Worried what agents or publishers will think of your work? This video might help to explain your fears and how to move forward – Not just for writers but anyone involved in creative ventures.
Last week I had a message on YouTube from Cory Bedard which read… “So i just finished writing my book and I’ve got a publisher already set up that I’m submitting my manuscript to. I’m afraid it’s not quite polished enough. Any advice on how to shake this feeling? I heard the biggest critic is your own self.”
The biggest critic works in two ways. When you start out, you may think that YOU are not good enough and so keep being hard on yourself. You may also think that THE WORK in never good enough and that it can so much be better if you keep working at it.
The work can always be better if you keep working at it, but you can also ruin it and take away all the spontaneity. There comes a time to let go.
I’m assuming that you want to see your book in bookshop windows and have lines of people waiting for you to sign their copies and maybe have a movie made from the plot? Then, if you feel you have finished, you have to let it go. Send it on its way to any publisher that might publish that kind of story… and get on with the next book or project.
Don’t wait! There is no rhyme or reason as to why a book makes it or not – it comes down to timing, fashion, luck and the team that supports the book.
It may just be that this book is practice for the masterpiece you have inside and have yet to write. If you never get round to the next project because you are always fiddling about with the old one, then the masterpiece will never get written.
The inner critic is something you can learn to control. As you start out, you will not have the experience, so shut up and listen to those who do.
Eventually, you will learn what is good and what is not and will begin to trust your own judgement about quality and whether the work is finished or not. Until you have this experience, find a great editor, or producer or agent, and work with them – learn from them.
There are a million wouldabeens, couldabeens and shouldabeens who will tell you about the great idea they had and how they could have been millionaire authors, artists or songwriters.
You’ve done the first, hard step, all alone – you’ve written the story. Now, get it out there and find the editor who loves the story and will champion it for you.
Let go – it’s not about you anymore… it’s about the independent life of the story and about making it the best it can be for the reader. Don’t let your ego or fear get in the way!
