Quantity vs. Quality Misses the Point (Your "Why?" is the Key Factor in Writing and Creating)
Quantity vs. Quality Misses the Point (Your "Why?" is the Key Factor in Writing and Creating)
Box Cutter Co. Free Issue No. 68
The problem isn’t whether you’re churning out content like a factory (quantity) or honing every word like a tortured artist (quality)—it’s that you’re probably wasting time in a silly debate that misses the point.
Next to the time sucking questions of “Should I write ‘long form’ or ‘short form’?”
And, “Should I niche or not?”
The hand-wringing and endless posts and articles spewing about quality over quantity, or quantity over perfect quality are pointless distractions keeping many from the real work—
That is creating with some purpose, authenticity, and intention.
(I include myself in that).
I’m now about 2.5 years into the Box Cutter journey — walking away from corporate public sector employment in April 2022. Box Cutter Co. itself is edging towards 2 years, which arrives in November.
I’ve gone through a few iterations. I’ve tried a few different things. I’ve chased trends; I’ve dropped trends. I’ve cut boxes and boxed the cuts. I’ve received great feedback, such as:
Write shorter. Keep the longer posts.
Too circuitous. I love the deeper pieces.
Box Cutter is exactly what I was looking for. Box Cutter is definitely NOT what I’m looking for.
I’ve become a paid subscriber. I’m no longer a paid subscriber.
Which is right, which is wrong?
There is no one answer. It just is.
I often remind myself, that around the globe, there are over 5 billion people with access to the Internet. There are now also over 5 billion people on social media.
That means the potential for over 5 billion different perspectives about what I (or you) should be writing, how you (or I) should be writing, and all the various other strategies linked to this.
Added to this are billions of perspectives on what platforms we should be on (Substack vs. Medium; LinkedIn vs. X and Facebook, etc.).
How many posts we should be doing daily, weekly, monthly, annually…
Zooming out, I find, can bring valuable perspectives to this work. This work of writing, publishing and sharing publicly. This work of trying to build digital businesses, or side gigs, or small bets, or multiple income streams…
Many of the debates in the “Creator Economy” are fluffy, death-scroll, rage-post, wastes of time. Virtually anytime I come across another article or post pitting things as Either/Or… I simply move on.
The Pitfalls of ‘Either/Or’ Thinking
After a few years of playing this game, of building digital writing businesses from scratch, and building revenue streams — in a dual Solopreneur/Soulpreneur household — that have moved both Lisa (my wife) and I well beyond what we used to make annually as employees… has generated a few reflections and learning.
Quantity?
Let’s cut to it: the "quantity over quality" approach is a fast track to burnout, inauthenticity, and dropout.
When you get stuck in the grind of cranking out content just to keep algorithms fed, or because some digital guru says “This is how you do it!” — then, you will probably discover you’re not creating—you’re just producing.
You’re feeding. Churning. Grinding.
It becomes more about meeting expectations, hitting numbers, and feeding the beast. But what happens when the metrics start dictating your creative process (or lack of)?
You will most likely lose sight of what really matters. Your work will become hollow (or at least feel hollow), a series of checkboxes ticked rather than a reflection of a more authentic Self, or sense of purpose.
Do you know what this reminds me of?
My years of employment in the corporate public sector! (Ugh!)
Quality?
So if it’s not Quantity… then it must be QUALITY!
Nope, probably not.
On the flip side, the "quality over quantity" mindset can be just as paralyzing and demoralizing. Obsess over every writing and creating detail long enough, and you’ll find yourself trapped in a perfectionist’s nightmare—endless revisions, countless drafts, and nothing posted or published.
The pursuit of perfection can leave many with fewer finished projects, missed opportunities to learn (and to fuck up), and a growing disconnect from the joy of writing, creating, thinking, synthesizing, and so on.
Here’s the kicker: both approaches, though seemingly opposite, can pull you away from your actual purpose (or purposes). When one becomes fixated on the extremes, it means not creating from a place of authenticity.
It becomes reactive. It becomes ‘following directions’. It becomes externally driven.
What does this sound like?
A job!
Genuine creativity and authenticity wait patiently at home while your metric-obsessed ego is out driving a chaos of trains all over the countryside.
A Different Approach: Purpose Supporting Productivity
So what’s the alternative?
It’s quite simple: purpose supports productivity.
Before you even think about whether to focus on quantity or quality, ask yourself more penetrating and strategic questions:
Why are you creating? Why write?
What’s driving you to put pen to paper, fingers to keyboard, brush to canvas?
What’s the point?
When you let more of your purpose lead the way, the false tensions between ‘quantity’ and ‘quality’ dissolve away. You’re no longer chasing numbers or perfection— feeding invisible algorithms; you’re creating because it matters to you and in ways that matter to you.
I don’t mean this as some sort of cheesy, self-help guru, 4 Magical Steps to Purpose spiel.
When purpose drives your work (and thinking), whether you produce one piece that goes on to be impactful for someone (or a group of someones), or you post many smaller explorations, each holds some level of meaning for you.
Zoom Out to Zoom In
The digital world is now vastly larger than the entire population of the world when I was born (in the 1970s). It’s an incredible opportunity for connection, for business, and for supporting certain lifestyles.
However, it can also become an obsessive, compulsion-driving, personality-destroying automaton.
Keeping these sorts of tensions balanced while writing, thinking, creating, and posting may bring more clarity and comfort. It’s not about how much you’re making or how polished it is; it’s more about what it represents for your journey.
