How Do I Judge My Stories Before Submitting?

I set a low bar, but I DO DRAW THE LINE.

I set a low bar, but I DO DRAW THE LINE.

Photo by Sergey Zolkin on Unsplash

Writing and editing are not as scientific as you might think.

I set a low bar, but I DO DRAW THE LINE.

When I read that story that one, next to the, next to the, next to the last time, it is going to leave me feeling warm and fuzzy, eager to hit that submit button, or, cold and clammy, feeling like I need to take a shower.

I don't blame the story. I have no way of knowing what it went through growing up. I have to walk a mile in its printer cartridge.

So if I don't feel great about it, I tweak it a little. That may be enough to work.

It may even need to go to a rehab program for wayward stories. But it needs to be feeling good about itself, and I need to feel good as well. Rewrites are rare but available. It’s all about the story.

How does it feel? How do I feel? Do we both feel good?

Once we are past that point, we can submit. Then, we can look at the stats and see how the readers feel.

Thanks…

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