The Publishing Journey

During conversations about trying to publish a book, one of the questions that inevitably comes up is "So what's the process for getting a book published?" Since most people don't really know much about what it's like to attempt to publish a book, I figured I'd write out what I've learned. So, here's my process and how it's going (plus a few hopeful future steps once I get an agent): 

1. Finish a draft of the book. For me, this can take anywhere between four months to two years, depending on both the length of the project and how excited I am about it. For The Engineer's Craft, I started writing it in January 2022, hit a major roadblock on the piece and got busy with grad school around November of that same year, took a six month break, then finished in October 2023. 
2. Get a few people to read the book. This is a crucial step; you'll need to learn how to get past your own hesitancy or shame at sharing something that isn't ready in order to get good feedback. I have a core group of people who I give the book to, who I know won't just praise me but will also tell me what wasn't working with that first draft. After those people read it and I make changes, I give an open invitation to a broader group to give me their "reads" of the book. If I notice the same criticism popping up again and again, I go and fix that thing. Unless I like that it's broken, but I rarely do. 
3. Polish up the first chapters. Agents and editors (I'll talk more about what those are in #5) are only going to ask for the first few pages or chapters of a novel, so I make sure those early parts are absolutely flawless. Does the intro have a good hook? Is the grammar right, or at least consistent within my own developed style and voice? Are there any glaring spelling mistakes? 
4. Write a query letter and synopsis. One of the most difficult but important parts of the process. The query letter consists of a pitch ("this is what my book is about"), some information ("this is how it would be marketable"), and a brief bio about yourself ("this is who I am as a writer"). The first part is basically writing the blurb on the back of a book, something that will quickly grab the attention of the agent/editor who is reading the email and makes them want to read more. Most agents/editors will also ask for a synopsis now, which is a 1-2 page summary of everything that happens in the novel, including spoilers. While I frequently find myself muttering "if I could have told this story in two pages I would have written a short story instead of a novel" while writing the synopsis, this is a critical part for the agent/editor to see if your story is actually going somewhere or if you're just good at first chapters. 
5. Submit to agents (and sometimes editors). Before you can start sending your beautiful book and accompanying pitch to the nearest publishing house screaming "LOOK AT ME," you'll need to find an agent. Most editors/publishers won't accept un-agented submission from random people, and the few you can pitch to directly seem to be disappearing. So, the hunt for an agent. These are the people who will take you on as a client and who already have contacts in the publishing industry; they'll be the ones to send off your pitch to editors/publishers they think will be interested in the story. Looking for a good agent is somewhat like dating. You get online, look through a bunch of profiles, find one that seems to fit your style or manuscript, reach out, and then wait anxiously for them to respond wondering if this could be your forever person. You want to find an agent you can work well with on a professional and personal level, someone who values your work and really wants to see it succeed as much as you do. This will require a lot of research (thankfully, the internet has made this a lot easier), submitting to a lot of people (again, thank you internet for not making me send paper letters like they used to), and a lot of getting rejected (not gonna thank the internet here, since it facilitates this step). 
6. Work with your agent to submit to publishers. Once you've spent an eternity sitting on your hands waiting for that happy email and you've finally secured an agent, you're right back to querying. This time, however, it's largely up to the agent to send your manuscript to people they think you'll match with. As I haven't made it to this step yet, I'll keep you posted on how it goes. 
7. Make the deal (with help from your agent)! The nice thing about agents—one of many—is that not only do they have connections with the publishing industry, but they should also function as a sort of legal adviser when striking deals with publishers. They'll help you know which rights to keep, which to sell to the publisher, and help negotiate anything else to do with the contract. Once the deal is made, the agent will take a portion of the money you receive from the book sales for representing you. 
8. Start the next book. Or sit back and relax for a bit. Or help do marketing on your social medias. Or set up your website if you haven't already done that. Or do book tours. Or go to Hawaii.