The Publishing Journey

I’ve had a warm and fuzzy feeling these last few months, not because I drink too much coffee, but because I’ve received messages from several people who have got through the first and second stages of the Black Library open submissions window, thanking me for the writing advice I’ve given. What started as a way for me to formalise my thoughts on various aspects of writing, is now a large resource – nearly 100 posts in total – that is actually helping people get one step closer to being published.

As these people go through the commissioning process for the first time, I thought it might be useful to go through the different stages of working with a publisher. I’ll caveat this to say I’ve generalised a little bit as all publishers are different, but the steps below should give you a typical outline of the process.

Stage 1 – Pitch to Synopsis

You’ve pitched your story idea and the editor has asked you to provide them with a synopsis. Congratulations! Now listen carefully. Not to me, to the editor. If they ask for a word count, or two sides of A4, stick to it. If they ask for a principal character list with short bio, give it to them. At this stage, nothing has been commissioned, so you’re still trying to impress them, and they need to know you can follow instructions and will treat their requirements for your novel with equal care. At this stage there may be some back and forth as they help you to think through and re-structure your story as necessary.

This is more in the model of the Black Library, who will commission on an agreed story rather than have a ‘slush pile’ of prepared manuscripts they work through. For other publishers you may be submitting an entire novel or short story to an agent or editor, but it is still worthwhile having a pitch and a synopsis as well, in case you come across a submissions process that doesn’t ask for a completed manuscript.

Stage 2 – Commission

They love your synopsis and want to commission your story! A common payment structure for a novel is 1) payment on commission, 2) payment on submission of midway manuscript, and 3) payment on acceptance of final manuscript. Many publishers offer a multi-book deal, and will contract for two or three books in one go – these days quite often it will be for two books with first refusal to commission a third if they sell well enough. The first advance payment may well be for all of the books together (as it was when I write The Crown of the Blood) which is a nice chunk of money but don’t forget you won’t be getting those first payments further down the line!

Short stories are usually paid by the word; the contract or commission will specify the actual ‘length’ for which you will receive payment, it doesn’t usually mean you will literally get twenty pence less if you write 3,996 words instead of 4,000. This will be on acceptance of publication. Black Library are generous in that they also pay commission on sales of digital audios and ebooks based on short stories, on top of the flat rate already paid. When you have an extensive catalogue of short fiction and audios as I do that adds up nicely every six months.

Don’t crack open the champagne just yet – you still have to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard).

Stage 3 – Write the Book

How difficult can it be? Whilst you can happily / unhappily get bogged down in the detail of exactly how the magic system works, or what happened in your protagonist’s early years to make them the psychopath they are today, your editor can see the story through the prose. If you find yourself really struggling (I don’t like the term ‘writer’s block’), talk it through with them and use their knowledge and experience to help you over any hurdles. Don’t worry about looking like a fraud, they already know it’s your first story, and they liked your synopsis enough to commission you, but they can’t help if they don’t know there’s a problem.

The editor will want to receive your manuscript on time, so if you think you’re going to miss the deadline, let them know ASAP. Sometimes life can get in the way, it happens, but give your editor as much notice as you can and they might be able to re-schedule their other work around the revised timetable.

Stage 4 – Desk Edit

You’ve delivered your manuscript, and now it’s sat with the editor. Nope, still not time to open the champagne. The first round of edits will look at the story itself. Need to flesh out the background of this character? Too much description of that city? Chapter twelve works better later in the book? All this will come back to you, probably in the form of comments within your manuscript. Don’t feel nervous about disagreeing with an editors comment – you might just need to explain your thinking, and make something clearer in the story. Equally, your editor will probably have years of experience, so make sure you listen and learn from their feedback.

It is also a good idea to make a hard copy of the manuscript itself (often shortened to ‘mss’ in editor parlance) to read through and apply the red pen. Some people advocate reading your story out loud to help with the flow of the words. I don’t transfer these corrections into the mss until I also have the editorial feedback – some may be duplicated, some might be changed or take out entirely. Try to work with a as few drafts as possible, so that you only have one version at a time that both you and the editors are looking at. It’s important that you work on the correct documents, to ensure consistent version management and editorial continuity.

Stage 5 – Copy Edit

You’ve gone through the edits, and you and the editor are both happy with the content. At this point the revised manuscript will be sent to a copy editor who will look at spelling, grammar, punctuation, continuity and consistency etc. Depending on the publisher, you may also get sent the manuscript at this point, and there will still be time to make any vitally important changes.

Stage 6 – TypE se t ting

The flesh and bones are agreed, and now it’s time for typesetting. This literally sets out how the words will appear on the page – paragraph and letter spacing, page breaks, and the general readability of the text. Again, you may also get to see the manuscript at this point, although it’s probably too late to make any changes unless they are absolutely required.

For a novel you may be asked for any dedications, acknowledgements and ‘thanks to’ at this stage, sometimes a stage earlier.

Stage 7 – Sit Back And Wait!

The excitement of finishing your book may be a distant memory by the time your book hits the shelves. The longest I’ve had to wait between submitting a project and publication is about 2.5 years, although anywhere between 6-18 months is the norm. While the project is fresh in your mind, put together a plan to market your story or book. Hopefully your publisher will market and advertise your book, but if you’re planning on a career in writing, you’ll need to do this too.

Stage 8 – Publication

You will probably receive sample copies of your anthology or novel a month or so before release, and can fondle it while you sit back with the satisfaction that you have accomplished something that many dream about. Congratulations – now you can open the champagne! Hopefully you will be busy with interviews, book signings, conventions, and of course… writing your next book.

Stage 9 – Royalties / Commission Payments

Publishers have varying timetables for paying royalties, as laid out in the contracts but every six months seems to be the norm. For example Black Library royalties run January-June and July-December, with actual payment received two-or-three months later.

Well that’s a whistle-stop tour of the publishing journey – I hope you’ve found it useful. You can read all my writing advice blog posts here. As always, if you have a specific question, or a topic you’d like me to cover, leave a comment below.

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