How I Determine What To Publish

I write lots, but the conclusion that not all things are worth publishing only came to me recently. I had the habit of posting things immediately after it’s finished, and I often found myself cleaning up the “mess” after a few days; sometimes typos, sometimes the whole thing turned out to be untrue.

Those things stirred my gut. I’ve found myself, on numerous occasion, feeling aghast for the low-quality nonsense I released to the world.

The only writing worth releasing is the one that stands the test of time. How can I know? Well, I know the writing that won’t: the one that I find boring or untrue upon re-reading it.

After years of experimentation, this is how I decide what to release to the world: After I’m done with a piece of writing, I put it in a “survival folder.” If any of those writing feels boring or untrue upon re-reading it, it goes straight to the recycle bin; if it’s edited, it’s treated as a brand-new piece of writing. The longer a piece of writing stands unedited, the more worthwhile it is to publish.

If I can’t get myself to read my own writing, it’s not worth anyone’s time.

February 24, 2021