I love receiving questions from readers. They arrive via Messenger, email, Facebook, even the occasional text. Sometimes by snail mail. All too often, however, the questions come to me prematurely, meaning the cart gets positioned well ahead of the horse.

For instance:

1) “I have this story idea that’s so remarkable. How do I sell it once it’s written?”

Do not even think about publishing if your book is still in idea form. Just don’t. Your energy needs to be completely committed in telling the story and learning how to do that well. What new authors do not understand is that it’s not the story itself that necessarily sells, but instead the voice that tells it.

2) “I’m almost done with this book. How should I publish?”

Many established authors feel that the first book written is not the one that merits publication, yet few fledgling authors are willing to leave the first one behind, or worse, throw it away. However, in many cases, that’s exactly what needs doing. While self-publishing is a grand tool, it is also a mighty temptation to prematurely publish.

When you are almost done with the first draft, then go back a dozen times and rewrite that story. Then once you feel it’s almost perfect, and I mean perfect, hire an editor. As a minimum, gather a crew of beta readers who can scrutinize a book well. But my suggestion is to put the manuscript on a shelf and write another book so you can see how well you’ve grown and if you’ve found a voice yet.

3) “I need a grant to self-publish my book. Any suggestions?”

Often the dollars someone needs tells me a lot here. When they ask for five figures, I know they are going with some turn-key company that promises the moon and rarely gets more than ten feet off the ground. Never decide how you will publish until you’ve researched the business thoroughly.

I know, I know. You don’t like that part of things. But why in the world would you spend months or years writing a book, then shortchange it by shortcutting how it greets the world? How will you know if you are best suited for traditional, indie, or hybrid publishing if you do not understand the intricacies of them all?

Back to the grant . . . you may not need a grant if you choose traditional. But even more importantly, I know of no outright grant to pay for publishing. There are grants for writing, for retreats, for fellowships, but not for publishing. And boy, do a lot of writers get testy when I bring that up.

4) “I have a disability/I am older/I am unemployed. How do I get a grant to write?”

Writing grants cater to the writing first. Leading with any sort of shortcoming does not help. Grants are not about those who have no money. They are more often for those with a solid mission to achieve a goal . . . a goal that matches that of the grant provider. Leading with why you do not have money is the easiest way to kill your chances of finding a grant.

So, first and foremost, the most common mistake I see writers making is putting publishing and money before the importance of writing a good story. Until you master that part of the process, the other just doesn’t matter. (And. . . it costs nothing to write a book.)