Perfection is a moving target

Anybody who makes anything will know that the single most difficult question to answer is always: Is it done? Sure, your boss might think it's done, the client might think it's done, the producer might think it's more than done, but for you- the person at the very heart of it, the one whose name is on the cover or jacket or sleeve, it's often far from done. 

For the perfectionist, this struggle of the far-from-done can be crippling. The thinking is that a little more finessing, a few more tweaks, will make the finished product perfect. Truth is, they are always the only one who thinks this. Nobody else knows what was involved in getting a little spark of an idea to the stage it is at, and what may or not be involved in taking it even further. And because they don't know, they don't care. Therefore, if your intention is for your work to be seen, heard or read by anyone other than yourself, you shouldn't care either. Unless you're downright embarrassed by it, ship it. 

On the other hand, for those who measure their own worth by their output, the rush to get it out might result in a constant stream of distinctly unremarkable stuff, a bit like Justin Beiber's Twitter feed. This is dangerous too, even if your 100 million or so followers lap up every word. 

And so, like with most things, the trick lies in finding the right balance. It's pretty difficult to be objective about your own work, but it's definitely worth trying to be. Besides, the most important thing to bear in mind is this- in a sense, nothing you make is truly done until it inspires at least one other person. That should be the ultimate goal- the perfect manuscript isn't much use to anyone if it's still locked safely in your drawer. 

This is not to say that the process is not important. For many, the process is everything. I've read about several authors who never read their published books. By the time the agents, editors, publicists, etc, are done with it, the author is well into the next project. At that point, what they themselves thought about the last thing they made is irrelevant. It's out of their hands. And even if they thought it was 'perfect', the only reason they're working on something new is because they think it could be even better. 

Yes, the quest for perfection is important; by all means pursue it more than ever in this new year. But don't end up trying to reach it every time; like the horizon, it can keep getting further away. So, go on- hit Save, click Done, say it's a wrap, and ship it. It's not about you anyway.