Does my book stink?

Is my book that horrible? Do agents not want to represent my book because it is that bad? Maybe none of my cp's want to tell me the painful truth: My book is unreadable. 

I ask myself these questions EVERY DAY. 

Every. Stinking. Day.  

So, what do I do about it? What do I do when I've convinced myself that all of my cp's are habitual liars and can't be trusted to tell me if my story is good or not?

I TRY to remember two things:

1) I have read some pretty horribly written, and traditionally published, books.

I know. This sounds harsh to say, and I wouldn't want to bash a writer. But let's face it. We've all read those books that make us set it down with wide eyes and shake our head, surprised that anybody let that book see the light of day. 

And, frankly, some of those books are by hugely successful authors. 

The movie industry is the same way. You get a TV show or movie that is generally recognized as being a dud and you wonder how that idea ever got to the screen. And sometimes those duds are even wildly successful.

How is this helpful to me? Why should I care?

Because getting published isn't only dependent on whether or not my book is good. Subpar things get published all the time because they fit into what the publisher thinks the public will pay money for right now. If you have a well written book versus a poorly written book, but the publisher thinks the poorly written one would be more successful for whatever reason? Why wouldn't they choose that book?

Maybe my timing is off. Maybe my book is good, but I'm just missing a puzzle piece in the submission process. Maybe the industry isn't ready for me yet.

I for one am glad to remember that my talent may have nothing to do with it. Talent is only one factor among many, such as marketability, the current market, the economy, and other books being published at the same time. 

Which brings me to the second thing I try to remember:

2) I love hearing stories about authors who published their previously shelved works later in their career. Just because this book might not be the debut that gets you traditionally published doesn't mean that you should despair.

Would you tell any of your favorite authors they should have stopped after their first, fourth, tenth, or one thousandth rejection? Heck no. 

So keep calm and query on. Keep developing your skill and write an even better book after this. Even if this book gets published, you still want to continue becoming a better writer. You've got this!