You need to have "what you think" is a completed manuscript, before you can take the next steps.
YOUR BOOK MANUSCRIPT
Before you do anything more, give it to at least ten friends or coworkers, and let them read it. Ask them to provide you with an honest opinion. Accept their feedback as constructive criticism, even though you may not agree with them. Be nice! They are your friends and coworkers, and they're doing you a favor.
Keep in mind that strangers are going to be reading your book, and they probably won't be as nice as your friends. For me it was a lot easier to hear from people that cared about me, than it was a bunch of strangers that sometimes came across as heartless. In the end, it will help to save you at least a few sleepless nights.
NOTE: If you can't find ten or more friends to read your book, join a Facebook group with readers and authors. There are many groups out there. I have found many readers that have been willing to read my manuscript or my book to let me know what they think. It's a good way to get your work out there, before you put it on the market. Post a notice and ask who enjoys reading your genre. This is very important! Trust me! You don't want someone to read and critique your book that doesn't enjoy reading your genre.
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HERE ARE A FEW READERS (AT THE TIME OF THIS WRITING) THAT HAVE BEEN WILLING TO READ MANUSCRIPTS:
Books The New Writers and Authors Memoir Writing Crazy for books (readers and authors) Authors Learning to Market Themselves!!! Book Promotion Library Book Lovers KINDLE BOOKS PROMOTION FREE & OTHERS Promote Your Book Free Group BooksGoSocial Readers' Group YA Book Club and Book Talk Writers and Authors Promotions Book Reviews We Love Memoirs New Writers, New Books and many more... Pubshelf: Author Book Promotions
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I used Grammarly and Microsoft Editor (both highly recommended). I hired a professional to copy editor to do a review. When I had done everything, I thought I could do to make it a good book, I published it on Amazon. Then I read every review. I used each negative review as constructive criticism. I pulled it off Amazon and tweaked it twice. I fixed all of the known errors, and rewrote areas that readers questioned. Don't be afraid or ashamed to pull your book out of the market to try to make it better. My book now has more than 2,000 reviews on Amazon, and 2,500 on Goodreads, with a consolidated average of 4.2 stars. All of those tweaks were worth it!
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When do you consider your manuscript completed?
Tweak your manuscript as many times as you need to, until you have at least ten people that think it is worthy of turning it into a book.
When do you consider your manuscript completed?
Ultimately, the answer lies with you and you alone. It's your book and your decision. However, if you follow the above steps and find 10 impartial readers that think you have a good book, your book should be worth publishing.
If you can't get at least ten good reviews, I suggest you continue to tweak it until you can. Don't be offended by your readers' comments. Use them as constructive criticism and read your work again and again and do as many rewrites as necessary. Most manuscripts can be turned into good books!
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NOTE: All of the above steps are important if you want to turn your manuscript into a book. Once you complete the above steps, you are ready to move on to the next step. Congratulations!
What great resources you have! I didn't know that Fiverr provides services. I will check them out. I will need them when I finish My Charming Husband. One thing for certain, writing a second book is much easier than writing the first one. I now understand layout, numbering pages, and have more resources, etc. When I wrote my first book, I was overwhelmed at times with the process. Now I just sit and write.
During my writing process, I used Microsoft Word and Grammarly which I found very helpful. I chose to edit as I wrote each page, just my preference. There is no right or wrong to the method as long as you edit your work as best as you can before handing it off to family, friends, or beta readers to read through. You are too close to your work and will most likely miss the "it", "an", "of" that should read "if", "and", "off". Simple things that MS Word and Grammarly might miss. I was fortunate that my father-in-law was a technical writer and he offered to read through my Proof copy. He found a handful of errors, to which I was able…