When I tell people about the release of my novel, Mindreader, they often say, “It’s taken so long!” or “How long has it been?” I thought it might be helpful to lay it all out, step-by-step, from initial idea to publication.
HOW LONG DOES A NOVEL TAKE?
I got the initial idea for Mindreader in July of 2015. I don’t know the exact date I started, but it’s fair to say I spent a year planning and writing it.
I queried* publishers in July of 2016. I queried 8 publishers in total - 5 of them rejected me, and the other 3 didn’t respond at all. I pretty much gave up for the next 5 months, figuring there was nothing more I could do.
Then, in January of 2017, I was scrolling through Tumblr (usually a time-waster, but in this case, a very good idea) and I saw a post about a Verbal Eyze Press, an indie publisher that takes queries from anyone between the ages of 13 and 22. I was 22 at the time, so I decided to give it a shot. Before I did that, though, I read over my query letter one more time with fresh eyes. I realised it was too wordy, so I tightened it up and added a punchier first sentence, then sent it off, not really expecting much to come of it.
One month later (Feb 10, 2017), I got a reply from the Managing Editor of Verbal Eyze Press. He said that he and the other editors liked my writing, but did have one concern. He gave suggestions for revision, then asked that I send the next 20-25 pages.
This was new. This wasn’t a form rejection.
Over the next 5 days, I revised it and sent the extra pages.
About two months later, I got another reply. The Managing Editor wanted to Skype with me.
This was VERY new. Two weeks later, we Skyped, he gave me some more feedback, then he requested that I revise the full manuscript and send it to him. He would read it, then make a final decision on publication.
I sent off the newly revised manuscript 19 days later, on 25 June, 2017.
Nothing happened for just over 7 months.
Then, on February 14, 2018, I got another email:
‘The editorial team has decided to offer you a publishing contract for Mindreader. Are you still seeking publication for the manuscript?’
AGHHHHH!
This is where the real waiting began. I worked with one editor for about 5 months, but for unforeseen personal reasons, she stepped down as my editor. About a month and a half later, on August 23rd, I was assigned a new editor. I worked with her for about 10 months. On 16th May, 2019, the edits were done and the manuscript was ready to head into final proofreads.
I helped with the proofreads for about two months. On 4th July, 2019, they were complete.
Next was the cover. I received the first cover concept 19 days after the proofreading was done, but I had issues with it. I was sent a second cover concept about 3 weeks later, which only needed some small tweaks. The third and final cover concept was sent to me a week later, on 21st August. The next day, I was given a release date of September 9th, 2019.
I’ve laid it out in a rough timeline so you can see the whole process. All in all, it took about 4 years and two months from initial idea to publication.
*query - a query letter is what a writer sends to an agent or publisher, summarising their manuscript in order to entice the agent/publisher to represent/publish it.