In the past I had a difficult time knowing when my book was ready for the eyes of a professional. Even after beta readers, my gut would send ten thousand different signals that there was still something wrong with the book. I could just never get my book to the point where I knew it was ready to be sent out. I would always find some way to make something better, but I also never completely re-wrote. I was an amateur. I refused to believe that I might have to completely re-write in order to make the book better. So of course my past projects were failures.
With When Stars Die, I just took a chance. My gut wasn’t screaming at me, my beta reader loved it, and I was tired of sitting and waiting, so I said ‘Screw it. Life should be about chances.’ And I was surprisingly not disappointed. Depending on how the edits for the book go, I might have to start listening to my gut more often, but it’ll probably still be difficult to tell when a book is ready.
How do you guys know when your book is ready to be looked at by an agent, editor, beta reader, or even freelance editor?
Or do you sometimes just wing it even through uncertainty?
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It is tough, and I think there’s a fine balance. I thought I was ready, then realized that no, I could still tighten some things up. Now I worry that I’m fixing things that aren’t broken. I think you could keep revising and editing forever; at some point you do just have to trust your gut.