The Prolonged Publishing Process

“So, when is your book coming out?”

“Is all the editing finished?”

“How’s the progress?”

These questions have been coming at me for a long time, ever since I signed a publishing contract, but they’ve been more frequent in the past few months. After all, it’s been two years since I told everyone that my book was being published, so why isn’t it out yet?

The short answer: publishing takes time—a lot of time.

If you’re one of those wondering why it takes so much time or just curious about the process, follow me through the steps I’ve gone through and the ones to come.

(Please note that this is my experience with one publisher—they don’t all work in the same way or with the same timeline)

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FINISHING THE MANUSCRIPT

When I signed the contract, my publisher didn’t expect me to have my manuscript finished. They also had other projects on the go and were accepting submissions for the following year, so though I signed my contract in October 2023, its start date was not until September 2024.

I thought my manuscript was complete at the time of the contract signing, but a year can give room for a lot of rethinking and rewriting. I made changes, let the story sit, and made some more.

SUBMITTING … AND WAITING

I had a welcome call with the executive director of Calla Press in September 2024, discussing my vision for the book, planning next steps, and praying for God’s blessing and help in it all. I officially submitted my manuscript.

And then I waited.

Yes, all those people who say that publishing is an exercise in patience are correct. There must be patience, because good books take time. (More on this below)

My developmental editor took time to read my manuscript, not once, but twice, and the second time around she put comments in the margin with suggestions for improvement. No small feat, considering its size.

DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING

After summoning my courage, I opened the document and read her comments—213 of them. Yes, some of them were comments of great encouragement, but I realised I had a lot to work through. Her fresh perspective saw things that needed change, but that I had never noticed because I’m so familiar with the story.

I added scenes. I edited existing scenes. I removed scenes. I reworked some of my characters’ conversations. I removed one character entirely. I added little details that would help readers understand the main character’s background and back-story.

With a few unexpected delays, I finished making changes by the end of June and passed the manuscript back to them.

Then … guess what?

Yeah. I waited … and it was necessary and good.

LINE EDITING

We’re taking this step now. Toward the end of the month, I’ll receive my manuscript again with more editing suggestions, this time in the areas of grammar, sentence/paragraph structure, spelling, etc. I’ll have one month to implement their suggestions.

WHAT’S NEXT?

After that, we’ll be on the home stretch—but there’s still more work to do! One member of the publishing team will put everything in the correct format for printing; another will design a cover (I can’t wait to share a cover with you!). When together we’ve finished and approved everything, it’ll be sent to the press and printed.

And then it will be out to touch the hearts of those who read it, by God’s grace.

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It’s easy to grow impatient, to chafe at the slow progress, to wonder if your publishing dream will ever really come out of the mists of the future.

REMEMBER:

• The publishing process shouldn’t be rushed. It takes time to create something meaningful and beautiful. It takes prayer and time spent with the Creator of all that’s lovely. It takes careful thought and painstaking planning. It takes hard work done by many people. Take heart and persevere—God will see His work through you brought to completion.
• Publishers are people, too. The people with whom you’re working aren’t robots or book slaves; they have lives to live, families to love and nurture, past traumas and daily trials we don’t know about, and other ministries to which God has called them. Give them grace and don’t view them as people working for your plans and profit, view them as people you can build relationships with and bless.
• You are not the only author in the equation. Publishers work on multiple projects at the same time, which means yours is not always at the forefront. Take a moment to step back and humbly re-evaluate things. God has other authors at work and other books in progress. He desires to do great things through you, but you are not the centre of everything.

  ‘Now the Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.’ –2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

In Him,

TRQT