Just Publish It, Even If It's Junk

Your article is a big old stinking pile of horse dung.

Those were almost the exact words I said to myself moments after drafting up my very first piece of work. And in my mind, it was just that. A "piece" of work.

Or, as some of my fellow writers say…junk.

They then say to "ship your junk anyway." Don't be afraid. It's by publishing junk that we get incrementally better.

Yeah, that's what they say.

But here's why I have a HUUUUGE problem with that statement.

I have a big issue with that statement because you aren't YET qualified to know what exactly junk is.

I'm not proposing that your first writing efforts will be smash hits. Still, I also don't necessarily agree that it will be junk either. And I take that stance for several reasons.

Three, to be exact.

1. You don't know what junk even is

We all are beginners at some point. All of us. Regardless of your current level of experience or expertise at this very moment, we all had a step one. So, in the beginning, did you know what junk is? Or did you just pick up that pen (or keyboard) and let it rip?

I know I let it rip.

And I'm no different than you. We both share a love of words and the written word. And on some level, we both know that deep down, there lies some masterpiece. We just need to start digging for it.

So dig, but do not assume that each "shovel full" is junk; instead, that it's progress.

2. It assumes that you aren't confident in your ability

Writing isn't hard.

Publishing is.

The statement "ship your junk" has an invisible assumption that some folks are afraid to publish or "ship." Maybe it's because of what others will say, or perhaps it's fear of sharing something too close to the heart. Whatever your reason is or was, fear can sometimes be the actual cause of not shipping your work.

Fuck fear.

And if you're one of the few who has no fear in sharing your work and is still not publishing, then the statement assumes that you perhaps think that your first steps in the writing world will be, in fact, junk.

So refer to point #1 above.

3. Writers are wussies

The more I thought about this, the more I wondered if writers are, on some level, a bunch of 'fraidy cats. I mean, think about it. Someone actually had to tell you, maybe coax you, into PURSUING your passion for writing and publishing.

Who does that?

If it means that much to you, then why the hell do you need a friend, coach, or some other ex-spurt to implore you to publish?

Are you a wussy?

The whole "jump and build your wings on the way down" applies as much to writers as to any budding entrepreneur.

Yet an entrepreneur will jump and then succeed, or crash, burn and learn a lesson.

So when I hear folks imploring a writer to publish their junk, all I can think about is some scared little introvert sitting at their laptop, biting their nails, and scared to death over not hitting "publish" for a simple article/essay/poem/document.

Dude, or dudette, publish it and let the chips fall where they may, but for peets sake, don't be a 'fraidy cat.

Maybe writing just isn't for you

That's gonna be an eye-opener for some folks. Reading that perhaps writing isn't for them, I mean. And for others, it's gonna piss them off. It's going to feel like someone just hit you over the head with a rolled-up newspaper.

You're either going to slap back and publish or run to the corner and lick a faux wound.

The final word

The moral of this story is this.

Don't flatter yourself.

You're not a written word junk expert; you're a writer who has a message to say, so say it. You may darn well reflect back on your first piece, many years later, and see how far you've come. That's a fact.

BUT, do not ever sell yourself short with the junkie phrase of "ship your junk" because if that phrase resonates with you, and on some levels, you do think you write junk, then writing isn't the issue.

It's you.

Write > Edit > Publish > Repeat.