Starting was hard enough, but deciding when to put down the pen after months of laboring over your manuscript can be just as hard. Has the story ended the way you wanted it to? Have you saved your editor an eternity of their time by taking care of those pesky typos you know will haunt you for the rest of eternity? These are all questions that run through even the most seasoned authors’ minds. So, how does one know their work is ready to go out into the world?

After having published my first book and now starting its sequel, I’ve had to take a step back and revise the process by which I consider a work of mine to be reader-ready. Being a bookseller allows me to talk to readers and understand what they are looking for in a story, but it doesn’t tell me how to end them or how long it should take to say ‘this is ready to be in readers’ hands’.

I’ve also had to revise how I go about writing a book altogether, understanding what practices were holding me back from the actual act of writing, like rewriting chapter one over and over.

I admit, my first book was the first and only draft that I had. I was on a time crunch to meet a deadline that I had ambitiously set for myself and was determined to meet. That was a mistake on my part – but we live and learn, right? From that experience, I noticed how much work I was doing that was holding me back from some of my best writing. Note-taking on content that just wasn’t really applicable to the story, outlining the novel again, and researching through Google Earth. All of these were distractions and weren’t helping me, but distracting me from the goal: to write. Enjoy writing. And to finish the book so readers can enjoy it too.

I was too focused on things being perfect the first time. I would get attached to sentences that clearly needed revision. I wouldn’t write until I had a scene completed and couldn’t move the story forward. I held onto illusions that a story unfolds in the author’s mind chronologically. Ha.

And once I learned, I let all of that go; the second time around has been going a lot smoother and has allowed me to pass the following advice on completing a novel and knowing when to be done.

How does one know that their book is finished and ready for publication?

When you know you’ve told the story that you set out to tell. If you can overlook a silly typo, it happens even to the bestselling authors, and you’re not leaving out a huge plot point or chunk of story, I’d say it’s ready. However, if you’re your own editor, or have an editor you’ve hired, you’ll want to skim over the manuscript to check for plot holes and the spelling of character names.

How Many Drafts Should I Write?

Matt Bell notes in his novel Refuse to Be Done that you should write three drafts. The first being the playground. The second is a solid rewrite. And the third is a polished version, with revised scenes, editing. The final product of the messy sentences you started with. I highly recommend this book because it confirmed what I’ve learned about my experience and offered some solid insight about looking at your story from another perspective, that of an editor.

How Long Should I take on edits and revisions?

Professional editing can take some time and cash if you’re patient, but if you’re an indie author with limited funds, I’d recommend giving yourself a month or two to work on edits and revisions. Traditional publishers can take anywhere from three to eight weeks, so I’d recommend giving yourself the same window of time. You want to give your work the best chance it deserves. Be fair to your work. It’s your brain-baby, it needs nurturing too.

Conclusion

The moment you finally finish your manuscript and send it in for publishing is a magical yet bittersweet feeling. Honestly, no one can tell you when it’s done. You are the storyteller, don’t rush the story until you feel proud of your work, but don’t drive yourself mad for perfection to a point that you never publish it. Even bestselling authors find spelling errors and other errors later on.

And just remember, write the story that you want to read.