Getting Your Book Published: Part 2 Writing Your Manuscript

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SCRIPT
Hi there. I am John Bond from Riverwinds Consulting, and this is Publishing Defined.
This is the second in a five-part video series on Getting Your Book Published. This part is called, Writing Your Manuscript.
You have honed your idea and developed a title, description, and table of contents for your proposed work. You have an ideal reader in mind. Now it is time to dive in.
The first step is to develop a plan and timeline. Create detailed steps addressing each task in the book writing process. Make each step as granular as possible. Working in small chunks can help make writing a book more manageable. Set up your plan as a spreadsheet which will allow you to edit it as the project progresses. Start to develop your task list now and add to it as you begin your journey.
Equally important to your plan is the creation of a realistic timeline. Being overly optimistic or pessimistic does not serve you well. For each step in the plan, assign dates for completion. And you should have a firm end date for submission and potentially for publication. Keep yourself accountable to the schedule you create.
Next, may seem like a given. Understand the parts of the book and what your responsibilities will be. Items like frontmatter (the preface, foreword, introduction, dedication, and acknowledgements) are important as is the backmatter (references, bibliography, glossary, or appendices). How your material will be arranged in chapters and in sections, is critical to reader comprehension.
Next, you are ready to dive into the heady work of writing your book. First you will want to create an extensive outline for each chapter. These may be formal outlines but may also contain notes or reminders of what you want to discuss. The more you flesh out the chapter outlines, the “easier” it will be to write the book. Remember, none of what you write down is set in stone. It is all up to revising at the writing or editing phase.
Now, you are ready to write the book. No small task! Start with chapter one. Set yourself a goal for writing. Remember that plan you created and timeline? I suggest writing the whole first draft of the entire manuscript before you start to edit or rework the book. Stick to your deadline and watch the pages pile up. This step is the most challenging and time consuming, but this is the work you signed up for.
High quality Tables and Figures can make or break your work. Tables need to be understandable and valuable when the reader turns their attention to them. Figures could be photographs, images, charts, or figures. Quality is the key.
The whole time when you are preparing and researching your work, keep track of your sources and references. There is some great software to help with this. Always cite your source so there is never a question or originality.
Next is your edit. When the manuscript is complete, you will need to read through it several times for content, style, and mechanics. Pro tip: your word processing software has a sophisticated read aloud option that will prove invaluable to make sure your workflows. Remember, the more concise and simpler the better.
The next step can be scarry, but it is crucial. You need to get feedback on your work. Find ideal, qualified readers to review all or parts of the draft of your work. Give them permission to give you honest feedback. Get a multiplicity of viewpoints, and not just your best friend. You are not obliged to make all the changes they might suggest, but you owe it to your reader to seriously consider all of their comments. Don’t skip this step!
You’ve made tremendous progress. Congratulate yourself.
Well, that’s it. You can watch the next video in the series called Selecting a Book Publishing Model.