Tip O'Day - Guest Post (Parts 7 & 8)

When I asked some writer friends for a favorite writing tip, I was afraid they'd be too busy to help me re-energize the Wredheaded Writer blog. Then, one of the first replies I received was an eight part message from Stephanie Osborn. Woot woot!

I've received lots more tips, and will be mixing in some of my irreverent (irrelevant?) insights as well. But this process will be incomplete without YOUR input. Whether a published pro or rank amateur, you still have valuable ideas. John Grisham isn't necessarily any smarter than you - he's certainly more experienced but he struggles with the same issues that bug you, just at a different level. You worry about burning your grilled cheese sammie, while he is concerned that his surf and turf is served at the proper temp and texture. Same issues, different levels. (I look forward to your phone call, John.)

Soooo, let's see your idea. Email me at montananovels@yahoo.com or message me on Facebook (Dixon Rice Novelist).

Now here's the conclusion of Stephanie's eight-part series:

Stephanie Osborn - Things They Don’t Tell You In Author’s School, Installment #7:

So you have the book edited, it’s in gorgeous shape; the cover art has come down and it’s beautiful. You’re done, right? Nope. Now you get the e-ARC, the electronic Advanced Review Copy. You get to review that, make corrections, and send the corrections back. That's gotta be it, you think.

NOW you’re done? No. Now you get the galley prints. These are unbound first run prints of your book. Again, review for errors and send back the corrections. These will sometimes be things that were missed in all of the previous edits (yes, it IS possible!), but mostly it will be problems in converting the electronic version of the manuscript into print. This usually comes in the form of dropped formatting - a missed tab, lost italics, a strange carriage return, a blank line where it shouldn't be, or an odd symbol substituted for punctuation.

Meanwhile, you and your publisher are working on the public relations and publicity campaign. Start making appearances before the book is released if you want to build buzz. Build a website. Blog. Tweet. Face. Space. If you can get your name out there, and your book’s name out there, do it.

After the book comes out come the interviews, talks, and book signings.

Somewhere in there, you start writing your next book.

Thing Seven: You NEVER really get done.

And finally, Installment #8:

Wait - the book is OUT, right? What more can there BE?!

Thing Eight: Congratulations. Once you’ve realized Things One through Seven, you are now an experienced, professional author.