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I have written my book – what next?

You have written your book. You have hundreds of words in front of you. What happens after you write your book?

Many people feel overwhelmed after writing their business book and aren’t sure what to do next. You have all your notes in front of you in chapters, and it’s time to bring them all together. This suddenly feels hard to do when you’re facing deadlines and you’re not sure which part of the process to do next.

Here are the things to think about at this stage:

1. Edit the book yourself

Before you give your manuscript to someone else, you’ll want to gather your writing to make sure it flows and make changes. From my experience, there are a few things you can do to make desktop publishing easier.

Check different things with each edition. First, you may be organizing the flow of your words, then you can check for meaning, grammar, and typos.

It is important to double check the facts, names, and other information cited.

Print your book to read rather than review from the screen, especially during final edits. Then find a quiet place to read them, and I prefer to take notes in colored pen so I’ll realize this later when I update the electronic copy.

If something feels a little clunky, read it out loud and then you’ll be more likely to realize how you can make your message clearer.

2. Finalize your book title and subtitle

For many people, trying to decide what to name their book causes problems. They spend so much time thinking about it, that it slows down the writing of the book.

In my experience, it’s something that grabs you from the beginning or you may still need to finalize this at this late stage. If this is the case, ask for feedback from contacts and customers. Don’t try to be too clever with your title, or at least make sure the subtitle captures the essence of your book and who it’s for.

3. Ask your friends, colleagues and other professionals for their feedback

As an author, at this stage, you will probably be too close to your book. Find a small group of people to go through the book for you, ask them to pick out anything that doesn’t make sense, and ask for suggestions to improve it.

4. Have your book professionally edited and proofread

Even if other people have read your book, I think it’s essential to have a trained professional do the final review. There’s nothing worse than picking up a book and seeing a slew of typos on the first page. While this adds cost if you self-publish, this is part of your brand so a professional book is essential.

At the editing stage, your editor/reviewer will notice things that don’t make sense, need explanation, and make suggestions for improvement. They will then check things like consistency, grammar, spelling, and style, as they are trained to do.

5. Organize your cover design

You may have already done this if you have something specific in mind, but if not, this is the time to get a designer involved. When it comes to his cover, remember that you only have a few seconds to make a great first impression with your potential reader.

Whether you’re using a stock photo, getting a custom design, or using photographs, just think about how your image will look in a thumbnail—that is, on your website or on Amazon—before you approve it. The ideal is to have something that is simple and easy to understand. You may not even need an actual image, and words can get your message across to your readers. Once again, feedback from others is great if you have a couple of designs to choose from.

6. Organize your foreword and endorsements

Although having a foreword is not essential, you can ask someone to write this backing for your book. If you have a high-profile person in mind, don’t hesitate to ask. You can also tell them why they are the perfect person to write the foreword.

To speed up the process, if they want to see your entire book, I would personally send them the manuscript before it has been professionally edited, but you can choose to wait until later. But at least ask them now. If you have a couple of people in mind, could the other people write you a review for your inside cover?

7. Write your thank you page

The hardest thing about writing your thank you page is worrying about losing someone! When in doubt, be sure to include a screenshot just in case, thanking everyone who has contributed to your book, life, and work. Think about the key people who have been involved in the book, without whom it probably wouldn’t have been possible.

8. Write your back cover copy

When someone picks up your book and turns it to the back cover, they want to grab your attention from the first to the last word on the page. I often work one-on-one with my clients to help them write this, as it can be hard to see what makes your book stand out.

Think about the following:

For whom?

What are they going through?

Why should they read it?

What will they get out of it?

Also include a short biography, and you may choose to put a longer “about you” page in the back of the book. You only have room for about 150 words on the back cover, so make sure you keep it short. You can also choose to include a photo of yourself and a couple of reviews, although this is not essential.

9. Get it published!

Once you’ve edited and proofread all of your work, you’re ready to write it, create the final cover design, and print the first copy of your books.

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