So as not to leave anyone in suspense, the three phases are: (1) writing a book, (2) publishing it, and (3) marketing. I discovered (like everyone else) that each phase requires vastly different expertise.
Also, each expertise can be used only for that phase which makes things even more troublesome. What I learned from writing my novel I could not apply to publishing it nor marketing my book. I had to learn three different processes for the hope of someone to read what I wrote.
There are a lot of resources to help authors with each phase and a lot of opinions about how to be successful at each one. All this information is too much and can be overwhelming. What is useful depends on each author’s book.
No one writes the same one. Each book is unique and it is hard to choose what information is useful.
What is working for me is completing each phase before moving on to the next. I did all I could to finish my novel and dove into publishing my product without looking back. Now that my novel is available, I’m stumbling around in the marketing field trying to get people to buy it.
Each phase was difficult and I won’t go back to a previous phase. It may be stubbornness or laziness. It just seems like a lot of work to go back to editing or re-publishing. Besides, it was a lot of work getting out of each phase that I don’t want to repeat.
All these phases should not discourage a writer from beginning this journey. Just realize that it will take a little work, a change of thinking when in each phase, and that many authors succeed. The end result is worth the trip.