Publishing a book involves several stages, although some of these are optional – every book is different and has different needs. These are the stages it might go through once you have got a first draft written:
- development/structural editing – this is where a specialist editor looks at how your book works, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, and suggests improvements (see our guide to the types of editing)
- copy editing – this is the picky stuff, where the editor ensures your grammar is correct, you have used words and phrases consistently and your style and content are accurate (again, see our guide)
- formatting/typesetting – this means laying out the finished text (and any illustrations) into the finished form of the book which will be published/printed; alongside this you will need a cover design
- proofreading – ideally your formatted book is then read by a fresh set of eyes; a proofreader will pick up any remaining typos or errors that have crept in from formatting
- indexing – if your non-fiction book needs an index, this is the point where that would be compiled, i.e. when both the text and its formatting have otherwise been completed
- publishing – now the book is ready to publish!
Traditional publishing is where all of the above is done for you and the publisher takes a risk on the sales, arranging printing, distribution and marketing the book for you, in return for which you will receive an upfront advance and/or royalties on each sale of the book. Typically you might receive 10% of the cover price, but it can be less after the publisher’s costs are taken into account (less still if you have a literary agent representing you). Hybrid publishers will offer the same services but you would make a financial contribution to the publisher’s costs.
If you decide to self-publish, you can choose to take on any or all of the above stages yourself – or you can hire out parts of the process. Typically you would then either arrange for copies to be printed and be responsible for selling them either directly or by persuading retailers to sell them on your behalf – or you can use one of the online self-publishing platforms available.
For more on this, see the related question here, ‘How do I self-publish a book?’.