"I've never shown anybody a draft of anything"

This quote by Shelby Foote speaks to the relevance of taking time to ideal one's job prior to sharing it with others. Foote is recommending that he has never shared a work in development with anyone, instead favoring to make the effort to improve and ideal it before showing it to anyone. This talks to Foote's commitment to excellence as well as his devotion to producing the very best possible work. It additionally suggests that Foote is a nit-picker, unwilling to go for anything less than the very best. This quote is a pointer that it is essential to take the time to best one's job before sharing it with others, and that it deserves the initiative to strive for quality.