That means I take risks and that I make mistakes. Does that mean I'm less professional because I make mistakes? Could I wait to launch or publish something, in the name of professionalism, until it's perfect? Sure, but would that something truly ever be perfect? Or would that just be an excuse for delaying, out of fear?
Writers run into this all the time. Don't want to send the query letter because the manuscript isn't perfect. Don't want to write the book proposal because the book isn't done (when in reality, you only have to submit a couple of chapters). Don't want to join a writer's group because you're afraid people might not like your writing. Don't want to publish a website because you can't figure out what you want it to look like, so you do nothing....
Does professional mean perfect?
William Wordsworth hated to publish his works because he knew that once he did, they were essentially dead. There would be no room to change, evolve, perfect his words.
We see imperfect all the time. In the book on writing I'm reading, Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell, there's an error on page 61:
"When using first-person narration, especially in literary fiction, your can capture attention through voice and attitude as J.D. Salinger does."
Do you see the error?
Does that error make what Bell has to say any less valuable? Do I choose not to recommend the book because there was a word usage error that he, his proofreaders, and even his editors missed?
NO!!! (It's a great book on structuring your fiction plot.)
I've seen errors like this in almost every book I've ever read, whether traditionally published or self-published. Books by Stephen King, Suze Orman, you name it. Is it possible to put out a perfect work? Again, no. Does the fact that there might be a typo take away from the beauty of the words and the message? I don't think so.
This goes beyond even typos though. Think second and third and so on editions. In 1991, Stephen King released an expanded edition of The Stand, with an additional 500 pages left out of the original. Well, if the first one was perfect, why an expanded edition?
Funny enough, this came up after I wrote a recent article for Fuel on "Wal-Mart, Chico's, and Nordstrom." Like a smart article writer, I also publish the article on my blog, and I received this comment:
"Your post might, ah, look more professional if you fixed 'your a professional'"
Here's what's amusing about this. The person who submitted it used an obviously false name and email address. How professional is THAT?
Professional is how you treat people, how you respond to others, how you react to situations, what kind of proactive measures you put in place once you discover a hole in your systems. It's basically how you are in the world. It's writing your query letter as a professional, not as a bratty diva. It's acting as if you care (and hopefully you do). It's treating people with respect.
I would have liked to thank Professional Commenter if he/she had given a real name and email address, appreciating that he/she allowed me to fix something that was a mistake.
Should I have made the mistake in the first place? It was a silly mistake, and came about because I'm putting out a lot of content each week, along with everything else we do here at Write Well U. But if I waited until I was sure each letter was perfect, you might get Fuel, oh, say, next month, instead of each week. I'd rather get content out there and help people, and strive for perfection along the way.
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