Hello and welcome to the Story Grid podcast. This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better writer.

I'm your host Tim Graal and I am a struggling writer trying to figure out how to tell a story that works.

Joining me shortly is Sean Coyne who has over 25 years experience as an editor. He is the creator of Story Grid, the author of the book Story Grid,

and he is helping me to figure out how to tell a story that works. This is the third part in

our three-part series on Publishing 101, where Sean and I dive deep into the publishing industry

and how to navigate it. In this last episode, we're going to talk about

everything that happens after the contract is signed. So working with an editor, designing a cover,

getting your book all the way to publishing, and dealing with marketing as well. We're going to

dive into that in this episode. So hang in there for this last episode. I know you're going to love it.

We're going to jump in and get started.

So, Sean, in the previous episodes of this series, we've gone over your background and my background in publishing.

We've talked about traditional publishing versus indie publishing. And then we kind of talked about the like pre-contract phase,

agents and, you know, selling your book and how that whole process works. And so in this final

part of the publishing 101, I want to talk a little bit about what happens after the contract

assigned. So say everything's gone great, your agent has

gotten you a book deal, everything's been signed, now what happens? Well, in the major publishing

houses, the process is this. After the contract, actually even before the contract has been signed, because sometimes it

takes a while to get the legal maneuvering, but after it's definitely been signed, the publisher

has probably already slotted the book for a specific month in a specific season, depending

upon the level of advance and excitement in the house for the acquisition.

So, for example, if the book is a big, big, great thriller that would be a wonderful read for the

beach, the publisher is usually going to acquire that kind of book at least nine months

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