Critical Steps in Writing a Publishable Book

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Step	Action	Blog Title
1	Perform market research. If you… Then… find a market for your idea ·         write your story. ·         go to step 2. do not find a market for your idea ·         revise the idea until you find one that is in demand. ·         go to step 2.	Publishing Research
2	Research your topic.	Research Your Topic, Setting and Characters
3	Write the first draft.
4	Perform steps 1 and 2 for a second story.
5	Revise your first story’s first draft. Repeat several times.
6	Submit the story to test “beta” readers for comments, ideas, suggestions and general feedback. If the reader feedback is… Then… positive go to step 7. negative ·      review your story paying particular attention to suggestions on how to improve it. ·      revise your story.
7	Submit a query letter to a publisher. Note: Submit to one publisher at a time since most publishers do not allow simultaneous submissions. If the query feedback is… Then… positive ·      submit the complete manuscript. ·      go to step 8. negative ·      revise your story paying particular attention to suggestions on how to improve it. ·      submit the revised version to a different publisher.
8	Determine if the publisher offers you a contract. If the publisher feedback is… Then… positive ·         work with your assigned editor until the book is published. ·         Go to How to Market Your First Book (not yet created). negative ·         revise your story paying particular attention to suggestions on how to improve it. ·         submit the revised version to a different publisher.