Writers share their work. Perfectionists hoard it.
Sharing your work (i.e., writing in public) feels scary, like you’re losing control. But it's the only way a writer can grow their audience, build a brand, and begin earning money.
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Hoarding your work (i.e., writing in private) feels safe, comfortable. But it comes at a cost: your words and ideas won’t reach people. Most perfectionists hesitate to share their work because they fear judgment and rejection, in that order:
No readers, no feedback. No feedback, no pain.
So perfectionists get caught delaying, which often manifests as over-editing:
tniekrnig,
__tinrkeing,
____tkrninieg,
______tinkering
________down the
__________staircase
____________until eventually they get to the bottom, where they lose interest and give up and move on.
Shame: if only they had stopped tinkering somewhere in the middle. (Look again.)
Paul Valéry said:
"A poem is never finished; it is only abandoned."
He meant you can always do more, edit more. You can rearrange the words forever, until you’re dead (or just bored). No judgment this way. No rejection.
But also no audience.
Is this what you want?
It could be, which is fine. Writing for yourself is a beautiful thing. But if your goal is readership, remember: sharing your work — whether it’s “perfect” or not — is one of the healthiest habits a writer can cultivate.
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