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Questions to Consider before Publishing your Manuscript

By Author & Writing Coach Dondi Dancy, dondi@celysewrite.com, Owner of C. Elyse Writing Coach (view her company's profile in the HIRE A PRO Marketplace)

a lady ready to publish her manuscript

Congratulations! Your manuscript is almost done. Your hard work is paying off and the end of this long and wonderful journey is coming to a close. The next steps are critical because they represent what all writers are fighting hard to accomplish, publishing success! So, don't take it lightly. Don't skip key steps. Instead, pull out your manuscript, review it for the last time before you send it to a professional editor, then ask yourself these important questions below to ensure that your work is ready for the book marketplace:


• Is your beginning too slow?

• Are you missing key scenes?

• Does every scene serve a purpose?

• Have you chosen the right narrator?

• Does your villain have clear motives?

• Have you chosen the correct verb tense?

• Does your story have a central conflict?

• Have you chosen the right point of view?

• Have you chosen the right main character?

• Does your main character have clear motives?

• Does the main character have enough at stake?

• Do your main character's actions shape the change?

• Are your plot complications in the most dramatic order?

• Do you show (instead of summarizing) your story conflict?

• Have you established a precise time and place for your story?

• Does something change between the beginning and end of the story?

• Do you have duplicate or redundant scenes that you should remove?


Not sure if your manuscript is ready to be published? Get help from a professional so you can put your best work forward!

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