ABSTRACT
Abandoning the Edit
There's an old saying that an edit is never finished, just abandoned. The trick is knowing when to abandon the edit. I'll admit it's one of my weak points. I have difficulty stepping away if I'm not convinced the project is the best it can possibly be. You must do as I advise, not as I do. Consider the concept of realistic perfection. No client is going to pay you to tweak forever, so imagine the most money you'll probably bill and picture the graph. Look at the ascending line of increased quality and find the point where it crosses the descending line of pay per hour. Of course, you don't want to release a project that could easily look better. You'll have to consider word-of-mouth and return customers. Part of this goes way back to the budget process. If you've budgeted three days for an edit and you spend six, you cut your paycheck in half. If your client understands what can be accomplished in three days, agrees to pay you for three days, and then expects six days of work, your client is cutting your paycheck in half. It's a tough line to draw. If you figure it out, let me know.
