--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You had to get everything exactly right…" description: "\"You had to get everything exactly right or the editors would give you hell.\" — Kurt Vonnegut" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f16/kurt-vonnegut-41_editors_you-had-to-get-everything-exactly-right_1789032.jpg" --- # You had to get everything exactly right or the editors… ![“You had to get everything exactly right or the editors would give you hell.” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f16/kurt-vonnegut-41_editors_you-had-to-get-everything-exactly-right_1789032.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f16/kurt-vonnegut-41_editors_you-had-to-get-everything-exactly-right_1789032.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f16/kurt-vonnegut-41_editors_you-had-to-get-everything-exactly-right_1789032.jpg) > “You had to get everything exactly right or the editors would give you hell.” [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Perfectionism can create pressure; accepting imperfection eases stress and improves creativity. **In simple terms:** Being perfect is impossible; accept flaws. Key Takeaway Accept imperfection to reduce stress. Themes creativity perfectionism stress writing Mood reflective anxious Type advice literary When to use this quote - authoring - editing - creative work Key Concepts acceptance process over product Questions to Reflect On - What standards are essential for quality? - How do you balance perfection and progress? A Different Perspective May lead to lower standards if too lax. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/editors/) [Editors Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/editors-hell-1929706/) [Exactly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exactly/) [Exactly Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exactly-right-290428/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Right Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-editors-1929707/) ## Related quotes > [ I think President \[Barack\] Obama is exactly right, we need to combat \[gun shoots\] because this really can become the new normal, but that's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-michel-metzl/i-think-president-barack-obama-is-exactly-right-we-need-to-combat-gun/) [Jonathan Michel Metzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-michel-metzl/) > [Fortunate indeed, is the man who takes exactly the right measure of himself, and holds a just balance between what he can acquire and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-latham/fortunate-indeed-is-the-man-who-takes-exactly-the-right-measure-of/) [Peter Latham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-latham/) > [Everything Michael Jackson does on stage is exactly right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-davis-jr/everything-michael-jackson-does-on-stage-is-exactly-right/) [Sammy Davis, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-davis-jr/) > [The perfect place to begin is exactly where you are right now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/the-perfect-place-to-begin-is-exactly-where-you-are-right-now/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [“Nothing went exactly right. And yet it was perfect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-cross/nothing-went-exactly-right-and-yet-it-was-perfect/) [Julie Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-cross/) > [I got into comedy at exactly the right moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-ryan/i-got-into-comedy-at-exactly-the-right-moment/) [Katherine Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-ryan/) > [I am loved and accepted exactly how I am, right here and right now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/i-am-loved-and-accepted-exactly-how-i-am-right-here-and-right-now/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [“You’re healthy,” it said. “Your development is exactly right. I can’t find any flaw in you.” And”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/you-re-healthy-it-said-your-development-is-exactly-right-i-can-t-find/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [It's my belief that people enter your life at exactly the right time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/it-s-my-belief-that-people-enter-your-life-at-exactly-the-right-time/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) > [Oh, the difference between nearly right and exactly right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-jackson-brown-jr/oh-the-difference-between-nearly-right-and-exactly-right/) [H. Jackson Brown, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-jackson-brown-jr/) > [I believe that sometimes people come into your life at exactly the right moment to give you exactly what you need at that moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-mangum/i-believe-that-sometimes-people-come-into-your-life-at-exactly-the/) [Lisa Mangum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-mangum/) > [, if you were lucky, you might meet someone who was exactly right for you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoaroy/if-you-were-lucky-you-might-meet-someone-who-was-exactly-right-for-you/) [Senoaroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoaroy/) > [“Being wrong is often a side effect of a system that is functioning exactly right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/being-wrong-is-often-a-side-effect-of-a-system-that-is-functioning/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [A clerk and a ladder and warm golden light, and then: the right book exactly, at exactly the right time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/a-clerk-and-a-ladder-and-warm-golden-light-and-then-the-right-book/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [The 'Net is a waste of time, and that's exactly what's right about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/the-net-is-a-waste-of-time-and-that-s-exactly-what-s-right-about-it/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) ## More by Kurt Vonnegut > [“You must bloom as a writer and I must bloom as a painter. Everything else about us is uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-must-bloom-as-a-writer-and-i-must-bloom-as-a-painter-everything/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“People aren't supposed to look back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/people-aren-t-supposed-to-look-back/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Have a good nap, did you?” said the porter. “Yes,” said Billy. “Man,” said the porter, “you sure had a hard-on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/have-a-good-nap-did-you-said-the-porter-yes-said-billy-man-said-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ “Thomas Jefferson High School \[..