Don’t Get Stuck in Perfectionism
“The thing I do is help authors get over their imperfection and hit publish. Pressing publish is the most important part of a creator’s journey. Whether you’re creating art, poetry, a book, or speaking on the stage, press publish.” —Azul Terronez
So many people think of writing a book as being this big arduous task to just filling pages with words. But books aren’t just words—they’re ideas, messages, or inspirations supported by those words. If books were just words, then you could put any logical words together to make a book, but you wouldn’t necessarily be inspired by the content or remember the book.
On this week’s episode of “Authors Who Lead,” I talk about how perfectionism can keep you from pressing publish on your book and how you can get help moving forward with publishing your own book this year.
Ideas Worth Spreading
Coming up with a TEDx talk is much like writing a book. You need to first start with an idea, a message, an inspiration worth spreading. We all have areas we are knowledgeable in and have plenty to say, but we need to ask ourselves if our idea is worth spreading to others. Are you wanting to talk about something so simple and valuable that your intended audience will not only understand the message but also be inspired enough to share it with others? This is an idea worth spreading.
When I was preparing for my TEDx talk in Santo Domingo, “What Makes a Good Teacher Great?”, I changed my whole talk the night before I gave it live. I had to ask myself who my intended audience was. I had a lot of great ideas I wanted to impart on all teachers and principals. But the audience I was facing weren’t educators. They were people from Santo Domingo who came to watch a diverse group of individuals speak on various subjects.
So, I rewrote my speech. I wanted to make sure they understood not only the content but also the emotional triggers that they could talk about when they left. My goal wasn’t to entertain or get likes; it was to convey the story, the idea that we don’t listen to students enough. I wanted them to know that if we just listened to students, we could change the world.
And the simplicity of this message is what made it really sing. The recording of the speech now has over three million views. If you haven’t seen it yet, I encourage you to go watch it, not to count it as a view, but so you can see what I mean by its simple structure of it.
Perfectionism Is Actually Procrastination
We will never be perfect. I know that may make your inner perfectionist cringe, but it’s true. No matter how many times we edit our books, they will never be perfect. There will always be something new or different we could’ve done with our writing.
Many of us perfectionists are just masquerading and might better be called procrastinators because we’re trying to hold off the inevitable judgment that will come. Because you will be judged and critiqued. If you share anything into the world you will be judged. Your work will never be perfect, so stop trying.
Done Is Better Than Perfect
It is better for your message to be shared imperfectly with an audience that cares than to just sit in a drawer. As long as your message is true and honest and vulnerable, people will forgive mistakes and remember the emotional impact of your message.
I would say there are two kinds of people in the world: those who create and those who critique. Which one would you rather be? Because you can’t be both at the same time. And if you are, that’s when you’ll be stuck in perfectionism. If you’re the critiquer of your own creation, you will never finish.
Press Publish
You are the only one who can write that book that is in your heart. In fact, you’re the only one in the universe that exists that could ever write the book you plan to write. The world needs your message; the world needs you. So I want you to go out into the world and create!
If you have a draft you’ve been working on for a while, I’m calling you to publish that book this year. I tell people it took me twenty-four years and thirty days to write my first book. That’s because it took twenty-four years to procrastinate writing it, trying to be perfect, and then it took me thirty days to actually write it.
And that’s why we’re calling you to join our programs because we believe in you. Not only do we have coaching programs to finish writing your book, but we also have a new program to help authors take their manuscript out of that desk or hard drive and get the support they need to finally put their book out into the world.
This program is called Press Publish. We will help guide you step by step on how to find editors and how to publish your book this year.
So, if you have a completed manuscript and are asking yourself:
Where do I find editors?
How much should it cost?
How do I know if they’re any good?
How do I know if they’re right for me?
How do I get my book onto Amazon?
How do I get it to be a Kindle ebook?
How do I get it printed?
How do I get a cover designed?
What about the interior and the way it looks?
Then our program Press Publish is right for you. We’re going to guide you every step of the way. It’s more affordable than any program we’ve ever offered, and we want to offer you a special spot here. I want to guide you every step of the way and use our publishing team to help you make decisions.
I’m so grateful that you listened to this podcast. I appreciate anybody who leaves a review, it really helps inspire us to keep contributing and giving content here. What was your biggest takeaway from this episode? In the comments, share your biggest challenge to publishing your book.
That’s all for this week. If you have a message inside you that needs to be written, know that you can write and publish the book that’s been on your heart. Don’t delay—get out of your head, put words on the page today, and make a movement with your message!
Episode Resource:
TEDX
Press Publish
Authors Who Lead
Fiction With Purpose Coaching Group
Mandala Tree Press Publishing
The Leaders’ Circle
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