Now that I’ve been writing for almost three years now, I’m still astonished by how much work publishing a novel truly entails. Don’t get me wrong, it’s unbelievably gratifying when you’re actually holding your “baby” in your hands.

The writing part is not bad at all. Actually, it’s very therapeutic for me, but after the first draft, the real work starts. Typically, when I write, I don’t overanalyze anything. I just write the story. After the story is written, I go back to read it. The first time I read it, I usually look to see if the story even flows. Is it too choppy? Does it make sense? Did I develop the characters and the plot? Is it moving at the right pace?

Once I’m satisfied with that, I read it again. This time, I read for sentence structure, grammar error, etc. This is when my analytical thinking plays a huge role. Do I want to say the sentence like this? Am I overusing some words? Is this scene getting the right emotion out of me as I read it?

When the manuscript is with my beta-readers, I read it again. I try to add or delete scenes as needed. Once I get feedback from my beta-readers, I go back and make more revisions. It helps to have different sets of eyes look over your story. This way, it’s truly a point of view of the reader. This is imperative because I may be biased since I’m the one who wrote the story.

After the revisions, I read it several more time (okay probably at least ten more times) before I send it over to my editor. Once I receive the edits back, I attack the manuscript again. Literally, I’ll find myself up until two in the morning many nights because I become obsessed with it. I may go over it another ten times (to a point where I’m sick of reading the story), but I kid you not, I normally still find some errors. Sure, they may be minor, and most readers wouldn’t even notice. But, I feel if my name is going on the story, I’m going to do everything in my power to make it right.

Once I’m satisfied with the final version, my formatter formats it into the KDP version and the paperback version. Again, I go over it…reading every sentence, every word, every commas and periods. It’s absolutely nuts! Even still, I order the proof copy of the book and go over it again. I’m glad I did this for Loving You Hurts So Good because I found out that they had deleted an entire chapter! Of course when I contacted Create Space, they fixed it right away. But, trust me, I had a mini-heart attack when I saw the whole chapter missing. I highly recommend a physical proof before you approve it for print.

Oh, in the meantime, the marketing has to come into play way prior to the release. Although I haven’t figured out the best marketing plan, I know the exposure is the key. So, we try to get the “hype” going about the new release. This includes cover reveals, teasers, trailers, author takeovers, getting reviews… the list is endless!

I admit, there are times when I’m so exhausted, I wonder to myself, “Why?” There is a sacrifice to all this. After all, doing this every evening and weekend is definitely time away from my family and my social life. But, to be able to create a whole new world in your stories from your imagination…yeah, I can’t even describe the feeling. Truly, most writers put in their heart and soul to their stories. I hold nothing back when I write…just put it all out there. With five books already published and working on my sixth, I can honestly say I’ve found my passion.

So, the vicious cycle will not go away. But, I don’t plan to get off from this ride as of yet. I will continue to ride this cycle, screaming, “I got this!”

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Jalpa-Williby/e/B00EN2ZDCQ