This is some advice that I wished had been given to me when I was publishing my first book The Body in the Boot. The big problem was that, now that I had a completed book burning a hole in my hand, I desperately wanted to get it out there as quickly as possible. And so I did. However, since that time, I have had to re-edit and republish the book several times in order to get it anywhere near to a reasonable standard. However, I was lucky in that most of my readers forgave me for the typos, poor editing and formatting saying that they liked the story. However, more than a few also pointed out its shortcomings which, although it stung a little at the time, in the end proved to be immensely helpful.

Some thirteen Mac Maguire books later and I’ve got what feels like a good process that I go through every time that I’ve completed a book –

1. After writing those magical words ‘The End’, leave it for 2-3 weeks and then give it another couple of read throughs. I am always truly surprised by the whopping mistakes that I’ve repeatedly missed
2. Then give it to your primary reader. I have a primary reader (my wife) who gets to read it first. After she’s finished, I then do another rewrite
3. I then send it out to my other readers. I have three main readers, one of which is in the US, and I wait until they have all read the book before collating their comments. I then do yet another rewrite
4. Leave it for a day or two before giving it a final run through then
5. Publish and hope for the best

This might sound a little long winded but, when I finally hit that ‘Publish’ button, I can do it with some confidence that my book won’t be a total disaster.

So, why am I bringing this up now? That’s because I’m sort of back at square one again. In writing the Mac Maguire series, I’ve gained some confidence from all the feedback I’ve had and I’ve applied any lessons learnt to my later books. However, I’m now starting out on a new series of books that has a new main character in a new location. So, my confidence is not quite so high and that’s where the process proves to be even more important. I’ve actually added in some new readers who live in the area where the book is set, County Cork, Ireland, and I’ll be listening very closely to what they have to say.

However, at the end of the day, you can never be quite sure of what the readers out there will make of your book until it’s published. However, carrying out your due diligence in making sure that the book is as good as it can be, will certainly increase your chances of success.

Best of luck.