The Day of Reckoning

Pushing “publish” and letting go.

This Friday, my next novel comes out. It's my fourth novel and sixth work overall. The files are locked in and ready to launch, and it will be live tomorrow as I write this. And every time it comes time, I always have to ask if it's ready.

Not just in the sense of technical readiness, but if I’m satisfied and ready to get it out there. If it needs one more editing pass, one more play test, one more set of eyes, maybe a completely different cover or something else entirely.

I want my released to be technically perfect, even if that's hard. If someone dislikes it, I’d rather it not be for a misplaced colon when I meant it to be quotation marks or a clumsy bit of phrasing. For my video games, I want them to be free of bugs or oversights; I flubbed the landing the first time and stuck it better the second.

Of course, I can always use another editing pass. I can always use more feedback. But I also am not that delusional; I haven't written a literary masterpiece (yet), and I do weird genre fiction with plenty of absurdist humor and (usually) gay stuff.

When I started, I sought perfection. I still do, but it's tempered somewhat. Perfect can't be the enemy of good enough, and there's a point of diminishing returns I always hit with seeking perfection.

I might aim high one day, but my goal for now is to entertain, to provide enjoyment, and to bring worlds to like that are fun. Reading has always been fun to me, and I want to share that. I can still aim for prose that's a touch elevated, or humor that's smart…but if I feel like a story is in a good place, and there's little to be gained from holding back, I’ll push publish.

And, honestly, it's more fun to share than to never release. I think it's fun to unleash the beasts. I do have the ability to update and patch, but those can come with contemplation and time to add more fun and continue refining.

The Sordid Tale of Sir Ginger launches March 13, on Amazon.