Having decided to add “author” to your résumé, your first task is setting the book up for success. Knowing the subject, audience, and goal is only the starting point. Consider how you’ll prioritize time, quality, speed, and budget. Assess your strengths and skills, and where you might need help.
Then envision the next steps.
This article is the second of my two-part series on publishing a book to benefit your company. Part one, “Can Writing a Book Grow Your Business?,” appeared last month.
Publishing Paths
The three main publishing paths are do-it-yourself, traditional, and hybrid. Each has pros and cons.
- Self-publishing. If speed is important and budget is tight, DIY publishing in digital formats is the clear choice. Moreover, selling direct means you’ll know the buyers, which is unlikely through a publisher, distributor, or third-party website.
- Traditional. If the goal is significant print sales, you’ll need an agent and a traditional publisher, though smaller publishers and university presses may accept un-agented book proposals.
- Hybrid. Generally, with a hybrid publisher, the author pays some or all of the publishing expenses upfront (e.g., editorial, design, marketing) and, in turn, receives a larger share of book sales than with a standard royalty.
It’s unlikely your efforts alone — as a side hustle while running a business — will result in the best possible outcome, regardless of your expertise or writing skills. Casual writers such as your nephew the English major can help in the early stages. But like doctors, plumbers, mechanics, web designers, and digital marketers, editorial pros have much to offer.
Yes, AI tools are terrific aids for research, refining ideas, and organizing notes, but they lack the context, nuance, and judgment of experienced and connected humans.
Roles
Luckily, there are plenty of expert humans! Here are typical book development roles:
- Researchers and fact-checkers can find information such as case studies, historical trends, and economic data, as well as verify references and quotations.
- Writing coaches and groups can encourage and motivate, and provide useful, ongoing feedback.
- Ghostwriters take on most of the composition, working closely to capture your voice, hone ideas, and organize the presentation. Partnering with a public co-author is another way to share the heavy lifting (and profits, if any).
- Developmental editors and coaches help shape a book’s structure and flow, refine repetitive or unclear sections, and build on your strengths as a writer.
- Copy editors and proofreaders check for errors and suggest corrections. A good copy editor will detect repetition or confusion and recommend alternatives, as well as fix grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Proofreaders focus on remaining errors as the final step before printing.
You as the author have final say with all editorial professionals over the manuscript. You are ultimately responsible for the book’s content. You may not require a team of cover designers, illustrators, indexers, agents, publishers, publicists, and audiobook narrators, but one or more will almost certainly improve the finished product.
Freelance marketplaces such as Upwork and Reedsy include editorial experts, as do professional membership organizations. The Chartered Institute of Editors and Proofreaders, the Association of Ghostwriters, ACES, the Editorial Freelancers Association, and Editors Canada have directories searchable by service, skills, location, experience, subject, and more. The sites also provide how-to on assessing needs and qualifications. The EFA (I’m a member) offers tips on hiring an editor, as well as descriptions and costs of the various editorial services.
Other helpful resources include publishing veteran Jane Friedman, the Alliance of Independent Authors, and the Authors Guild. Writer Beware alerts authors to potential scams.