So, now it’s time for deadlines — you tell the publisher when the MS will be completed and you have to stick to that schedule. If you don’t, you might be dropped. I usually wait until the MS is virtually finished before I start hunting around for a publisher just so I don’t have to deal with the time pressure. Of course, there’s the risk they won’t like it and I would have spent more time on it than I needed to, but that’s preferable to dealing with an angry editor.
Speaking of editors, that’s your next step. They will catch your little mistakes in grammar and spacing, and if the MS is in fairly good shape, your interaction with them will be minimal. They will make their changes and pass the revised MS back to you for approval. If, however, your story doesn’t flow or your writing is confusing and convoluted, then you have bigger problems. Your relationship with an editor will be contentious if they don’t like what they’re reading, and that will be no fun for you.
Hopefully, this won’t be your editor.
