The Rules to Break, 2nd Edition

RULE TO BREAK

“Strive for perfection”

I have one writer friend who has been working on a book for the last 17 years. It’s almost there – has been for about 15 of those years. But he doesn’t want to publish it until it’s absolutely perfect. I can understand that, but on the other hand most writers could have published at least 10 books in that time. I know some who could have produced over 100. So is my friend’s perfectionism worthwhile?

I’d say no. I’d say that the way he’s going, he’ll be dead before he completes the book. And a book no one will ever get to read is, arguably, no book at all. It’s far better to finish the thing than to keep tinkering over details which, I suspect, no one but him would notice.

The fact is that you have to factor ...