Often, this can mean shifting goals, and sometimes realizing purpose shifts too. Or, recognizing, that what you thought was ‘your purpose’ is actually largely driven by external factors and agents.
Writing and broader creating (e.g. sketching, illustrations, etc.) can be a very powerful tool in exploring Self, self, and Soul. The act of ‘practicing in public’ — publishing one’s work — can have lasting positive impacts on others too.
(Think of some of the most powerful literary works ever created and how they continue to impact millions).
The Complementary Relationship Between Intention and Purpose
I have found over the years — especially in building digital writing businesses — that intentionality is the lubricant for creative processes.
Purpose can be the powerful “Whys” behind one’s work. And with clear purpose often comes direct intentionality. Deliberate choices. Clear direction.
When you create with purpose, every piece produced and/or published—whether a quick sketch or a detailed article—play roles in a larger story. It’s not just about end results— it’s also about the connection between you and your work, the authenticity and the intention. It’s not just producing for the sake of it (or for the algorithm).
Intentional creation is often not about volume or preciseness. It’s about authenticity and connection. Often the top priority is the connection with your Self (with Soul).
When you create with intention, your work resonates—and often, it can be difficult to determine how, with whom, and where. It might even resonate at a time beyond when you’re living (think Shakespeare and countless others).
What you write and create is a reflection of your voice, your beliefs, and your journey. And that’s far more valuable than any quantity vs. quality debate could ever be.
Pollyanna Bullshit?
Is some of this overly idealistic? Pollyanna bullshit?
Maybe…
It’s simply my experience and reflections after a few years of producing, grinding, iterating, trying, experimenting, practicing, reflecting, raging, breathing, then writing some more.
What I’ve discovered along the way is that there are often murky confusions for many between ‘Hopes & Dreams’ versus ‘Purpose & Intention’ (along with a healthy dose of reality).
The confusion occurs because many folks (myself included) get “expectations” muddled into ‘Hopes & Dreams’ and often those expectations are unrealistic to meet ‘market realities’.
For example, the ‘expectation’ (and hope) to start making $5k per month after a few months of trying. To make $10k per month in less than a year. (And any other silly clickbait headline we’ve all read regarding the ‘Creator Economy’).
What this induces, is chasing someone else’s metrics and strategies. “Well… if so-and-so did it, I can too!” Not recognizing, so-and-so is not sharing all the details about how they did it. Or, so-and-so has a very different life reality than you (e.g. they are 25 and single, not married with 3 kids, a mortgage, and student loan debts).
Be Wary of Comparing
I watch other Creators who started around the same time I did. A few are having some nice success. It’s cool to see. However, I don’t compare. They have different lives, different realities, different purposes and intentions. There’s no value in comparing.
The numbers of ‘success’ are very small.
The reality of what the numbers reveal for me is a vastly larger number of people I’ve watched who I can no longer see in the “Creator Economy”. Maybe fizzled in frustration. Maybe moved on to other things. Hard to say…
But the attrition numbers are huge! The number of people that can go on to create full-time incomes in the “Creator Economy” is still tiny. Less than 1%. The few that I see doing it, have created successful businesses focussed on supporting beginner Creators to build their own income streams.
(There is irony in this, no?)
Practical Strategies: Creating with Intention
After a few years of practicing in public, writing and posting prolifically, researching, and experimenting, here are some suggested strategies to consider.
1. Reflect Before You Create
Before diving into any project, reflect on why you’re doing it. What are you trying to express or explore? How does this piece fit into your larger creative goals? Do you have larger creative goals?
Some reflection can ground your work in your purpose, providing more direction and meaning, as well as authenticity. AI is not going anywhere. It’s proliferating. So is AI-generated writing. I teach online Communications courses for a university. I see the use of AI increasing weekly.
Authenticity will prevail in creative sectors, even as AI spreads faster than a COVID strain.
2. Lean into Iterative Creation
Don’t get bogged down by the need to perfect every piece on the first try. Shitty first drafts, my friend. (I post these frequently…)
Adopt an iterative mindset, where each creation—whether polished or raw—is a part of your learning and growth process. This allows you to experiment, learn, and evolve without the pressure of getting it "right" the first time.
I’m watching folks compose books this way. I’ve played with it too. Someone like Seth Godin — who has posted on his blog every day for decades (the original “shipper”)— has done very well turning his daily posts into books. Others have followed suit (e.g. Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck).
3. Balance Your Creative Output
Creativity swims in exploration and depth. I’ve learned over the years, I have to balance periods of prolific output with times of refinement, and times simply offline, off the grid.
For example, in the past 6 weeks, I stepped back significantly from writing, posting, and creating new things. I haven’t posted much on LinkedIn in over a month. This is the first Box Cutter Co. issue in a bit.
I focussed on other parts of my revenue-generating initiatives, as well as family, and time outside.
This ensures I’m not just churning out work for the sake of it, but also not stalling in endless perfectionism. And, maybe most importantly, simply taking time away from even thinking about it.
How About You?
How do you feel about this ‘quantity vs. quality’ debate?
How do you balance some of these issues in your Creator journey?
Would love to hear your thoughts, comments, answers, and feedback. Drop them in the comments. Feel free to share this with digital streams near all of us.
Stay tuned for the next edition of The Solopreneur Series. In the meantime… ‘write on’ and ‘ride on’.
