Don’t Let What Others Think Stop You From Publishing

You've written a book, but is it good enough?

This question weighs on the minds of all authors. Could you make it better? Is it trash? Should you even bother publishing it?

Your mind's inner critic is a cruel friend. It's worth listening in moderation, but don't let it cripple you. The inner critic has a problem with providing encouraging advice.

In moderation, the critic helps you improve your work, reach your potential, and grow. But unconstrained, it can leave you feeling worthless and paralyzed.

So how do you know when you're being too critical of yourself?

For this, I find asking others can help. You could have a friend critique your work provided your friend likes to read, reads often, and can set your feelings aside to be objective. If your friends can't be objective, then maybe a colleague.

Other authors can also be great sounding boards. Though, they may or may not be willing to read your work. If you do ask another author to read your work, don't be offended if they decline. It's most likely not a reflection on you or the quality of your book.

Lastly, if you have the resources, build a beta reader team. This is a group of readers that like your work and are willing to read it and provide feedback before it's published.

Even after receiving feedback, the final decision is still yours. Sometimes people give bad advice. Not on purpose of course, but there are many reasons they could be wrong. Perhaps they just don't like the style or the genre of your story. That doesn't mean everyone will dislike your work.

So then how do you know?

I really only know of one way to figure this out. Publish it. Let readers decide. Don't let worry stop you from moving forward. Be confident in yourself. Take a leap.

That said, I'm giving you this advice assuming that you've had your work professionally edited. An editor will be able to provide valuable feedback concerning the quality of the novel. Just be careful, it may or may not be objective. You are paying the editor for their work. They have a vested interest in you writing more books and using them again. But a good editor will do their best to give you objective advice.

So what are you waiting for?