Page 145 - Hypnotic Writing - How to Seduce and Persuade Customers with Only Your Words

HYPNOTIC WRITING
some readers said it was too folksy and some said it wasn’t folksy enough.
Remember my sales letter on Thoughtline? I rewrote that thing a hundred times—maybe more—yet it still isn’t considered per- fect. Just the other day I received an anonymous note from some- one in response to that sales letter. She (or he) said, “I think this is a horrible package you are offering, as it will contribute to the al- ready illiterate, lazy-minded folks in this country. Please put your intelligence and energy into a better serving area!”
What’s “perfect writing” then?
I have no idea. What’s perfect to me may seem like a baby’s first draft to my agent. My job as a writer is to do the best I can. That means writing with skill and precision, and then editing ruthlessly. It also means letting go of the writing so it can go out into the world and get whatever results it’s going to get.
You’ll learn more from the feedback you get than from the rewriting you do. Input will give you concrete direction; rewriting will give you hand cramps.
Again, I am not saying mediocre writing is okay (though it often gets published).
My message is this: Don’t let striving for perfection stand in the way of getting results.
Finish the drafts you start. Edit the best you can. Then let your work go.
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