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I've heard it said time and again in the writing and publishing business:
Done is better than perfect.
An old friend used to lose his mind over that phrase, interpreting it as an excuse to produce subpar books. While I can see how he'd feel that way, most authors should know better than to believe that finishing is the end goal regardless of quality.
But, maybe he's right, some authors probably do need a reminder of what constitutes good quality versus utter crap. Those few mislead authors might need a bit more context for "done is better than perfect" that way they avoid churning out hammered garbage and a severe public backlash for being reckless in their author business.
The point of the quote is to encourage authors stuck in their own way--whether through first draft production or an endless cycle of edits. Authors shouldn't be caught up in making everything perfect because every day their books aren't on the marketplace is another day wasted on the minutiae of this business. Because, quite frankly, some of those minor details don't matter. It's the macro details that make the biggest difference in you reaching the right reader and fulfilling their needs.
Let's explore key areas and best practices for you to adhere to the "done is better than perfect" rule while honoring your potential readers' time, attention, and money.
Sure, quite a few items are probably common sense, but to stack on my proclivity for memorable quotes:
Common sense isn't always common practice.
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but at least entertain a few points I have to make sure you're publishing books at an efficient rate without sacrificing quality.
Understanding the Importance of Completion
Where my old editor buddy got so hung up was on the side of the glass being half-empty. He essentially saw the bad in everyone and assumes authors won't know the intent of the phrase, "Done is better than perfect."
Lucky for you, I've got your back and we're going to disseminate this topic a bit, so you can stop procrastinating or getting jammed up when you're writing and publishing your next book.
I'm not inferring that authors should write a first draft the best they can and publish it. Nope, that won't do and quite frankly, it's going to do more harm than good to skip past vital checkpoints in your quality control process. You will have to find a balance between quality and efficiency. Perfectionism stifles creativity and good workflow. Conversely, you don't want to be indifferent either. Somewhere between those two extremes, you'll find your happy place, somewhere you could comfortably produce work at a good clip while maintaining quality.
We can all agree that most authors are probably not sculptors, but the fact is these two professions share a LOT in common. Sculptors never just break out a mound of marble, chisel it a little bit and call it a day. That would be a pretty crazy skill and possibly attainable for a select few. For the vast majority of sculptors, we can assume they spend hours building a form then slowly molding every tiny part in its place.
Authors have it the same way. We only need to do one thing - write. And, if we're not doing that, what are we then? Definitely not a writer. The very first thing we have to address is your first draft is merely the basic molding of a slab of marble. The next steps after that of developmental editing, copy editing, and proofreading refine the sculpture so it's more discernible.
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