Perfectly Good

I got my first round of notes back on my new book from my new editor, and as I began going through her comments, I remembered again how much I enjoy this phase of the publishing journey. It still surprises me that this is so. Once upon a time, the idea of someone going through something I’d written and pointing out where it’s confusing or repetitive seemed positively obnoxious, a kind of pill I’d have to swallow if I wanted to see my work in print. Did I think my stuff was so perfect that it was beyond criticism? No. Instead, it was the shame of it not being perfect, and of someone noticing and telling me so, that so worried me.

It is strange to me that I ever feared having my work edited. Not once have I felt that sting of shame going through notes, even when my editor says, as she did for this book, “Maybe we don’t need this whole chapter.” I find the editorial process like a conversation with a bright person about a subject that interests us both. I love good conversations, even when I need to clarify something I’ve said. What I don’t expect of a conversation is for it to be perfect. I wouldn’t even know what a perfect conversation was. As long as I like the one I’m having, that’s good enough for me.

The idea of “perfecting” a story can serve as a useful motivator. It holds me accountable to my own aesthetic. I know when something I’ve written meets that aesthetic and when it does not, and it’s always my goal to feel satisfied with every sentence I share. But I don’t expect those stories to be perfect. In fact, I don’t care that they’re not.

This, I believe, is what I was actually embarrassed about as a younger writer: that I didn’t really care about being perfect. I thought this made me lazy. Who would publish, would read, would enjoy a story that’s “good enough?” The answer is everyone. I thought perfection was the gateway to success, but the exact opposite turned out to be true.

If you like the ideas and perspectives expressed here, feel free to contact me about individual coaching and group workshops.

Fearless Writing: How to Create Boldly and Write With Confidence.
You can find William at: williamkenower.com