Robert Heinlein has been canonized by some writers for his prolific output and his philosophy on writing to generate that volume. Heinlein articulated that philosophy in an essay in 1947:

1. You must write.
2. You must finish what you start.
3. You must refrain from rewriting except to editorial order.
4. You must put it on the market.
5. You must keep it on the market until sold.

But do those rules still hold true today?

I recently met with a great guy to get his take on the state of indie publishing today (no name-dropping here). He’s respected as one of the leaders of the indie movement and has earned a LOT of money in the last year on his books. And he writes a lot. I mean A LOT. In twelve months, he published more than a dozen original stories on Kindle’s platform, along with additional box sets, short stories, and other work. And now, he’s branching out to co-write with others to commoditize his author brand and the science fiction universe he created with his stories. It’s a recipe for even more success.

During my conversation with him, I didn’t ask specifically about Heinlein’s rules. But our discussion gave me a sense of his views on the topic. He writes quickly, and without heavy rewriting or editing. Then he passes the work off to beta readers. If the beta readers identify any major issues, he corrects those himself. After that, he pays an editor to proofread and copy-edit the work before quickly pushing it out into publication.

If you look at that broad process description, it follows Heinlein’s rules precisely. So at least for one successful indie, Heinlein’s rules still seem relevant and accurate in 2016 and 2017.

I confess that I’ve spent too much time outlining and revising the story structure on my books. I continually think of another wrinkle or excellent layer of complexity to add to the trilogy, then rush off to rewrite scenes to add in those layers. Book 1 is nearly complete; but it’s been nearly complete for six months. Books 2 and 3 are heavily outlined and ready for serious drafting, but I’m still churning away on that first book.

In reality, my view has been that Book 1 has to be a great book. It’s my first public work and the first introduction the reader will have to my brand and my writing. After the reader is pleased with the story and characters from Book 1, they might be forgiving if my structure in Book 2 is not as intricate, or if the action scene in Chapter 12 of Book 3 is a little less engaging than it could have been. It’s that initial impression I’ve been so worried about.

But re-reading a few articles about Heinlein’s rules this week has made it clear to me that I need to wrap up the revisions on Book 1 quickly and move on. Even the great Heinlein (and Stephen King, and Nora Roberts, and Hugh Howie) are not hampered by imperfection in their early work. The full BODY of work they produce gives them the opportunity to prove to readers the value of their writing and story ideas. So, too, must I get past Book 1 and begin the process of creating a BODY of work that improves over time and eventually builds a platform of successful publication to open the door to success.

How about you? Are you following Heinlein’s rules? Are you moving quickly enough to build that back catalog of work that buoys your career?