This week I'm reporting LIVE from the dizzying tail-end of the book-writing process. Yesterday I covered the "Why" - today is about the "How":

There’s no shortage of online resources for authors, but interestingly, I never found a utilitarian infographic that mapped out the discrete activities that get you to the finish line.

So Claude and I put one together based on my own experience:

The former project manager in me desperately wanted this to be a linear process, and generally, it is up to a point...

...then chaos breaks loose in the final 2-3 months, which is exactly where I am right now.

A few additional call-outs:

• I chose to work with a book midwife upfront who got me centered and moving and has been a source of sanity from the wings along the way
• I’ve picked up the rest of the external partners (copy editor, formatter, proofer, etc.) along the way through either referral or the Reedsy platform
• You’ll see there are several rounds of external edits:
  • Developmental edit — narrative, tension, concept build-outs
  • Copy edit - punctuation, grammar, consistency, technical polish
  • Proofread - final final scan through print-ready version
• I personally skipped the beta reader step (rationale for another day)
• I also opted out of hiring a PM (production/project manager) to manage the launch — I’m feeling this now, but it’ll be ok 😉

Hope this gives you a mental reference for the steps involved.

(For the authors in the room, what did I miss??)

💡

-Wes

P.S. Keep your questions coming (hit reply) - I'll be wrapping this mini-series up tomorrow