Why Imperfectly Published Is Better Than Perfect But Unpublished

In the digital world, visibility trumps ability.

Legacy, Analog Writers can’t stand this. It drives them crazy. They kick their feet and scream and shout (all by themselves in their cabin, somewhere in the woods), “That writer isn’t even good! How can the world read that garbage!” Meanwhile, days, months, years go by and they share nothing at all. They would rather not-publish in pursuit of perfection than hit “publish.”

But 99% of the time, this is a defense mechanism.

It’s not perfection they’re in search of — it’s an avoidance of having to confront, out in the world, whether they’re as talented as they think they are.

Digital Writers don’t take themselves this seriously.

They might be perfectionists too, but they’ve learned nothing good comes from hiding away.

All it does is make the perfectionism worse.

Instead, they approach the writing process with radical generosity. They want readers to know they’re figuring things out as they go, just like everyone else. They want to gather feedback, and understand that they’re not the smartest person in the room (and would benefit from incorporating other people’s ideas into their work as well). Most of…