Thoughts on Revisions

Instinctively, my deadline makes me nervous, especially when I'm revising the final drafts of my work because I feel like every detail has to be perfect so the reader can understand and enjoy the story. I struggled a lot with the idea of ever getting the story ready enough to actually publish. To me, a story is never really finished because there's always something left to adjust, some detail to correct, the necessity of a particular word to consider. I worried a lot about the reader's perspective on the story and if people would like it and if it would ever get accepted somewhere.
Before submitting my stories, I concluded that my original idea isn't necessarily wrong. I'm not sure a story is ever really finished. If I read through the story I submitted for publication the other day, I would probably find something to change. But I also realized that the perfect story in my head won't necessarily match the perfect story in an editor or reader's head. Phrases I find smooth and understandable might seem stilted or confusing to someone else. So, while early revisions should be geared more toward considering the reader's perspective and making sure the message of the story comes across, I think final revisions should focus more on what the writer wants. Because, ultimately, the story belongs to the writer so that's the person it has to please. Making the story enjoyable for myself probably means other people will like it as well, but, more importantly, it gives me a piece of writing I can be proud of.