A new hire on my team has a wonderful phase she uses: “I’m not precious about my work.” She’s a content writer and wanted to convey to us that we can give her feedback and shouldn’t worry about her feelings. She’ll change it, improve it, or scrap it. All of it is part of the process.
As someone who does tend to be a tad precious about her work, I love this phrase and have been trying to apply it to my mindset. This week I used it when I opened up my query letter for feedback, directly telling a friend “no precious feelings at all” in regards to whatever she wanted to tell me. For a pitch this is a little easier for me — it’s not the actual story after all, just the plea for an agent to request the actual story — so who the fuck cares if I’m attached to a particular sentence in it? I’m not. I just want it to be the best it can in representing my work.
I saw another phrase today specifically about writing: words don’t break. I’ll be the first to admit there are a few key things about my story that I’m ride or die for, but I also know when I do get feedback and listen to feedback my work improves. (Some true godsend beta readers have helped too.) There’s no growth if I convince myself everything is perfect or get too defensive about my work. I’m talking about writing, but of course, this idea applies more broadly. Don’t be precious about what you produce. Words don’t break.
With Love,
Natalie