Just as a good man forgets his deed the moment he has done it, a genuine writer forgets a work as soon as he has completed it and starts to think about the next one; if he thinks about his past work at all, he is more likely to remember its faults than its virtues. Fame often makes a writer vain, but seldom makes him proud. ~W. H. Auden

You might be surprised at how often an author fails to go back and revisit their prior works. If I wasn’t reading them into the Talking Book Services for the blind at the South Carolina State Library, I probably wouldn’t read my work again either. Like the quote above, reading old work opens an author’s eyes to the faults rather than the strengths. I cringe at word choices, phrasing, comma choices, and so on, wondering how many people read those spots and scowled.

Every writer does it.

But for some, the thought of those scowls and regrets stops them from publishing in the first place. Yet, for others, they write a first draft, correct the grammar, and publish, neglecting the layers of edits required in between. Then there’s the majority who worry where they fall on that spectrum. Are they holding back too much. . . editing over and over seeking perfection that will never occur? Or are they not editing enough, neglecting the necessary polish that takes a manuscript from mediocre to good?

You will never feel complete.

A lot depends on how versed you are in crafting prose, grammar, syntax, flow, character development, plotting, and imagery. Have you studied the particulars of writing? Have you invested in reading the masters of your genre, noting their strengths? If your experience is limited (childhood doesn’t count), then there’s so much more room for growth. Seek it before publishing.

Nobody is born writing well. Some grasp it sooner than others, but usually, the successful devoured the craft to prepare themselves. They didn’t just sit and type a story then publish it. They agonized over the details of grammar, word choice, and so on. They sought mentors.

Know your craft. Err on the side of overwriting and over-editing than the other way around. Frankly, few people can overwrite or over-edit. They just can’t.