In a post on Writer Unboxed, Sarah Callender says our work will never be perfect, but we need to learn to recognize when good enough is good enough. “We are told that when we query agents, our query letters and manuscripts must be perfect, that when we self-publish our stories, they too must be perfect,” she says. “Except we know that perfection does not exist.”
So, how do you know when a piece of writing is ready for the world? “I don’t know that we can know, not for sure,” Callender says. “But I do know we cannot write in isolation. Or at least, we cannot write good-enough stories in isolation. We writers need helpers. We need guidance and advice. Most importantly, we need tough love.”
