Many writers think they need to make a specific piece “perfect” before they can publish it. I do agree that checking your logic and removing typos makes any piece much easier to read. However, these writers trip themselves up on the “perfection” part. If a writer gets stuck on the perfection part, they stop themselves before they can publish. Then we, the potential readers, never get to read what that writer wanted to share.
Worse, the writer has many pieces in draft form. Those drafts do nothing for the writer, and definitely not the readers.
Instead, this writing secret is how publishing can make you feel, even in the face of your potential imperfections.
Publishing Completes the Stress Cycle
We all have expectations of ourselves, and writers are no different. Sometimes, writers, especially people who do not write a lot (yet), put even more pressure on themselves. The pressure sometimes looks like this:
This is exactly like the flow metrics reinforcing feedback loop because the causes are very similar: high WIP (Work in Progress), too-high cycle time because of that perfection problem, the low throughput, and the high aging problem.
But that's just the writer's outcomes, not the emotional impact of not finishing.
In Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle (my Amazon affiliate link), Emily Nagowski explains that stress is not the problem. Instead, it's how we respond to unfinished stress. When we don't complete the stress cycle, we feel more stress and emotionally worse.
If you're not sure if this applies to you, think about the most recent time you crossed something off your list, or you finished something important to you. (I love personal kanban, so it's about moving my stickies to the done column.) How did you feel when you finished?
I suspect you felt some sense of accomplishment. That's the feeling the act of publishing gives writers.
Publishing Helps You Feel Less Stress & Publish More
When I finish something and publish it, I feel more belief in myself as a writer. That improved self-esteem helps me realize I can write more and finish faster. That belief in myself allows me to tackle more complex projects even if I don't know where that writing will go. That's because I learn as I write. Here's what that looks like:
The more writers publish, the more they can publish. All because they finish the stress cycle.
This is why I recommend all book writers write blog posts about their books, instead of asking for feedback as they write the book. The blog post releases the stress they have for not finishing the book. And, often, encourages readers to comment on the writing in progress, without having to read the chapters.
I realize that many book writers use outlines to write. I do not, because I always learn as I write. Sometimes, that learning surprises me, which also releases my stress cycle!
While I already addressed perfection in Writing Secret 15: Balance the Need to Finish Against Perfection, let me offer a little more here.
Perfection is not possible. Readability is.
Strive for Readability, Not Perfection
Too many writers are still focused on what their English teachers taught them about writing. While I am thrilled English teachers teach people to read and write, these teachers are not professional writers. They have no idea what makes a piece readable. No idea.
When I offer feedback to my students and clients, I often start with the readability of the piece. That often means ordering the ideas to create a logical flow and removing typos.
Sometimes, there's a little more, such as Writing Secret 6: Help Your Reader Feel Smart, and shortening the sentences. (Break up clauses so each sentence is relatively short and builds on the ideas before.) All of that allows your reader to see your logic. Then, remove the typos. Your piece is now close enough to perfect.
Publish it.
Don't put it away for a couple of days. OMG, that just makes more WIP. No. Publish it.
What's the worst thing that can happen? You have to write something else to explain what readers did not understand. How is that a bad thing? When you write to explain to others, you learn what did and did not resonate with your readers. All that learning is a Good Thing.
Publishing Allows You To Focus on Learning
Most of us writers think our readers learn the most from us. I do hope you learn when I write, or that I offered you an alternative way to think about these problems. That means I learn when I write and publish. Write and publish.
Practice your writing and publishing so you can learn, too.
And if you want to practice with me, please see the January 2026 writing workshop, Writing Workshop 1: Free Your Inner Writer & Sell Your Nonfiction Ideas. Register now to learn how to write easier and faster—and publish. You'll release your stress cycle and learn as you write.
This is the last writing workshop where I will offer anyone feedback. After this, I will only work with writers as a Personal Trusted Advisor.
You can register and do the pre-work up until January 4, 2026. After that, I will close registration, and this workshop will vanish.
Please join us here: Writing Workshop 1: Free Your Inner Writer & Sell Your Nonfiction Ideas.
This is part of an intermittent series of “writing secrets.”