Top 5 Reasons You Know You're Ready To Be Published

Number #5 - Money isn't your main motivation.
Sure, you could become famous à la James Patterson, but that's not what sends your creative sparks flying. You're a writer. You have passion. And by golly, you're going to tell your stories no matter what!

Number #4 - The thought of an editor letter excites you.
This isn't a beta reader's or a critique partner's feedback, this is an editor's, as in the person who will publish your book! Of course you might not agree with everything they suggest, but at this point, you're not worried about that. You just can't wait to have an editor critique your writing.

Number #3 - You've written the best darn book you can.
Your personal resources have run out. You've edited your book a gazillion times, your writing friends have offered their critiques, and numerous drafts sit saved on your laptop, each one being updated by the next. You've done everything in your power to make your book sparkle! Now, it's time to offer it up to the professionals.

Number #2 - You've followed Writer's Digest rules to avoid publishing disappointment, which for the unpublished include:

* Establishing an online presence
* Identifying groups and individuals who'd be interested in your book
* Dreaming up ancillary materials for your book

And the Number #1 Reason? - You feel like you've already been published.
Your publishing contract may rock your world temporarily (and throw cause for celebration), but you're still going to be writing your butt off, researching industry news, blogging, tweeting, networking, marketing, editing, and everything else that you do right now! Only of course, you'll have someone else's imposed deadline to contest with. But what's another deadline, right?

So there you have it, my top 5. Did I forget anything? Let me know if you have another number to add. We can always make it the top 6 reasons :)

Oh, and P.S.
I'm so THERE!