Has anyone else had this problem? How do you get past it? I'm a solo developer - is working with a partner the way to go?
It's incredibly hard to tell if something will work or not. So hard in fact, that you are better off assuming it won't. Because that removes the expectation it has to do well, which is what's really holding you back, not fear. You believe launching will be a success only if it yields a specific type of outcome.
If you call it an experiment, it will allow you to not take yourself seriously, or to turn the project into something else, and even to ditch it if you realize you find something else more interesting. Don't let premature commitment limit your options. Just play.
Brian Eno might have said it best:
Artists who don't censor their own work: Picasso, Miles
Davis, Prince. They're all people who just put it out,
and have almost no critical self-censorship. They say,
"Let the market decide; let the world decide." You might
not be the best person to judge it.
That's a kind of humility, actually: it's a mixture of
arrogance, which says, "I know I'm fucking good." But a
humility, which says, "I'm not the person to decide."Don't worry about not being good enough. Just launch it. I'm free to chat - email's in my profile.
Definitely, it's hard to get people to pay attention, and I can't blame them; I myself don't go checking all the "Show HN".
I'll send you an email.
Are people aware of it and buying it - then it's ready.
If they're aware of it but not buying it - it's not ready.
If they're not aware of it - you'll never know.
I suspect that having very tight, formalized and public deadlines will force me to put something out. Even putting out something "not good" would be preferable to me not releasing anything while people are watching.
"Never got to bed satisfied."
It means, don't stay up all night fixing that issue, leave it till the next day when you will really want to start fixing the issue.
It seems to be a great way to maintain focus and motivation.
I recently learnt to say enough is enough when my program won't work and leave it until the morning.
Fresh eyes give me a huge boost some times - and often take the work in a whole new and improved direction.