Below is a chart illustrating, in our experience, the process of publishing a book. We hope this clarifies how the various types of editing fit together in the overarching publishing journey.
Finish your draft
Whether you write your novel in a few months, over ten years, or during the NaNoWriMo event, the first step is to complete it, review it, and tweak it as you see fit.
Coaching
At any point in your publication process, be it when writing, editing, or after the book is published, a coaching call can answer your pressing questions and concerns, or provide solutions you might not see as easily on your own.
Beta Reading
Beta reading can be done by a professional or your author friends (at the very least, it should be someone who understands the genre expectations for your book). The main question a beta read answers is "does my book meet the reader expectations for the genre I am writing in?" If this is your first novel (or your first novel in a new genre), you're probably in need of a beta read.
Developmental Editing
As an in-depth edit on your novel, developmental editing will ensure your storyline, pacing, character development, and worldbuilding (among others) are on point for your genre and meet reader expectations. New authors and experienced authors experimenting with new genres will benefit from this type of edit.
Copy Editing
After you fixed the main storyline hiccups, it's time to go through each sentence and fix your syntax, grammar, punctuation, etc. Copy editing is usually followed by a line edit; at LIAS, we like to combine the two fo a moe affordable rate.
Proofreading
No matter how many times you (and your editor) have read your book, some typos or punctuation errors always slip through. We recommend having at least one set of proofreading done before formatting your novel, especially if you are hiring an outside formatter to do so (every revision after the formatting is completed could cost you).
Book Formatting
Once you've fixed the errors in your entire manuscript, it's time to compile your completed novel in the appropriate file format for publishing your eBook and/or print manuscript (.epub and .pdf formats, respectively).
Final Proofreading
This is the final stage in the editing process. If you are formatting the book yourself, it's time to review your finalized .epub and/or .pdf file(s) to spot remaining typos and fix them before uploading your files to the retailers. (Note: If you'rer hiring an outside formatter, we recommend doing this final proofreading stage before your files get formatted.)
Publication & Marketing
After your book is the best it can be, it's time to upload your files to the retailers! When you work with Amazon, it's important to select the right keywords and categories and prepare a solid book blurb/book synopsis. Setting up a newsletter is another low-key marketing tactic to build your fanbase.
