“The ultimate call of the Muses in contemporary life is to live a creative and authentic life.” Angeles Arrien

Is the Devil in the Detail…or is the Divine?

God is in the detail. ~ Anonymous

The Devil is in the detail. ~ A derivation of the previous quote

In a recent weekly video for Monday’s Tarot Message from the Muse, the theme for the week was the 10 of Coins. 10 of Coins

Coins is the element of Earth and represents the physical realm. The number 10 is the point of shifting from finishing to preparing to begin again. Note the treasure chest filled with coins and jewels. Note also the signs of Virgo (details) and Venus (beauty). With these signs, the card speaks about the beauty and rewards found in the finishing detail.

Years ago, I exhibited and sold woven rayon chenille scarves and other wearables at national fine crafts shows. What distinguished my weaving from the myriad other chenille scarves and wearables for sale was my finishing details. My scarves were always thicker because I slightly felted them, and they had a hand-twisted and plied fringe.

The other weavers did overhand knots for the fringe, leaving the individual chenille threads to hang so that, months later, they lost fiber and became thin, tangled threads. My plied fringe remained thick and added drape to scarf or shawl even when they unwound slightly or pulled a little loose into loops

Yes, the Divine and the Devil are in the detail.

Especially the finishing detail, because it can make all the difference in whether you and your work are taken seriously.

This is where I have a problem with the get-it-done-fast-and-market-it approach to so much of the digital publishing industry. Too often, people fail to do the finishing work in a race to get it out there.

While having the ability to create, produce and market work to the world independently is a good thing, it is also a bad thing as undeveloped, unedited, poorly designed work fills the marketplace.

Writers like Bella Andre and Liliana Hart prove that you can successfully self-publish and create a career and income.

But guess what? They have their manuscripts edited. Their covers are carefully designed. They know what to do to properly finish and launch and promote their work. They don’t throw it against the Amazon wall like half-boiled spaghetti and hope it sticks.

Have you ever purchased a digital book and found innumerable errors in the text? Or discovered that the actual content is so thin as to make you feel it was hardly worth your time reading it or your money purchasing it? Yes? Well, will you ever buy from that author or creator again? Unlikely.

So why would you take the risk of being that author or creator?

Remember, the Divine and the Devil is in the detail. And because of that detail, your reader or customer will either have a divine experience and come back for more or, bedeviled by the lackluster work and disappointed in the value for dollar, scratch your name from the Must Buy list.

And never buy from you again.

Be clear. I am NOT advocating perfectionism which becomes a way of avoiding finishing.

I am advising you to follow through and finish, finish well.

Because that divine detail will set you apart from your competition.

Which means not just continuing sales, but, because I hope you are putting your whole self into the work, it will honor your work.

Because remember…the Divine is in the detail…and in you.

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