So your story’s not perfect yet?
Time to edit, and to cut, and to polish, and to kill your darlings. Whether you yourself think your story is not ready yet, or your Wise Readers, critiquing circle, teacher, or guru have pointed out its remaining flaws and weaknesses, this is the time to show everyone what you’re really capable of.
Study the advice your test readers gave you. Does it resonate, does it point out something you already knew in your heart about your story? Do different people indicate the same problem? And do they suggest different solutions? They’re probably right about the problem, and wrong about the solution. Their solution may match the one you as the writer decide on, but you may be able to fix the problem in an entirely different manner.
If you decided yourself that the story is not ready, attack it. Question every scene, every adjective, every line of dialogue, every thought your characters have. Delete every adverb. That is, unless you already know, in your heart of hearts, where the problem lies. In that case, attack that, and all of the above.
Keep editing and polishing until you believe you’ve done all you can, you know the entire story by heart, hate its guts, and are convinced any subsequent change will destroy what little improvement you’ve been able to inflict on it.
