This is one of the hardest, most heart breaking questions I get asked as an editor and a coach.
For one thing, it is impossibly subjective.
There is no scientific instrument where you pop your manuscript in, push a button, and after a few whirring minutes get a “GOOD” or “BAD” evaluation.
What one agent likes, another will hate.
Fifty editors can pass on a manuscript that then goes on to top the bestseller lists because the fifty-first said yes.
Ever looked at Goodreads? Even the most popular titles have detractors.
But the real heartbreak, for me, is the motivation behind the question. Because what they’re really asking is:
“How can I guarantee that I won’t fail?”
You can’t rig the game…
This is going to sound a little defeatist, but bear with me.
You can read all the reference books. Take all the classes. Do eight hundred revisions.
But there is absolutely no guarantee that your book will sell. You can do everything “right” only to have everything, essentially, go “wrong.”
There are only so many things you can do to move the needle, and it is simply a fact of our industry. There are simply too many moving parts to be able to perfectly predict and absolutely control what happens once the book is out of our hands.
(Or, life, really. If we’re gonna be philosophical about it!)
… but you can improve your odds.
A lot of people, in writing and in other fields, talk about being lucky… how luck was directly responsible for a lot of their success.
The thing is, they usually add that they took steps so that they’d be in the path of luck more often.
They prepared so that, if luck should pop up, they would be primed to take their shot and capitalize on that luck.
If you’re in sports, that means training. diet, routine. If you’re in business, that means improving your product, expanding your marketing, things like that.
If you’re in writing, that means practicing your craft, understanding the industry, and studying the market. So when your shot comes, you will be in a great position to take advantage of it.
It’s not that you can generate your own luck, per se.
But it sure seems that way after a while!
Some tricks to reassure you.
Going back to the initial question: how do you know your book is good enough?
If, say, you’re not trying to be perfect, you’re not trying to guarantee success… if you’ve just lost complete perspective on the work, and right now, you’re ready to throw it either at the nearest stranger and tell them to deal with it, or you’re ready to set it on fire because you’re sick of it?
1. TAKE A BREAK. If you don’t know, you need a little space to better evaluate what you’ve got and how ready it is.
2. ASK A TRUSTED SET OF EYES. Note: I would not suggest more than two, honestly, and again, people you trust with helpful feedback. And don’t ask them if the work is “good enough” (or even “good”) especially if they’re friends, because the feedback you’ll get won’t be helpful. Ask specifically: were they engaged? Did they want to keep reading (was it page-turning?) If it’s a lukewarm response, keep that in mind. If it’s enthusiastic, that’s a good sign.
3. THINK ABOUT YOUR PLAN FOR THE BOOK. If you’re, say, going to query for six months, and if you don’t get any nibbles you’re planning to self-publish, that’s different than if you’re planning to self-pub from the start.
Why? Because you will have more control. Why I don’t necessarily recommend using the publishing process as an editing ground (really, don’t do that) you will have some wiggle room to see what the response is. You’ll be able to adjust your odds through pure mechanics: changing the cover, changing the book description, getting more reviews. Or you’ll be able to see that what you’re targeting is not the best home for it.
Querying for traditional is a different, often more difficult (and sometimes archaic) process, and you’ll only have a narrow shot at it. If that’s the case, you’re going to want to spend as much time as possible getting your research in place, rather than shotgunning it (in my opinion.) If self publishing teaches you how to sell to readers, querying teaches you how to sell to editors. (You’ll still need to sell to readers, but it rolls into the industry stuff.)
“What if I still feel shaky?”
Above all, get a writing support group… and then go for it. It’s too easy to go into paralysis, either in revisions or in drafting. At some point, if you want to pursue writing as a commercial endeavor, you’re going to have to put yourself out there.
You might stumble, sure. Your launch may open to crickets. But the beauty of the industry is: you don’t get just one swing it at. Hell, you can be one hundred years old and still writing, if you want to.
“But I need this to work!”
First… hugs. I understand that. I know too many people who are in precarious financial positions, who are looking at writing as a lifeline.
Frankly, based on what they’re looking at, they can’t afford to strike out. They need a guarantee source of income, or else, and writing seems like the best way.
The problem is writing is, essentially, gambling.
Yes, it’s also hard work, and dedication, and drive. It’s skill and creativity. It’s a work of art, a labor of love, and a glorious pain in the ass.
But ultimately, again: there are no guarantees.
Desperation will only make the work harder, incidentally. Creativity needs room to breathe, and burnout is a real and prevalent factor in the most successful of us. And fear doesn’t persuade anyone to buy.
Instead, you’re going to need to find ways to take care of yourself in the face of uncertainty. That might mean staying with the day job a bit longer, or finding other financial solutions in the meantime. You may need to apply your creativity to the problems you’re facing.
But it doesn’t mean that writing can’t get you there. It just means that you have to be careful, and learn to let go. It’s like forcing a story. Just because this way doesn’t work doesn’t mean the whole thing doesn’t… it just means you need to revise, that’s all.
Don’t lose hope… and just keep writing.