Is Your Book Ready for Publishing?
A Reality Check for Debut Authors
Most debut authors assume the reason many books fail is a lack of talent. That’s a comforting thought, because talent is out of your control—but it’s wrong. It’s not about talent, hard work, time, or even money.
The real reason most debut authors don’t reach publication is simpler and harder to face: their goals are unclear or unrealistic. A lack of direction means there’s no way to define success or visualize where you’re going.
The Myth of “Feeling Ready”
Many writers, especially with their first book, live in an endless cycle of revisions. Your manuscript feels promising, and maybe you’ve even received some positive feedback, so you want to try to pursue publishing. But how do you know when the book is good enough?
Maybe you’ve reached out to beta readers for feedback, but the feedback is conflicting. One reader loves the storyline while another says it needs a total rewrite. One loves the relationship between the main characters while another says it lacks chemistry. One says the pacing is too slow while the other says they were immersed in the world.
Without a clear publishing goal, every opinion feels equally valid—and every editorial decision is paralyzing. So how do you know when to stop revising?
Your book being “ready” is not about a feeling. You may feel proud of your book, but that doesn’t mean it’s ready for agents, editors, or readers. Readiness is about context.
Your book may be emotionally complete but professionally unfinished. Your book may be well-written but misaligned with its genre. Your book may be structurally strong but still not “ready.”
Readiness depends entirely on where you’re trying to go and meeting the professional standards for the path you’re pursuing. You can’t expect to answer the question “Is my book ready to publish?” if you don’t know your publishing goals.
Ask Yourself the Hard Questions
If you want clarity on your goals, you need to be willing to step back and reflect:
Why do you want to publish this book? Why this story?
What are you hoping publishing will give you?
What does publishing success look like to you?
Are you chasing validation or a bucket-list dream, or are you building a career?
How much time, energy, and money are you willing to invest?
These questions matter because they shape every editorial decision you make. If your goals are unclear, revision becomes endless—not because the book is bad but because you don’t know where you’re going with it.
Time for a Reality Check
If this sounds like you, I’ve created a free Author Reality Check workbook to help you clarify your publishing goals and give you direction. You’ll be able to:
Dig deeper into your values as an author and which publishing goals align with your priorities
Visualize where you currently are and how it aligns with your expectations and timeline
Assess where you book is and what level of readiness it actually needs
When you zoom out and look not just at your book but at your author journey, the publishing process becomes less mystified. You start to see what publishing options are best for you and why the process is so different for everyone.
Download the free Author Reality Check Workbook to answer these questions and figure out what ready means for your book. Then book an editorial assessment with me for professional guidance on the biggest obstacles keeping your book from hitting readers’ shelves.
Do you have any questions about writing or publishing? Leave a comment below!
Want an outside opinion on your next step toward publishing? Send me an email at wisecracksandpaperbacks@gmail.com.
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