Many authors think that writing a book is very hard and that once you finish your book, the rest is a piece of cake.

Well I would argue about that. For example personally for me the writing process is more enjoyable and much easier than everything else that needs to be done after that.

Once you have completed your manuscript there are so many things that you need to do after. It may even make some writers feel overwhelmed and confused.

So let’s understand what should you do once you finish writing your book? What are the things that you will have to deal with.

1. Get feedback Who you should get feedback from?

Well many rush to their friends and family but I personally think that it is not a good thing. First of all – they are people who might not be able to be objective. Second, they may feel bad about hurting your feeling and may not provide any negative feedback. And the third thing is that they may not be your audience. For example I write women’s fiction and it is logical that my husband is not the most suitable person to approach for feedback. So try to find readers, who enjoy reading books similar to the one you’ve written.

1. Consider modifications based on feedback Just because you have received feedback does not mean that you have to change the book based on absolutely all the points that were brought up. Try to objectively evaluate what you received and make those changes that will benefit your book and which were objectively true.


2. Self-edit

Your manuscript has to be self edited. In fact maybe you will need few rounds of self-edit. One before you send out the text             for feedback and one after you have made the final changes to the manuscript.

4. Proofread There will always be typos and grammar mistakes which you have not caught so you should take that fact as granted.

          Ideally you should get professional help; but if you can’t afford it, have at least 4 to 5 different people go through your manuscript. That way you will minimize the remaining errors.

5. Professional editing Many authors I have interviewed so far have mentioned the importance of having professional your book. It definitely will make the experience of reading your book much better one. It will also ensure that your book ensures good quality text.


6. Research your competitors Ideally you will have to do that before even starting writing then book, but if you have not done it yet n case you have not done it do some research. See which books in your genre are bestsellers now. What are they about? What do readers like about them? How are they priced? What do their covers look like? And so on. Make sure you have the picture of where are you getting into and how to make sure that your book is at least as good as other books in there and make sure you know what differentiates your book from the others.


7. Decide about the platform Yes, Amazon is still the obvious market leader but it is not the only self- publishing platform out there. You can also consider – B&N, iBooks, Kobo, etc. You have to decide whether you would like to concentrate exclusively on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing or embrace all the possibilities.


8. Format the book Yeah… that is yet another boring thing that needs to be done. Each platform requires a specific format of the book and you have to make sure that the book is formatted well and it is easy for the eye to read.


9. Choose your category Choosing the right category and subcategory is very crucial. It will help you with your books rankings and visibility. That is why you will need to spend some time...

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