So I Just Finished Writing My Book, Time to Publish It, Right?

Uh, no.

Not only "No", but "Hell, no".

You've finished your First Draft, which is probably rough as hell and contains missing words, spelling and grammar errors, continuity errors and all manner of other issues.

Yes, this means you're going to start on your Second Draft, so it's time to put on your thick skin and send the First Draft off to your most patient and willing Beta Reader, with instructions to go over it with a fine tooth comb and to be merciless about it.

A good Beta Reader will be harsh. A kind one isn't doing you any favors. You don't want kind. You want honesty and brutality, where necessary.

Once you receive the First Draft (with edits) back, go over it and see if you agree with what your Beta Reader has said. Don't brush off suggestions, and be sure to take what is said to heart. Your Beta Reader isn't trying to hurt your feeling, s/he is trying to be sure you present the most polished work possible to your readers on publications.

Now, once you've incorporated or discarded the suggested edits (do this edit by edit, don't do it in one fell swoop), take the time to read the Second Draft aloud. It's one of the best ways to catch spelling errors, word omissions, and the like. We are much more prone to breeze right over errors when we read them silently. I'm not sure why what that is, but that's really a thing.

Fix the errors and send the Second Draft off to another Beta Reader. Fresh eyes are best for something like this. Once it comes back, go over it all over again with the suggested edits. Then read it aloud all over again. Yes, I know this can be monotonous, but that's writing. It's not as easy as it may seem.

Lather.

Rinse.

Repeat.

Once you feel you have your final version in place, send it off to more than one Beta Reader, once again requesting complete honesty in their response. Take those responses to heart and make changes when and where necessary.

No, you're not completely done yet. Not by a long shot.

You need to make sure you have good cover art for your writing, but I'll leave that to someone who knows more than I do on that subject. If someone wishes to write a guest post about making/designing a cover, please let me know!