Is Your Manuscript Actually Ready? Take This 5-Minute Test to Find Out

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It's been a busy summer as I completed edits on my new manuscript. I finally finished them, and after 18 months of writing a first draft and a further 6 rounds of edits, working on it every day for another 4 months, it was time to let it go. It whizzed off to my agent two weeks ago and she has come back to say she’s almost finished reading it, loves it so far, and described it as entertaining and hilarious. That feedback lifted me up and made me smile.

Now that I’m back to my usual space, the space all writers spend most of their time in, the waiting space, and not quite ready to start on my new book, even though I have a premise, I decided it was time to return to social media. As it took me so long to let go of my new manuscript the obvious topic is how to know when your manuscript is ready to send to agents or publishers, or indeed to begin your self-publishing journey.

Is Your Manuscript Actually Ready? Take This 5-Minute Test to Find Out

You’ve typed The End, you’ve survived the blood, sweat, and coffee stains. But here’s the million-dollar question: Is your manuscript actually ready to send out into the world?

Before you hit submit to an agent or publisher, take this 5-minute test. If you can’t confidently answer yes to most of these, pause and polish.

The 5-Minute Manuscript Readiness Test:

Have you finished more than one full round of revisions? First drafts are never final drafts. That might be heartbreaking to hear but believe me, it is fact.
Can you summarise your book in one compelling sentence? If you can’t pitch it, you can’t sell it.
Have at least two non-family beta readers given you honest feedback? Mammy swallowed up my new manuscript in two days, said she loved it and it regularly made her laugh out loud. While that’s fantastic to hear, she is Mammy so an unbiased opinion is needed.
Did you cut at least 10% of your original word count during edits? Tight writing = strong writing.
Have you read your manuscript out loud, all the way through? It’s painful, I know, but necessary. You’ll get the same result listening to it with the read aloud function on MS Word. Also, it needs to be read in different formats. As you get close to querying or submitting, print a copy of it. You’ll be amazed at all the typos and other errors you missed reading on a screen when you read it on paper.
Have you proofread after editing for story and structure? Your manuscript is going to have typos, that’s a given but try to remove as many as possible to give yourself a fighting chance.
Is your opening line irresistible and your ending unforgettable? Books are judged by their covers and their hooks.

Scoring Yourself:

6–7 YES answers: You’re likely ready to query or submit with confidence.
4–5 YES answers: Close, but it needs more work.
0–3 YES answers: Pause, time to go back to the drawing board. Your book, and you, deserve to be given the best shot at success possible.

Still not sure?
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