How to Become an Author – From First Draft to Publication
- Brainz Magazine
- 4 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Written by Isabella Presley, Author
Isabella is known for her Gothic literature, fiction writing, and academia. She attends Concordia University, pursuing her BA in English Literature. She has written and self-published her debut gothic romance novel, Her Dionysus, and is currently writing her prequel. Her love of storytelling has landed her on radio shows, podcasts, and interviews.
You did it! You finished your first draft of your novel. Congratulations! This is a big step in any author’s journey, and you should be proud of yourself. Now, what? There are endless possibilities of where you could go and what you could do. Coming from an author who has struggled to get to where she is (and still is, to be honest), I am going to tell you all the things you should do and things I recommend you avoid. However, always remember that this is your journey, and your opinions are just as important as the advice I’m about to give.
Once your first draft is complete, an author should always take at least 2-4 weeks away from the project. It allows your brain to relax, to take a step back, so you can come at it with fresh eyes. When you go back in, try to look at it from a reader’s perspective to catch any plot holes, grammar, or punctuation issues. Read it aloud to yourself. This helps with catching mistakes your eyes may miss.
Now it’s time to decide whether you want to go down one of the three publishing paths available to you, traditional, hybrid, or self-publishing. I will break down what each of these is, and what I recommend for each from my own experiences.
Traditional: this publishing path is the most famous one that many authors want to have, including myself (now that I have experienced a different pathway), where you query your novel to literary agents and publishers. For this pathway, I highly recommend that you edit your book as much as possible to make it near-publishable. Even if it’s finding a friend, hiring a freelance editor, or self-editing (if you have high-quality editing skills), so that the novel has a bigger potential of getting accepted. Literary agents and publishers want clean work. If they accept it, then they will have their editors look at it and edit the book some more before it goes on to cover design, layout, publication, etc. Now with traditional publishing, it doesn’t cost you anything until they make a book deal with you, which is them buying the rights to your book, and you are agreeing to possible changes to your manuscript. That being said, I recommend only going with agents and publishers who want to see your story flourish, not their personal branded rewrites for marketing. In the long run, they want to make money! Keep in mind that traditional publishing is also a longer process, between 1-3 years after your book has been completed, although they have a bigger reach in marketing your book, and they can get your book in the bookstores much more easily than if you are self-published or hybrid-published. If you want to have a lot of the heavy lifting done for you, that’s cost-effective, and you are okay with having the rights bought from you, then this would be a path I recommend, and it is something that I want to do in the future, based on my experience as an author.
Hybrid: This path is one that comes with many caution signs, and I highly advise you to pay attention to this one! Hybrid publishing is a mix of self and traditional publishing, where you pay upfront fees for a particular contract with that publishing company, and they help with cover design, layout, distribution, editing, etc. However, beware of this one, as many of these places are scams, and I spent thousands of dollars and went into debt because of them. Every time I wanted extra editing or a phone consultation with the editor, it cost more money. They nickel-and-dimed me in everything! Not to mention, they don’t have the most professional people behind the screen, you don’t get to know them personally, there is no collaboration, and it feels very cold and isolating. The good news, though, is that if you disagree with the editor, you can adjust your edits to how you see fit, although you can do this with a freelance editor if you self-publish, so it honestly doesn’t matter either way on that part. Also, hybrid publishers have a rep around the industry as being a “vanity press”, which means they are more about taking your money and making you feel as though you’ll be a Bestseller when, in reality, that generally does not happen. For authors who are new, inexperienced, and who don’t have a hefty bank account to throw thousands of dollars away, I would seriously stay clear of this path. You can do most of this on your own without all the hassle and debt.
Self-publishing: This path is one of many controversies in the industry, but it is becoming increasingly popular. I have met some amazing self-published or “indie” authors, as they call them, and I am grateful for their support. This group is more about authenticity than trying to make money. Although that is the goal for many authors, they lean into authentic connection to readers, and they know that the work may have flaws. When you don’t have the funds to pay for everything, it can be difficult to get the highest quality work done, which is why I have said previously to look for a freelance editor who cares about the craft and your book. If you can manage to hire a couple of really good freelance editors and cover designers, then you have half the job done, and it will be half the cost of hybrid publishing! There will be a bigger learning curve doing this on your own, but once you find the right people to help you out, it’s much easier. Also note that you can publish your book whenever you want, versus a publishing house telling you when and how it will be done. You get to decide everything! You get all your rights and royalties, but it is at your cost.
Now that you have decided your path for publishing, it’s time to either get editing with a freelance editor (I suggest doing this either way) or query your book to agents. There are many agents to choose from, but the ones you want to focus on are in your genre, who have an interest in your kind of book, and who want to work with new authors. Know that you will get many rejections, but if traditional publishing is your goal, keep at it! It only takes one person to love your story and run with it!
Once you have gone through the steps and maybe even landed an agent and an eventual book deal, it’s time to celebrate the book launch! This is the fun (sometimes stressful) and exciting part where you come together with your friends, family, and readers to bring your baby into the world! Create a theme, choose a venue, and have fun! You deserve it, and you can officially call yourself an author. But it doesn’t end here. Marketing is very important at this stage and is still tricky even for me. It takes trial and error on social media, knowing trends, tropes, and other industry knowledge, but each step you take is closer to making your book seen! The best advice I can give in the book launch/marketing phase is to network with those around you who are authors, editors, publishers, marketers, etc. They will all give advice and help you through your process. Also, doing your own research helps too. YouTube is also a great info place, but I would suggest staying away from BookTok and Bookstagram for everything because it’s becoming too chaotic, and everyone has an opinion, and comparing yourself to those on there is not the best thing when you are trying to figure out your own niche and way of doing things. Trust your gut.
So, now you have finally reached the end. Following these steps is just the beginning. It takes courage, strength, determination, and dedication for this, and some days will be better than others. Know that if you have a bad day or week, it isn’t the end of the world, and you didn’t fail. It takes emotional fortitude to get through this line of work, but it will always teach you something about yourself, and you’ll find the strength you didn’t know you had to keep going. Get out there, be seen, show up, because somebody out there needs your story right now.
You can check out my Instagram for my book Her Dionysus, a gothic vampire romance inspired by the late Anne Rice. I will also be posting my articles there for writing advice, how to become an author, what experiences I have had, and what I am writing next!
Read more from Isabella Presley
Isabella Presley, Author
Isabella Presley is a Canadian Gothic literature fiction author. She self-published her debut novel, Her Dionysus, a vampire romance set in New Orleans. She has a gift for writing and telling stories that are emotionally charged and heart-centered. Education is an important value in her life, and she attends Concordia University, obtaining a BA in English Literature. Isabella has a passion for the written word and self-expression. Her mission: Read good literature. Write. And always express yourself authentically.
