Why Does It Take a Year to Publish A Book?

[ruthmadison]

I thought you guys might be interested in a little behind the scenes in the world of publishing! It's been crazy busy in my life in the best possible way. I absolutely love nurturing stories to press.

One of the complaints with traditional publishers is how long it takes a book to come out. It often takes at least a year from when a manuscript is first turned in to when it goes to print.

Here are some of the reasons why:

1) If it's a small company with limited resources, they may be spacing out the publication dates to make sure that they can give your book the full attention it deserves in marketing.

2) It takes time to get edits and proofreading done. Publishers want the books they produce to be as perfect as they can possibly be. It's our reputation as a company on the line and we also want to provide the best possible books to readers. Your manuscript is going to go through at least one major edit and revision and possibly more. Then a proofreader will go over it too.

3) Part of book promotion involves pre-publication reviews. To get into a magazine like The Romantic Times or other book review magazines, you need to send a proof copy to them a minimum of four months prior to publication. Same if you want to get quotes to put on the book (i.e., "This book is awesome" -Famous Author)

Self-publication is great in a lot of ways, but I think one of its downsides is that it encourages authors to rush and put out a book that is not yet ready. If you're going to be publishing your own book, make sure that it has been edited and proofread! And if you want to try for pre-publication reviews, you'll need to be patient.

Sorry I haven't been around much lately! I want to put as much of my time and energy as I can into getting you fantastic books to enjoy!

[Ximena]

I want to emphasize how important proofreading is! If you can spare a bit of money - even if you're self-publishing - to have your manuscript professionally proofread - I highly recommend it.

I'm usually willing to be more accepting of proofing errors when I read self-pub'd books, but it could be the difference between someone buying your book or not - or the difference between a 5-star or 3-star rating.

[ruthmadison]

Agreed!

Personally, I'm never willing to overlook typos.

I mean, every book does have them. But if I see more than one every five pages or so, I dismiss the book. I'm pretty sure if I'm doing that, regular readers are too!