So Now What?Congratulations! You’re finished! Hopefully by now you’ve all put your nose to the grindstones and gotten the job done.
So now what?
ASSIGNMENT–Month #10. Time to give your manuscript a stern review…
MANUSCRIPT CHECKLIST
Read your manuscript as if you were seeing it for the first time. It is best to put it away for a couple of weeks to guarantee a “fresh” perspective.
Is your ‘opener’ strong?
Is your ‘closer’ strong?
Is your plot obvious?
Does ever word you’ve written move your story forward? If not, be brutal and CUT CUT CUT!
Did you do your research? Did you get your facts straight?
Are your characters strong (properly developed)?
Is your plot strong? What about sub-plots?
Has your plot/storyline been properly executed? Did you do a good job telling it?
Do your characters ring true? Sound authentic?
Do you have any transitions you need to fix?
Do you need to spice things up? Do you have scenes that drag? Dialog that drones?
Has your MS been properly edited?
If submitting to a traditional publisher, has it been properly formatted? There are some universal rules, but every publisher has their submission guidelines. You need to pay close attention and follow these guidelines to the letter or else your MS will be rejected immediately.
Is your ‘opener’ strong?
Is your ‘closer’ strong?
Is your plot obvious?
Does ever word you’ve written move your story forward? If not, be brutal and CUT CUT CUT!
Did you do your research? Did you get your facts straight?
Are your characters strong (properly developed)?
Is your plot strong? What about sub-plots?
Has your plot/storyline been properly executed? Did you do a good job telling it?
Do your characters ring true? Sound authentic?
Do you have any transitions you need to fix?
Do you need to spice things up? Do you have scenes that drag? Dialog that drones?
Has your MS been properly edited?
If submitting to a traditional publisher, has it been properly formatted? There are some universal rules, but every publisher has their submission guidelines. You need to pay close attention and follow these guidelines to the letter or else your MS will be rejected immediately.
If you need more help with writing…
If you need help with publishing your book…
If you need help selling your beloved book…
I also want to remind you that a good resource is our podcast, A Writer’s Journey: From Blank Page To Published, which you can subscribe to on iTunes and listen anywhere, anytime:https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/writers-journey-from-blank/id911131840.
I co-host this with fellow author and good friend, Sara Whitford.
***Author’s Note: This is an open forum, meaning your comments and questions are welcome, so feel free to share your writing experiences, tips, resources, and general queries and please feel free to share this post if you found if helpful.***
Coming in November: Ready To Publish… 
Planning to write a book soon so this information will be so helpful.