Question from a young writer: how can I know when my writing is worth publishing?

When you reach 50 posts, try posting a 2000 word piece of a chapter one of a book to the Share Your Work forum. People who respond will tell you what works and what does not, for them individually. You can follow their advice or not.

Your family, if we are being honest, may be a little biased in favor of your work. You should get opinions outside of your friends and family for critique of your work.

Good job recognizing and discarding your juvenilia. Lots of young writers can't let it go.

Your job now is to find beta readers. Good beta readers. Good beta readers don't often gush, and they don't say "I liked it" or "I didn't like it" and leave it at that. They tell you what parts they liked, what parts they didn't, and the reasons why. They'll tell you that this section is slow, this sentence is clunky, and this word is the wrong word. They'll tell you what's confusing, what's not believable, and what's out of character.

They're not especially worried about hurting your feelings.

A good beta ought to have experience with reading, writing, or publishing well beyond those of a casual reader. Otherwise, they won't really know what they're looking for--character and story arcs, plot holes, scene development--but it's good to use one or two casual readers, as well, because the casual reader will make up the bulk of your audience.

You don't have to accept the advice offered by any one beta, but it's usually best to consider it. If you get the same feedback from more than one, that is something you should definitely look at closer.

The best place to find good betas is in writing communities. Like this one. I think there's a forum around here somewhere for people to request betas.

Nevermind. Evidently, the thread I wanted to link to is not open for newbies. There is one for short stories that is open, though.

Joining a local writers group can also be a great help. You can learn as much critiquing others as you can having your work critiqued. My writer's group has been a great support structure for me, as well.

AW's Share Your Work section is really your best bet, but you don't need to wait until 50 posts to benefit from what happens in there. You can read through other work and see what critique they have. Sometimes seeing critique in action can help spot potential issues with your own writing. It can also help you look at your work more objectively, as someone giving a critique. You can also see where members first submit work, then work to improve it as the thread progresses.

I agree. I've found it far more helpful to critique others than receive critiques myself.

Cobalt Jade said:

I agree. I've found it far more helpful to critique others than receive critiques myself.

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This ^^. Without a doubt.

So first and foremost, I agree that it's good you acknowledge that being young means there are probably issues - but that doesn't mean there have to be! I signed with my agent when I was 21 for a book I wrote when I was 20. There are exceptions! It's less about age and more about the quality of work you create. If you are 19 and you're writing amazing work, why should age stop you from querying?

That being said, I don't consider a book polished until I can read it from cover to cover with a pen in my hand and not mark or circle anything. The best is when I can read something and forget that I'm the one who wrote it. For this, it usually means airing out the story for a while before going in for a final read. I have beta readers as well, and that help is invaluable.

For more guided editing, programs like PitchWars and Author Mentor Match are awesome. Sage's Beta Project is also going right now here on AW, if you want some feedback on the first few pages and a potential beta! Also, Wendy Heard and Maggie Stiefvater have critique partner match-ups that can help you find a CP.

Just because you wrote a story when you were young doesn't mean you can't rework it, either! Break one of those books off the shelf, read through it, get through the cringing, and tear it apart a little, now that you're older. You might end up with something new and spectacular! If you have any other youngin questions or anything like that, my DM's are always open

shadow2 said:

Yes, I know that my family would be biased. As am I! We can't really trust the people we're closest to for honest appraisal.

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This is so important. I'm the same age as yourself, and taking a Creative Writing course has taught me that not everyone can take honest, constructive criticism especially well. I think it's important to take pride in your work, but also be able to professionally detach yourself when being critiqued.

When it comes to being published...I'm in the same boat as you, but I'd say you're ready to be published when you're ready. One day your story won't be good enough for an agent and the next it might be. Just make sure you keep getting feedback from impartial sources, and learn to roll with the rough and the smooth when it comes to your writing being critiqued/workshopped.

When you submit something somewhere, and it gets accepted for publication. Seriously. That's the only way to know.

caw

Sub a few short stories if you have any and see how they go. Some zines are great at providing feedback (Metaphorosis, F&SF, Shimmer)