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Transcript

There is Nothing to Fear Here · The Daily Writer

• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Daily Writer, where we share a lesson each day to help you cultivate the habits for creative success.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever done a little bit of research on the percentage of people who start writing books but don't finish them?
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Well, statistics vary, but no matter whose numbers you look at, one thing is abundantly clear.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Most people who start writing a book never finish it.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: A casual conversation with writers will reveal the same thing, at least if they're being honest.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Even the writers who have finished at least one book have almost always started other books that they haven't finished.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: What is the root of this phenomenon?
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: Why don't people finish the books that are so obviously important to them?
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it's not because people are too busy or because they don't want to finish those books.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: It mostly comes down to fear.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: Writers are afraid their books won't be good enough.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: But honestly, what does a quote unquote good book look like anyway?
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Who determines the rules about what makes a book good or bad?
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: The dirty little secret of writing and publishing is that it's mostly arbitrary.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Sure, a book needs to be organized in a coherent way, it needs to be written well and of course edited and have a decent cover, but beyond that it's mostly conjecture.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: The so-called critics and experts are just people with opinions like me and you.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: And even those opinions can change at a moment's notice depending on cultural trends.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: So there's nothing to fear here.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: Remember the mantra that business leader Cheryl Sandberg likes to repeat, which is done is better than perfect.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: So the next time you feel afraid or you want to avoid finishing your work, tell that voice inside your head to take a hike.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's trying to sell you the lie of perfectionism.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's also trying to keep you from finishing the book that can bring an amazing amount of joy to both you and your readers.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for listening to today's episode.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: For more, you can visit us at dailywriterlife.com.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks, and I'll see you tomorrow.