Joey Paul
I'm an indie author, and I have a similar process to traditionally published and other indie authors. This is going to be a long answer, so I'll try to condense it.
When I write a book, it takes me anywhere from a year to two years to finish it. I usually write two at the same time, as that works for me to keep the ideas fresh. Once the book is finished, it is filed away and not looked at again until about a year before publication. Usually, since I have more than a few books written and in 'stasis', it's about two to three years. That time is getting shorter, but for the basis of the question I'll leave it as two years. I do this because getting time away, focusing on a new story and letting it sit for a while helps with the editing process, or at least it helps me to get some distance from the story itself and look at it again with fresh eyes.
Once that two years pass, I start the editing process. I read through it, and make changes, rewrites, corrections and all of that before it's ever seen by anyone else. This usually involves a fourth or fifth draft before it goes to my editor. She then takes the book and does what any editor should do, and pulls it apart. If I plan to publish a book in the summer, as usually I do, this process starts in October of the previous year. It has to be with my editor by January and then we'll go back and forth until we get a final draft. That process takes until about April or May time.
In May, I'll then take the final, or at least "almost" final draft and send it off to my proofreader. My cover artist will have been working on a cover since the October time, and I'll start doing things like getting the paperback as ready as I can. By about June time, the book is locked in and final, having had both editing and proof reading done. I will then set a release date. Usually about July/August time.
Once I have the final draft, I set up getting it ready, formatted and all of that for Kindle and the paperback version. This means getting the proof done and sent to me for the paperback and setting up the pre-order function for Kindle. While doing this, I also release the previous year's release on all e-book sites, so that gets done along with it. When the book is locked in finally, that's when I let the paperback publish and let the Kindle version go out as well.
It's a long process, and it's pretty normal for most authors, indie or otherwise to go through a similar process. Now, I know a lot of authors who do more than one release a year, and I've been asked why I don't do so, the short answer is that I can't. My health issues make even sticking to this process hard. It is possible for me to have more than one book in the editing process, and it is possible for me to release all the books I've finished up until my current WIP, but I choose not to so that when, not if, but when my health causes a delay, I don't end up disappointing my readers. It's just the way I do things!
Thanks for the question!
When I write a book, it takes me anywhere from a year to two years to finish it. I usually write two at the same time, as that works for me to keep the ideas fresh. Once the book is finished, it is filed away and not looked at again until about a year before publication. Usually, since I have more than a few books written and in 'stasis', it's about two to three years. That time is getting shorter, but for the basis of the question I'll leave it as two years. I do this because getting time away, focusing on a new story and letting it sit for a while helps with the editing process, or at least it helps me to get some distance from the story itself and look at it again with fresh eyes.
Once that two years pass, I start the editing process. I read through it, and make changes, rewrites, corrections and all of that before it's ever seen by anyone else. This usually involves a fourth or fifth draft before it goes to my editor. She then takes the book and does what any editor should do, and pulls it apart. If I plan to publish a book in the summer, as usually I do, this process starts in October of the previous year. It has to be with my editor by January and then we'll go back and forth until we get a final draft. That process takes until about April or May time.
In May, I'll then take the final, or at least "almost" final draft and send it off to my proofreader. My cover artist will have been working on a cover since the October time, and I'll start doing things like getting the paperback as ready as I can. By about June time, the book is locked in and final, having had both editing and proof reading done. I will then set a release date. Usually about July/August time.
Once I have the final draft, I set up getting it ready, formatted and all of that for Kindle and the paperback version. This means getting the proof done and sent to me for the paperback and setting up the pre-order function for Kindle. While doing this, I also release the previous year's release on all e-book sites, so that gets done along with it. When the book is locked in finally, that's when I let the paperback publish and let the Kindle version go out as well.
It's a long process, and it's pretty normal for most authors, indie or otherwise to go through a similar process. Now, I know a lot of authors who do more than one release a year, and I've been asked why I don't do so, the short answer is that I can't. My health issues make even sticking to this process hard. It is possible for me to have more than one book in the editing process, and it is possible for me to release all the books I've finished up until my current WIP, but I choose not to so that when, not if, but when my health causes a delay, I don't end up disappointing my readers. It's just the way I do things!
Thanks for the question!
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