Is My Book Ready to Publish?

By M. C. Oliver

How do you know if your book is ready for publication? It’s a good question. A very important question. You don’t want to publish something you’ll regret later. But you also don’t want to overdo the editing process to the point where your book has lost its color.

But still, how do you know when that point is? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. I read and listened to seven sources, so you don’t have to, and I compiled a list of questions from these 6 different websites and one of Abbie Emmon’s videos.

However, there were several questions and suggestions that every single source had in common. They asked if you have done these four things:

• Have you taken a break and stepped back from your story?

• Do you know and are familiar with your genre and your target audience?

• Have you gotten reader feedback?

• Have you made sure the manuscript is completely revised?

But there’s more. There are a lot more questions to ask yourself if you make it past these four questions successfully. You ready?

Let’s go.

First from Abbie Emmon’s video If You Can Answer These 6 Questions, Your Book is Ready to Publish

• Am I truly proud of the story I’ve written, and do I feel like this is my best work to date? 

• If I could give myself another year to work on this book, what would I do to improve it? 

• Have I received and implemented any feedback from beta readers? 

• Do I have any doubts about the story itself? (plot characters, themes, etc.) 

• In the best case scenario, what is the longevity of this story? 

• What doors do I want to open for my author career? 

Did you make it? Good. Here’s the second source from Booklife, How to Know When a Book Is Ready to Be Published

• Have you taken a step back from your story? 

• Have you checked for the inconsistencies? 

• Have you asked for feedback? 

• Have you established your target audience? (Adult, YA, Middle Grade, etc.)

3 - Writer’s Life, How to Know If Your Book Is Ready to Launch

• Have you built an online presence? 

• Have you engaged with potential readers during the writing process? 

4 - Tycho Dorian, Are you Ready to Publish Your Book: A Checklist! | Tycho Dorian

• Is your manuscript completely revised? 

• Has it been professionally edited?  

• Have you defined your publishing goals? 

• Have you set aside time and money for pre-publishing? 

• Do you have a marketing plan? 

• Have you researched your genre? 

• Have you read books in that genre? 

• Are you emotionally ready for feedback? 

In all honesty, I don’t believe one can ever truly be emotionally ready for feedback because feedback is tough. It’s hard to look at this story you spend time and energy on and thought was good and then someone tells you all the things that are still wrong with it.

However, there are ways to make the feedback a little easier to swallow. Also, keep in mind that ever author is different. I know an author that has a harder time taking feedback, so she takes several steps to take it well and feel like they hate the book. Meanwhile, another writer was asking her a question on how to get people to give her harsher feedback because she knew she could take it. Everyone is different.

And that’s why there are 36 questions for you and not a checklist for a good book. ;)

5 - Medium in their post, How to Know if Your Novel Is Ready to Submit to Publishers? | by Elise L. Blake | Becoming An Author | Medium

• Is the story fully developed?

6 - Lastly, from Lucid Books Publishing, Is Your Book Ready for Publication? | Lucid Books Publishing

Get ready. This one’s a lot.

• Have you made sure you have the following things: 

• Story Structure: 

• Is there a distinct beginning, middle, and end? 

• Is there a clear conflict and resolution that keeps readers engaged? 

• Characters: 

• Do they have distinct personalities and motivations? 

• Do they undergo significant growth/change throughout the story?  

• Would readers want to revisit characters in later books? 

• Dialogue: 

• Do conversations sound natural and authentic? 

• Do the characters have distinct voices and speech patterns? 

• Writing Style: (work with an editor or writing coach as needed) 

• Is the writing clear and concise? 

• Is there strong sentence structure and proper grammar? 

• Are/is the imagery and metaphors used effectively to create vivid scenes and evoke emotion? 

You made it to the bottom! I commend you.

My book, unfortunately, did not make it past the first four questions but I hope yours did.

I hope this list was helpful. If not, then informative. And now you know some of what it takes for a book to be ready for publication.

If your book has passed all these questions with flying colors (or even if it squeaked by), then go start researching publishing! Go find good agents to support your book! For self-publishers, I have heard that IngramSpark is among one of the best print-on-demand publishing companies if you want to check them out. Mandi Lynn talks about it in her video here.

Good luck on your own writing journey!

And, as always, thank you for reading.