You've finished your manuscript, and now you're ready to turn it into a real, actual book. But... what does that mean, exactly?

Produce

Okay. I'm ripping the band-aid off. Your book probably needs another pass of editing (or maybe more than one). If you're like most authors, you've read the book approximately 4,037 times, and probably even had friends or even paid editors read it. But... that's actually kind of the problem. When you've worked so closely with something for so long, you can't really see it anymore. Fresh eyes (especially highly skilled ones) make all the difference. (Fun fact: content editors and copyeditors are two different things and have two different skillsets. You need both.)

Package

The fun part!! And, unfortunately, the part that most self-published books miss the mark on, which is why they get dismissed on sight as "self-published" (aka "low quality.") Retailers and journalists see 1,000s of books. They are highly attuned to all the little details that signal whether a book is going to sell. Cover design. Book interior. Jacket copy. Print quality. All the little things that add up to someone saying YES to your book. A great designer can give you the best chance shot at your book getting a yes. (Pro tip: choose designers whose portfolio makes you say, "I want that.")

Publish

This is where it all comes together. All that hard work. All those design decisions. All those iterations of the jacket copy. This is where it turns into a real, live book. And it's technical. Typesetting, graphics prep, ISBNs, print platforms, ePubs, pricing, sales channels, distribution, preflight. The needed knowledge runs deep, and it's soooo much more fun when you have someone on your side. (Also: when navigating the approximately five million fields on print-on-demand upload forms that all make you go, "wait, what?")

Promote

Here's another band-aid to remove. (Sorry!). Your book is not going to sell itself. Even if you do everything "right" up to this point, there's just too many options out there. If you want your readers to find your book, you're going to have to help them out a little. The good news is that there are a lot of great ways to get your book in front of the right people. As with all things, it's more fun when you have someone to work with. (Spoiler: No, this does not mean going on a book tour, though those can be fun. Yes, it does probably mean doing some kind of social media or advertising.)