How to
Become a
Published
Author
SINGAPORE
Welcome to the Partridge Singapore guide on how to take the next
steps necessary to becoming a published author. So you’ve made it
through the actual writing process—excellent. While this is arguably
the hardest part, the next few stages can be just as challenging,
especially for first-time authors. Nonetheless, Partridge Singapore is
here to coach you through them and provide you with the knowledge
and momentum to get your book to the publishing stage.
The steps we are going to talk you through involve the entire editing
process, as well as choosing the design and formatting for your
book. The objective here is to have all aspects settled before you
move on to publication, such that the process goes smoothly and
you get your book into your hands—and the hands of others—in the
quickest time possible.
THE EDITING PROCESS
The editing process serves the purpose of getting your manuscript in shape for publication. Let’s
have a look at the main types of editing.
Proofreading focuses on punctuation, grammar, spelling, and the use of tenses and prepositions. It
requires a sharp eye and attention to detail and is non-conceptual. Because of this, proofreading
usually takes place towards the end of the editing process, after any conceptual changes to
the story have taken place.
Line editing involves a bit more finesse as it focuses on the word choice and
sentence structure. A key part of line editing is examining the flow of
sentences and the efficiency of the writing style. That is, line editing will
be responsible for removing redundancies and repetitions. The objective
of line editing is to make the phraseology of the book more readable. As
with proofreading, it is non-conceptual.
Copyediting is very similar to line editing and goes a step further in that
copyediting aims to make the writing sound or read better. This can
especially apply to changing the choice of words, moving paragraphs,
and altering sentence structures throughout the text.
Substantive or developmental editing deals with concepts, themes, and
other large elements of the story, such as characters and settings. This is
very subjective, and for now, we will assume that you have decided on
these aspects and are moving forward with the general content of your
manuscript.
So we’ve defined the types of editing. Here’s how
and when to apply them:
Phase I: Your first step in the editing process is to sit back and start reading
your manuscript, ignoring punctuation and other grammatical
aspects and paying attention to larger problems or inconsistencies.
There may be a paragraph missing, a chapter that has not been
finished, etc. This phase is often the most difficult because you may
have to do some more writing!
Phase II: Here you sit with a red pen if you wrote your manuscript in
longhand, or if you typed your story on your computer, turn on the
Track Changes function in your word processor and look for any errors.
This is the proofreading stage. While the Spell Check function has
expanded to even look for incomplete sentences and duplications
of words, please do not put absolute faith in Spell Check as an editor.
There are innumerable instances of where this function falls short, and
the only way to accomplish a thorough edit is to have the text read
with human eyes. Some things to watch out for include the following:
• Quotation marks: these may have been forgotten or misplaced
• Commas used as periods or vice versa
• Sentences missing a word, especially a connecting word like “as” in “such as”
• Misspelling the characters’ names (Spell Check will not pick this up) or other proper nouns
• Use of contractions, particularly their/there/they’re and its/it’s
Phase III: Having made quite a few changes, your text is now free from the distracting technical
errors, and you can focus more on the text’s readability. This is the line-editing stage. Things to
look for here are the following:
• Overuse of the same word (usually a verb or adjective)
• Sentence fragments: this may depend on your writing style, but make sure that the sentences
that are supposed to be technically complete actually are.
• Using the wrong character’s name in a scene. Yes, it happens!
Phase IV: Now you get to sit back in a more leisurely fashion and read through your manuscript,
totally free from mechanical errors. This is the copyediting stage, and you can use your judgment
and taste as to what reads well and what doesn’t. In short, it is your chance to be picky, though
be careful not to cross the line into perfectionism, or else you’ll never publish your book!
Phase V: Finally, re-read your manuscript as if you were a reader who has bought the book.
Alternatively, ask for an objective opinion (as stated in the next section) before this phase.
Asking for an objective opinion
When you feel comfortable with your manuscript, ask a friend to give it a read. You may want to
make sure it is someone who will be objective with you and won’t be afraid of hurting your
feelings. Some important feedback to request include the following:
• Is the first page engaging?
• Is there at least one character that is likeable or attracts the reader in some way?
• Is there a flow to the language?
• Are any scenes too long?
COVER DESIGN
The old saying “You can’t judge a book by its
cover” sounds logical, though a book’s
cover does often factor into the decisionmaking of a potential buyer. Like it or not,
your cover has to be eye-catching to
someone that might see it for less than a
second as they scan a bookshelf. Here are
six tips that will prove critical in your choice
of a cover:
• First, look at other covers in your genre. Think about what will make yours stand out.
• Is your title big and easy to read? Avoid overly stylistic fonts that might make your book look
amateurish or difficult to read.
• Look at your cover as a thumbnail-sized image. Remember, there’s a good chance that most
potential readers will see your book online. When your cover isn’t much bigger than a postage
stamp, is it still readable? Effective?
• Make sure your cover has a focus. Don’t try to incorporate too many story elements into the
cover. This can work for movie posters but seldom works for book covers.
FORMATTING
The goal of formatting is to essentially make the text as easy on your readers’ eyes as possible. How
many times have you picked up a book in a bookstore and decided that the text was too small
or that the page just looked like a swamp of words?
• Fonts: We suggest choosing a font that is very readable and not distracting. While your novel
may have a Gothic theme, this does not mean it requires a Gothic font. Your font should help
make it comfortable for your reader to browse through your book.
• Spatial formatting: Review the amount of blank page (known as white space) compared to the
amount of black text on the page. If your pages contain too much white space, the danger is
that readers will become disengaged. Similarly, if the page contains too much black text, it will
overwhelm readers.
• Paragraph length: Naturally, this is a subjective area, but bear in mind that modern readers
generally do not appreciate the lengthy paragraphs found in Gibbon or even Dickens. A
maximum of ten sentences per paragraph would be advisable.
THE FINAL STEP: CALL PARTRIDGE SINGAPORE!
Contact Partridge Singapore and ask to be connected to a publishing consultant. Select a book
publishing package and submit your manuscript for self-publishing. Partridge Singapore also
offers professional book editing, design, and formatting services to help you with the steps
outlined above.
Our team of consultants are always available to help you
reach your self-publishing goals. For more information
about Partridge Singapore or to begin publishing your
book today, please call us on 800 101 2657 (toll-free
in Singapore) or 1 800 81 7340 (toll-free in Malaysia)
or +65 6494 8865 (outside Singapore, international
calling rates apply). You can also e-mail us at
publishing.singapore@partridgepublishing.com.
• Ask friends and readers of your genre for their opinions. You will probably find that most people
give you fairly direct feedback on this. Book covers tend to generate rather immediate responses.
• Finally, unless you’re a professional graphic designer (with experience designing book covers
in particular), strongly consider hiring one. As with a good editor, any money spent on a cover
design will not be wasted.
About Partridge Singapore
Partridge Singapore is a supported self-publishing imprint created by Author Solutions in
partnership with Penguin Random House Singapore.
Partridge Singapore gives authors in the region direct access to a comprehensive
range of expert publishing services—consultation with and support from a team of
professionals, online book distribution, book availability in print and digital formats,
cover and layout design, editing, and many others—that meet industry standards but
are more accessible to writers.