Big, sprawling content may never end up published unless you’re willing to throw off the traditional writing shackles of editing to perfect.
I’m a professional freelance writer. I, spend a lot of time writing. I also spend a lot of time editing and…
— snapping at grammar checkers, “I MEANT for that to be in passive voice,” and, “No, I don’t think deleting that word will improve the readability.”
Editing is a sacred ritual among writers. I DO pay attention to grammar checkers because they are often correct. There are numerous articles, blog posts, pithy sayings about editing, and much decrying of those who do not edit enough.
My favorite saying about writing is, “Editing is writing.”
Editing IS writing.
My second favorite saying is, “Rubbing IS racing,” but that doesn’t apply to writing.
Building a Website Empire
When I’m not earning money as a freelance content writer, I’m building my own online empire of websites, social media profiles, and content that I monetize in various ways. All of these come very much from the writer within. That same writer who edits, because editing is writing.
However, as an online empire builder, I am also a member of a different collective. This group follows different tenets. Among the entrepreneurial, website launching, developer crowds I also run with, the central dogma is to just ship it.
Writers Can Be Entrepreneurs and Builders Too
Get it out there. Launch now. Fix it later. If you keep trying to make it better you’ll never be ready.
Their saying is, “Move fast. Break stuff.” — The remainder of that quote is left unspoken. Fix the stuff that is broken, and do it fast. Fixing broken things quickly counts as good support in this particular world. (They also say, “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.)
Move fast. Break stuff.
The difference, of course, is that in traditional publishing, there is no fixing it. Once it is published it is set in stone. There is no fixing it.
The only way to correct a broken piece of published writing is to issue a correction. Corrections are humiliating, a sign of a poor writer, who didn’t edit enough.
But, most of my writings are for my empire, not for Forbes, or Fortune, or Newsweek.
Many of my writings find life on my own websites. Out here, in the publish now, earn now, keep everything up to date, world of non-journalism publishing, edits are not only possible, but welcome. Taking an RMD in 2020 made perfect sense, until Congress passed a law, and then it didn’t.
Change it. Fix it. Edit it. — No shame. Good job. Keep your content fresh, evergreen, never out of date.
Just Publish It
When building a website empire there is content, and then there is CONTENT.
Some content is quick, harmless, small bites of news, or quick thoughts. I edit those. I make sure they are correct. I make sure the grammar is right. I tell Grammarly, or Word to go screw themselves when I know that passive voice is the right way to convey the sentiment. (Especially common when writing about taxes.) Then I hit publish.
Other content is detailed. Facts matter as much as grammar matters. I review my facts. I read, edit, then read and edit again. Then I check it one more time before I hit publish. The worse thing that can happen in these cases is not a typo, but an error.
The S&P 500 is not an ETF, it’s an index. There are ETFs that track it, but you can’t buy it directly as an ETF.
You fool! How could you publish such a thing?
Shame. Humiliation.
So, I edit. I check my facts. I edit. I check facts again. I edit again.
Move slow. Get it right.
Then there is big, epic, sprawling, monstrous content. The kind of content that no one else publishes because it takes too long, costs too much money. Content that covers multiple topics, all of them in-depth. It takes multiple hours, and multiple days to write. Editing it, and fact-checking it takes just as long.
I know that the article on the other end of that link to big, epic, monstrous content needs more work. That is the point. I can spend another month making it everything it could be — and then get waylaid by new news, features, or updates — or I can get it out there now and spend the next year making it better and better with every edit and update.
Meanwhile, the world keeps moving. Client projects are due. Other parts of the website empire call out for new content, additional posts, more shares for the social media campaign. Google changes the rules. Congress passes laws. News breaks.
And, the big epic, content that would be so great if you ever hit publish sits in drafts, waiting for another edit, another round of fact-checking, for more additions about more features.
Then, the cannon of my other community blasts into my head, “HIT PUBLISH, you fool!” Just ship. Fix it if something is wrong. Update when something changes. Add sections that haven’t been covered yet. Use a stock photo until you can shoot the custom photograph you have sketched out. Keep making it better, but get what you have today out there… now.
It can work. It is one of the benefits of being smaller and lighter than the heavyweights. Dozens of people view that epic post each day compared to several thousands that view their posts. Time to fix, if needed.
Funny thing, it turns out that like pushing code, shipping products, or turning on a new website, publishing cornerstone content when it is good instead of perfect, benefits both consumers and producers faster.
And those errors? The tiny tweaks? The typos?
They mean nothing over time. They get fixed. The content gets expanded. Grammar gets tweaked. Typos get sheepishly edited at 2:00 am when you notice them when you should be going to bed. New features are explored, old ones are updated.
Everyone wins.
Publish Now or Keep Editing
Sometimes, the writers are right. Edit until perfect.
Sometimes, the builders are right. Just publish.
Now all that is left is to know who is right and when.