Traditional Publishing

Stages of the Process: The Book Publishing Process | Acquisition Process | More on Acquisitions

Format Your Novel: Manuscript Format

Write a Book Proposal (nonfiction): How-To Guide (Reedsy)

Write a Query Letter (poetry, fiction, narrative nonfiction): Query Letter Examples (Reedsy) | Write a Great Query Letter (Writers Digest) | Jane Friedman's Guide to Query Letters

Find an Agent: Agent Query | Agent Tracker | Publishers Marketplace (Most publishers don’t accept direct manuscript submissions, so in most cases, you’ll want to query an agent first.)

Self-Publishing

Stages of the Process: 7 Processes of Publishing

Format Your Novel: KDP Formatting guide (if you’re publishing via KDP) | KDP Templates | Format Your Book in Word (If you’re sending your manuscript to an editor, you can simply ask them their preferred format. This is in regard to formatting for uploading your book to a self-publishing platform. It works better for books without images but is something to consider if you can’t front the costs of a book designer.)

Literary Magazines

Write a Cover Letter: Adroit Journal

Find a Lit Mag: Duotrope | Chill Subs | Submittable | New Pages | The John Fox

General Information

Standard Editorial Rates: EFA

Microsoft Word Info: Accept and Reject Changes in Word | View Modes in Word (Watch these if you’re working with an editor but unsure how to navigate Word. Please note you can also right click changes to accept/reject them.)

Find Publishing Professionals: Formatters, Editors, Cover Designers, and more | EFA Directory | Reedsy (Whether you self-publish or publish traditionally, it’s best to seek out editors and readers to ensure your book stands out.)

Find Readers: EFA Directory | Reedsy |Alpha/Beta/Arc Readers | Beta and ARC Readers | Beta readers find Authors

General Questions:  Arc vs Alpha vs Beta Readers | How long should my novel be?

Dialogue Tips: Formatting Dialogue | 8 Problems & How to Fix Them (Louise Harnby) | Writing Good Dialogue (Louise Harnby) | Writing Natural Dialogue

Recommended Craft Books: The Emotion Thesaurus (for showing characters’ emotions) | Save the Cat Writes a Novel (on standard plot structure and more) | more coming soon