“Is it good enough?”

That’s a question that comes up every week in my LinkedIn writing groups. These souls are afraid to submit their writing to a publisher or post it for the world to see. They’re uncertain about …

1. Their writing ability. “How do I know that I can write well enough that people want to read my stuff?” Objectivity is elusive.
2. The contents of the piece in question. “Is the structure solid? Does it make the point I intended? Will anyone want to read it?”

Maybe you’ve had similar doubts.

Is the writing itself good enough? First, use a self-check

You can allay your initial fears about your ability and your content by conducting a simple self-check. Do what editors do. Review your writing using the Two Pillars of Editing.

Pillar #1: Content

For better or worse, these days, “good enough” has a low threshold of mediocrity. Generic content is considered by many to be acceptable (not that I do). It’s yours for the taking with a few lines of inquiry on ChatGPT. But if you’re wise, you use any AI-generated content only as a starting point.

Then, you rewrite it with a story as an opening hook, a few extra statistics, extra quotes to flesh out a point, language that reflects your voice. Even if you avoid AI and write the old-fashioned way — from an outline — you can have a writing partner check that your ideas are communicated with continuity.

Upshot: Your content’s logic and presentation are an easy self-check to conduct.

Pillar #2: Mechanics

Your writing is “good enough” when it’s clear of spelling errors, typos, missing words, repetition, awkward sentences, passive voice, subject-verb agreement, misplaced modifiers, homonyms, verb tenses, and split infinitives. You’ve got Grammarly to help manage all of that (available for free).

Plus, your word processing software pumps out readability statistics. Like self-editing your content, copyediting your work is not hard to come by. Yet concern about “good enough” continues to reign in writers’ hearts.

The deeper question: is it good enough for … what?

Yes, you need to write clearly to be “good enough.” But to what end — good enough for what? What hopes and dreams do you hang on your blog post … your article … your book proposal? Uncover what you want to achieve with a piece of your writing, and you can uncover your deeper angst about being “good enough.”

For instance …

1. Your blog post

If you want your blog post to be “good enough” so that it’s consumed by dozens of readers — allowing you to gain oodles of followers in the process — then you need to know the acceptable baseline for that audience. And exceed it.

• What are your target readers’ pain points?
• What keywords does they search for to solve those challenges?
• How does your post solve their problem more than satisfactorily?

For these readers, “good enough” means “giving me a headline and opening paragraph that shows this is worth the read.”

2. Your article

If you want an editor to publish your article, then you need to know what’s considered more than “good enough” to get past their slush pile.

• What kinds of topics capture their readers’ interest?
• What slant hasn’t yet been covered in that publication?

In this instance, “good enough” means “fitting our publication themes with a fresh or novel angle.”

3. Your book

If you want your book to be “good enough” to be represented by an agent, then you need to become a student of that person so you can meet or rise above their standards.

• What are their specialties?
• What kinds of writers are in their wheelhouse already … and how can you fill a gap or meet a need on their roster?

For an agent, “good enough” means “having enough potential” and “saleability.”

Notice that in each case, “good enough” is a moving target, changing from reader to reader, editor to editor, agent to agent, and of course, consumer to consumer. Meeting all those standards? It seems nearly impossible.

With good reason.

The real question isn’t “Is it good enough?”

If you want to succeed as a writer, then maybe asking, “Is it good enough?” isn’t the right question.

“The common misconception is that only the best books are accepted for publication,” says editor and writing coach Lisa Poisso. “But, in fact, only the most marketable books are accepted for publication.”

Note the distinction. The best isn’t always good enough for publication. Only the most marketable makes it past gatekeepers … including your readers.

Marketing is a dirty word for many writers. But before you push back on becoming a salesman for your words, understand what it means to market your writing. That is, a piece of writing is marketable when people want to read it. They recognize their need and that your piece of content meets it.

Marketable writing shows itself when …

• The surfer carves out time to peruse the blog post.
• The editor pauses to read the entire query.
• The agent stops to study the portfolio.
• The consumer clicks “buy” to download the eBook.

Writing success is not relegated solely to concise content and accurate grammar. Yes, you need to communicate clearly with readers. But the more insightful question to ask is not, “Is it good enough?” Replace it with, “Does it meet a need my reader has?”

When you can answer “yes,” then your writing will be more than good enough. It will be useful. It will be marketable. And perhaps even enduring.