Summary

The article encourages writers to confidently publish their work without waiting for perfection, drawing a parallel to the decisive action required in medical emergencies.

Abstract

The author, Timothy Key, draws a parallel between the decisive action required in treating Electro-Mechanical Disassociation (EMD) in the medical field and the act of publishing written work. Key emphasizes that just as a paramedic must confidently decide when to cease resuscitation efforts after all possible treatments have been administered, a writer must know when to release their work, accepting that it may never reach a state of perfect completion. He acknowledges that while striving for perfection is admirable, it often leads to unpublished drafts that hold back a writer's creativity and progress. The article advises writers to trust their editing process, accept the uncertainty of their work's reception, and move forward by publishing with confidence, even if the piece is not flawless.

Opinions

Perfection in writing is an unrealistic and often counterproductive goal, as it can prevent the release of potentially successful work.
Writers should not hesitate to publish once they have completed their editing process, even if the piece does not meet their ideal of perfection.
The act of publishing, regardless of the outcome, is crucial for a writer's creative evolution and the ability to move on to new projects.
Self-critique is an unreliable indicator of a piece's success, as writers may underestimate or overestimate the quality of their work.
The decision to publish is likened to letting go in a medical resuscitation scenario, where further efforts would be futile and detrimental to both the patient and the medical team's resources.
Writers should focus on their craft and productivity rather than the pursuit of an unattainable perfect draft, as this can stifle their creativity and writing ability.

Writing | Advice

Hit “Publish” with Confidence!

It probably won’t ever be any more perfect than it is right now

Many years ago, when I was in paramedic training, we had a class on identifying the 10 things that can cause Electro-Mechanical Disassociation (EMD), or as it was called at the time, Pulseless Electrical Activity (PEA).

This is a phenomenon where the heart is generating electrical signals that ordinarily would cause it to beat normally, but for whatever reason (and there are 10 of them (well, 11 actually)), the heart is not actually beating.

The 11th reason is that the person is dead. The 10 others are things that could, potentially, be fixed in the field or Emergency Department. The official name of the class was something along the lines of “Identifying and treating the known reasons of Pulseless Electrical Activity in a field setting.”

The informal name of the class: “Throw the sheet with confidence.”

The idea was that if you rule out all 10 treatable causes, that leaves you with only unidentified and untreatable causes; meaning there is nothing you can do and the person is deceased, irrespective of any continued electrical activity of the heart.

So, how does this apply to writing? I am so glad you asked.

I have read a bit lately and had conversations with a few folks that are holding on to finished drafts (or almost finished drafts) and not publishing them for whatever reason. Generally, the reasoning is that they, “aren’t quite perfect”.

Well, perfect is a great mark to shoot for, but the fact is that most Medium posts aren’t perfect. Maybe a few here and there are, but I guarantee you that no one, not even the toppest of top writers, is putting out perfect anywhere near every day.

In fact, one of the differences between the most successful writers and everyone else is that the most successful know they need to hit “Publish” even if the piece isn’t perfect. They follow whatever proofreading and editing process they have, and then hit the green button with confidence. Then move on to the next story.

Your editing process may be different, and maybe you are still feeling out what that is. That is fine. And, part of your process might be to wait a day or two and then re-edit. That’s fine too. But, whenever you get to the end of the process, do not hesitate to hit “Publish”, even if it just doesn’t seem quite perfect. Heck, or even good.

We aren’t always the best critics for our own work. Things we think are award-winning often flop, and vice versa. The ones we think are dogs seem to flourish and find a wide audience.

The thing is, you never know until you hit the “Publish” button.

Plus, and this is the most important point of this article, you can’t move on completely to something else until you have let go of that unpublished draft. Just like in a resuscitation, once you have done everything humanly possible to save someone, you have to let go.

If you spend time second-guessing what could have been with an article, or what might be because you haven’t convinced yourself to publish it yet, you are stealing away your own most precious resources from yourself; your creativity and writing ability.

Some of your brain and soul stay stuck with that unpublished draft and that keeps you from performing at your best moving forward.

So, to any of you with an article (or many articles) hanging around because they just aren’t quite perfect yet, you need to let go. You have done all you can with the draft and now it is time.

If you don’t have photos and tags on it yet, do so and then do it: Hit “Publish” with confidence!

You will be glad you did.

If you like this, you might like some of my other writing:

Get Off Your Butt and Say Something Nice!

It’s time to create a better spiral

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Stop and Reset

Even when you don’t feel motivated, there is still a lot you can do

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How to Tell if You Have a Toxic Personality in Your Organization

Don’t ignore the signs; the consequences can be extreme

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Timothy Key spent over 26 years in the fire service as a firefighter/paramedic and various fire chief management roles. He firmly believes that bad managers destroy more than companies, and good managers create a passion that is contagious. Compassion, grace and gratitude drive the world; or at least they should. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and join the mail list.