What step am I on in the book writing/editing/publishing process? Well, very close to the beginning as it turns out.
For those that are interested, my plan is listed below. (Red checkmarks indicate those items that are complete). For those that are not, skip to the end of this page or look at the pretty picture above.
- Finish book √
- Friends, who read fantasy, read book √
- Revise book per comments of friends who read fantasy √
- Find people who don’t know me – who hopefully read YA fantasy – to read book (aka Beta Reader and others)
- Revise book per comments of Beta Reader and others
- Read book aloud to hapless husband without either filing for divorce
- Revise book as per comments of hapless husband (maybe) and any errors that become obvious during reading aloud exercise
- Hire proofreader
- Create painful query letter and/or synopsis of book (For clarification: the query letters are not to be painful, just creation of query letters happen to be painful)
- Identify agents accepting YA fantasy novels
- Email painful query letter and/or synopsis to prospective agents as per their specific submission requirements
- Wait for rejections, and hopefully at least one request for further pages
- Wait some more
- Receive responses from agents
Please note the minimal amount of red checkmarks above. This is a long and arduous process – maybe even more so for my husband during the ‘reading aloud’ part.