How do you know when?

Submitting :

How do you know when you’re ready?

I think that’s been my biggest question for a while. See, I have this fantastic critique group, and they like what I write.

They crit my novels, query letters and synopsi.

And they really like it. (Of course, what makes them really great is they still mark my pages in bloody-red pen to point out holes and other issues 🙂

So, as a writer, what do I do?

Well, I start submitting of course.

Only to get form rejection after another.

Now, the people in my writing group submit in our own style. Personally, I have a list of agents and I send my query (and sample pages if guidelines request) to about 8-12 agents at a time.

I’ve heard a lot of people say to send in small batches, so you don’t burn bridges.

Then, when I get nothing but form rejections, I go back to the drawing board and tweak my query.

I’ve finally gotten to the point that my query has garnered me some requests. Most have come back as rejections (I know what that means, work on the pages). But, I’ve gotten a few full requests for my Urban Fantasy that are out right now.

OKAY, EVERYONE–cross your fingers with me 🙂

But, my point is, when I first began sending my query, I thought it rocked. People who read it thought it rocked.

Agents didn’t.

When I sent my sample pages, I thought they rocked. People who read it thought they rocked.

Le sigh.

I’m slowly beginning to gain confidence in myself since a few gracious agents gave me some specific feedback and I literally rewrote a good 60% of the book based on that. A few of those wonderful agents have even asked me to resend my new pages.

Life is grand.

But obviously, when I started submitting, I wasn’t ready.

So, you tell me. How do you know when you’re ready???