You’ve written a book. You have 100,000 words of fantastic story sitting on your laptop. Your mom loves it. Your friends say they can’t wait to read it. You are so proud of yourself, your brain is drowning in happy chemicals.

Now what? How do you become a published author?

Writing is hard, but it’s the thousand other tasks that destroy potential authors before their book ever hits the shelves. The path forward is convoluted and time-consuming. You know your book could be the next bestseller, but how do you get it in front of the right people?

First things first, let it sit. Put down the pen or close out of the file. Let your draft sit for a few weeks. Many authors, like Stephen King, choose to ignore their draft for six months or longer. Right now, it’s too fresh. You can’t look at it objectively. No draft is perfect, and you shouldn’t start revisions until you can see the flaws.

Now that you are ready to begin the revision process, start by reading your draft. Just reading. Make notes in a separate document if you like, but don’t change anything just yet. When you’re finished, you should have a fairly good idea of the opportunities for improvement. You might write a second draft, or even a third. When you don’t cringe at the thought of someone reading it, move on to the next step.

You need a developmental edit. You might be sitting on gold, but you have to refine your draft before people will see it’s more than a heavy rock. A developmental editor, also known as a substantive editor or structural editor, will look at plot, character arcs, world-building, inconsistencies, pacing, and tone. They will annotate your draft and provide a summary of its strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. This will save you time in the revision process and help your story be more cohesive, streamlined, and engaging.

You could also ask a friend to read it. Their critique won’t be of professional quality, and they may be more worried about hurting your feeling than giving honest feedback. Even if they don’t know the terminology, a reader can tell if they like a book. They might not always know why they don’t like it, but their feedback is still useful. A good alpha reader can tell you when an opening chapter isn’t compelling. A good developmental editor can help you fix it.

Now that you’re in the final (or semi-final) round of revisions, it’s time to think about branding. Who is the intended audience? What genre is it?

A young adult romance and a spicy cyberpunk murder mystery will have very different branding. By making these decisions now, you can ensure that your revisions remain consistent.

Where will you publish? Traditional and Indie (Independent) publishing are worlds apart. There are benefits and drawbacks to each option, so make sure to do your research. Generally, it’s harder to become traditionally published if you’ve already self-published a book, but wildly successful indie authors are sometimes offered lucrative deals with traditional publishing houses.

If you choose to traditionally publish, you will first need to find an agent. This is called the querying. Once you have an agent, they will guide you through the next steps.

If you choose to self-publish, you will need to make your book shelf-ready. This usually involves hiring a line editor, copyeditor, or proofreader to refine your manuscript on a sentence level. You may want to arrange for beta readers or ARC readers. You’ll also need a book cover, a blurb, and other assorted necessities.

Finally, an indie author must self-publish. Research different platforms such as Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. Decide if you will be exclusive on one platform or publish at several. You may want a distributor such as IngramSpark, or you may prefer to do it all yourself.

There are many different ways to compile your manuscript into a book. Shop around until you find one that meets your needs. When you are ready, create an author account and upload the book to your preferred platform.

That’s it! Once your book is compiled and your author account is created, you just have to press the publish button. After all your hard work, the actual publishing part is anti-climactic. There isn’t even a big red button for you to push. All first-time authors should get fireworks and confetti, but you’ll have to provide your own.

How do you become a published author?

With effort. A lot of effort. Writing a book is hard, but it’s the next steps that stop authors in their tracks. One of the most difficult parts of publishing has nothing to do with proofreading or cover art. Roll up your sleeves and get to work. It’s time to start marketing.

The best time to begin building an author platform is the moment you decide to become an author. If you have not built a social media presence, wildly popular blog, and massive fanbase, get on it. Right now. Whether you choose traditional or self-publishing, marketing is your biggest enemy.

The book market is flooded with low-quality books. You put in the time and energy into turning your manuscript into a fantastic story, but readers won’t know until they buy it. If you want to sell your book, you need people to know it exists. You came this far. You can learn to market your book.