Your Book Is Written, You’re Almost 50, and You’re Freaking Out: Read This Before You Hit “Publish”

Step 1—Your book is finished. Step 2—You panic. Good. Here’s the cure.

You know you’re a terrific writer. You cherish the fact that family and friends have always said you have a book inside you. You’ve even sold a piece or two, and people like your online writing—which you basically do for free.

So you decided to start the second half of your life with a new business: writing for revenue. You wrote your long‑contemplated novel, and now you’re scared to death. What if it fails? Or, um, what if you actually succeed? What the heck is your next step?

Your book needs a professional editor, whether you’re going to self‑publish, shop it to publishers, or engage an agent.

Getting the idea into words puts you miles ahead of the 84% of Americans who say they have a book in them. And you know your next steps will make or break your project.

About a million paper‑printed books are published each year in the U.S. through known houses. Many more are self‑published, and even more come out as ebooks or digital versions of some sort. It’s as clear as a flamingo in a snowstorm that if you don’t have an edge, you don’t have a book.

Well, my dearies, we’ve all heard and read classic advice a million times, and many of us still disregard these points or skate over them:

• Create an original story with an unusual arc.

• Write your best and polish it until it shines.

• Every word must advance your reader and your story.

• Build an author platform as you write, so you’re ready when the book is ready.

Well, here’s a most important bit of sage wisdom that’s a cliché for a reason:
Hire a substantive editor to put the book in the condition demanded by publishers.

This is not arbitrary—manuscript format and condition are as necessary as coffee on a Monday morning.

If you don’t understand the rules of publishing (self or traditional), slush pile, here you come. With that in mind, I talked to a first‑time novelist about to launch her book so I could give you a heads‑up.

She took a path that made complete sense, engaging one of the industry’s most successful ghostwriters to polish her novel and mentor her, figuring a ghost would have a tight grip on these rules and conventions. Our first‑time novelist’s grip was about as firm as

Grannie Clampett’s.

Here’s the interview

Why did you hire a ghostwriter when you needed an editor?
I didn’t even know what ghostwriting was till I looked up her website. I finished writing my book—a year’s project—and was about to turn 50. All along it was a nervous‑breakdown book. I plunked down in front of my computer and wrote it in four months. At my first complete read‑through, I knew it wouldn’t get published the way it was. I kept revising, editing, cutting, adding. I had read a book or two on how to get published, so I knew there were real things to accomplish, but I didn’t know how to polish it. I emailed a writer who had published a book on polishing a manuscript.

I’m sure I sounded desperate, going on and on about “What do I do next?” “How do I do this?”

Go ahead, all you writers, look online for “editors,” and thousands of names come up with dozens of types and descriptions. That leaves you in a quandary: Who’s legitimate; who isn’t? What kind of editorial help do I need?

You can struggle through those lists or ask an experienced writer or publisher for a referral. That person who was kind enough to help me form a plan gave me the name of a ghostwriter. No idea what that meant. But I called her.

I heard an angel chorus on high, I reached out, and my life changed.

Tell us, what was the process like with your new editor?
I told her a great story was inside my book with great characters. She listened, calmed me, made me breathe. I had researched her, and it was evident she knew her stuff. We clicked, and I hired her as an editor. The book was already written, but she taught me how to be a writer.

It was such a process. Recognizing things like the dynamics of active vs. passive and forward plot movement. Every sentence must move your reader forward. Lots of other things I had in the back of my mind somewhere, but I needed to gel the concepts. Then we took 150K words down to 90K. My book became so good that I could hardly stand my own excitement.

Can you give us a picture of your process with the ghostly editor?

I’d send her chapter 1, she’d review it and send me recommendations. We talked about “show, don’t tell” and paring down narration. Point of view. Disciplined description. Imagery and other literary devices.

Then I’d redo the chapter to my liking and send it back to her. She has patience, a soothing manner, a way to put things in perspective. She’s brutally honest—good and bad—but respects the notion that at day’s end the author drives the bus. She didn’t ever expect me to just lay down and die over her suggestions.

I knew I didn’t need another family member to tell me the book was good.

My pro avoided judgmental calls like good or bad, told me what wasn’t working, and combined that with what was. About halfway through, I got better at reworking stuff before I sent it to her—a bright bulb lit above my head—I got what she was saying, internalized it, and mapped it into the work.

Miracle.

I never had a writing class in my life, but this professional is a mentor, coach, and teacher. As I grew to trust her, I asked her to rewrite sections I was having real issues with. I guess you’d say she did some ghosting, but I felt comfortable with that.

We used my voice, my thinking, my story, and my characters that I love. All that love was warm and wonderful, but if I couldn’t get the story out there in a way that readers could know how awesome the characters are, what’s the point? I accepted the help unashamedly.

I suppose right now some writers feel that way about help from AI.

What would you say to a writer hesitating to find a mentor or editor?
Your book will be raw. No matter what your supportive friends tell you. It needs a cold, practiced eye at some point. You have to believe in your editor’s skill and forge an intimate relationship based on trust.

Research; do your homework before you hire someone. The worst thing would be to hire an egotist whose goal is to shred your work and expect you to do everything precisely their way.

Know that it will take months to polish the book. I was driven. For me, the writing had to be done quickly—that’s my nature. I couldn’t sleep. I had to finish. I know now I could have benefited from putting the brakes on a tad.

My editor has read my precious novel cover to cover more than once, and I love the slinky flow we achieved. The story sings to me; it always sang in my head, and now it sings on paper. That was my goal, but I needed a map so I could learn how to get to my goal. My characters thanked me a thousand times.

Get help

Everything you need is there, in your book, but it may not be in the right place. The story is born as you write it, though it may be a tangle, but the book is born in the edit.

The moral of the story about the story

If your writing project, whatever it is, significantly matters to you, and it’s preying on your mind as much as it haunted our subject author, you would do well to find a professional to help.

Friends are great and want you to feel fulfilled. Family is loving, but you need a clear‑eyed, experienced professional if your work is to stand out and be respected. That’s how you scale a satisfying writing business.

Do you suppose for one minute that Freida McFadden shoves a book out of the nest without an editor doing flight training?

P.S. The writer interviewed was one of my first developmental editing contracts after my stint as a ghost.

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