Do you ever wonder how many people it takes before a book is published? There are a lot of different roles in publishing a book. Not every step is necessary but most are heavily suggested. A solid story with have had many hands/eyes that touch a book before it shows up on your shelf.
The following is a list of all the roles that are available to someone writing book. While you might not engage with each role for your process some roles should be heavily considered.
Author: The person writing the book. We do not have a new for any of the other roles if authors aren’t writing the words.
Developmental Editor: may help with editing books by providing services such as proof reading, copy-editing, and literary criticism. Developmental Editors are a critical resource in the writing process. They are there to make sure your book is tightly tied together and that you have a solidly written book. They can also help with character development, pacing and plot movement.
Literary Agent: agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, they also sometimes act in the role of editor.
Copy Editor: Copy editing is the process of revising written material to improve readability and fitness for its purpose, as well as ensuring that it is free of grammatical and factual errors.
BETA Reader: Similar to a Copy Editor a beta reader is usually a test reader of an unreleased work of literature or other writing. They give feedback from the point of view of an average reader to the author. A beta reader should be well versed in the genre you are writing in. Not all Beta Readers provide editing skills. It is mostly it is about the overall piece such as: holes in the storylines, pace and character development.
ARC Readers: an advance reader’s edition is a free copy of a new book given by a publisher to booksellers, librarians, journalists, celebrities, bloggers or others, before the book is printed for mass distribution. These are sometimes referred to as Galleys. The hope of sending out ARC is to create buzz for the book. ARC readers should be free to give an honest review with out limitations.
Self-Publishing: Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author without the involvement of an established publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD technology.
Publisher: Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the distribution of printed works, such as books, newspapers, and magazine.
Marketing/PR Firms: The role of these firms is help with the distribution of a completed book. They might create graphics for influencers and authors to share. They might also help with cover design, quotes from the book or early reviews to help in the marketing of the title.
Some of these roles might be performed by the same person. There is also the possibility that an Author might not use some of these roles if they are self-published or a self-promoting a book.