\] His high school was named after a slave owner who was also one of the world’s greatest theoreticians on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/thomas-jefferson-high-school-his-high-school-was-named-after-a-slave/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I had a certain amount of skill as a dramatist, and Dr. Goebbels wanted me to use it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-had-a-certain-amount-of-skill-as-a-dramatist-and-dr-goebbels-wanted/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around. Lucky me, lucky mud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-was-some-of-the-mud-that-got-to-sit-up-and-look-around-lucky-me/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“The town was Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A., Earth, Solar System, Milky Way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-town-was-newport-rhode-island-u-s-a-earth-solar-system-milky-way/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Her face was one of a kind, a surprising variation that made observers think, Yes--that would be another very nice way for people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/her-face-was-one-of-a-kind-a-surprising-variation-that-made-observers/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“You finally fell in love, I see,” said Salo. “Only an Earthling year ago,” said Constant. “It took us that long to realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-finally-fell-in-love-i-see-said-salo-only-an-earthling-year-ago/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Like all Earthlings at the point of death, Mary Young sent faint reminders of herself to those who had known her. She released a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/like-all-earthlings-at-the-point-of-death-mary-young-sent-faint/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“And contrast Mary Kathleen, if you will, with my wife Ruth, the Ophelia of the death camps, who believed that even the most intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-contrast-mary-kathleen-if-you-will-with-my-wife-ruth-the-ophelia/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Someday, someday, this crazy world will have to end, And our God will take things back that He to us did lend. And if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/someday-someday-this-crazy-world-will-have-to-end-and-our-god-will/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“They were going back to the slaughterhouse for souvenirs of the war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/they-were-going-back-to-the-slaughterhouse-for-souvenirs-of-the-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“There are plenty of good reasons for fighting," I said, "but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/there-are-plenty-of-good-reasons-for-fighting-i-said-but-no-good/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Explore all 2,089 Kurt Vonnegut quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More Editors quotes > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [God often hides His blessing in trouble or trial, which makes it all the sweeter when it comes our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/god-often-hides-his-blessing-in-trouble-or-trial-which-makes-it-all/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [My biggest advice would be to take the pictures you want to take. Don’t think about the marketplace, what sells or what an editor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lachapelle/my-biggest-advice-would-be-to-take-the-pictures-you-want-to-take-don/) [David LaChapelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lachapelle/) > [A perfect movie is a different thing, but a funny movie is easy. I was really happy that I got everyone that I got.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/a-perfect-movie-is-a-different-thing-but-a-funny-movie-is-easy-i-was/) [Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/) > [ I walked all around it \[the Guggenheim Bilbao\] and couldn't find one clear, clean shot. To make things worse, the weather was lousy. Nothing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-polidori/i-walked-all-around-it-the-guggenheim-bilbao-and-couldn-t-find-one/) [Robert Polidori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-polidori/) > [A moment I've been dreading. George brought his ne're-do-well son around this morning and asked me to find the kid a job. Not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/a-moment-i-ve-been-dreading-george-brought-his-ne-re-do-well-son/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Authors of published papers and editors of scientific journals can, unfortunately, be slow to come to terms with criticism, and it's good that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-gelman/authors-of-published-papers-and-editors-of-scientific-journals-can/) [Andrew Gelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-gelman/) > [Democracy becomes a government of bullies tempered by editors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/democracy-becomes-a-government-of-bullies-tempered-by-editors/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [51% of the French people - who are not very religious - were thinking that what "Charlie Hebdo" did was unwise. They aren't asking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/51-of-the-french-people-who-are-not-very-religious-were-thinking-that/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [If you look at any list of great modern writers such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, you'll notice two things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/if-you-look-at-any-list-of-great-modern-writers-such-as-ernest/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Only kings, presidents, editors, and people with tapeworms have the right to use the editorial 'we.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/only-kings-presidents-editors-and-people-with-tapeworms-have-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [While I was still going to embrace social media, I knew I had to do things that nobody else was doing. I decided I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-edward/while-i-was-still-going-to-embrace-social-media-i-knew-i-had-to-do/) [Mark Edward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-edward/) > [My books have been translated into various languages and sold in other countries, but I never have any contact with the foreign publishers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-zarr/my-books-have-been-translated-into-various-languages-and-sold-in/) [Sara Zarr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-zarr/) > [Every newspaper editor says the heart of the paper is the reporter - which is true - except for the pay!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-germond/every-newspaper-editor-says-the-heart-of-the-paper-is-the-reporter/) [Jack Germond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-germond/) [Browse all 976 Editors quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/editors/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You had to get everything exactly right or the editors would give you hell.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kurt Vonnegut" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-had-to-get-everything-exactly-right-or-the-editors-would-give-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Editors" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-had-to-get-everything-exactly-right-or-the-editors-would-give-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f16/kurt-vonnegut-41_editors_you-had-to-get-everything-exactly-right_1789032.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f16/kurt-vonnegut-41_editors_you-had-to-get-everything-exactly-right_1789032.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f16/kurt-vonnegut-41_editors_you-had-to-get-everything-exactly-right_1789032.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You had to get everything exactly right or the editors would give you hell.” — Kurt Vonnegut", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kurt Vonnegut", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You had to get everything exactly...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-had-to-get-everything-exactly-right-or-the-editors-would-give-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-had-to-get-everything-exactly-right-or-the-editors-would-give-you/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```