"Sit down and put down everything that comes into your head and then you're a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff's worth, without pity, and destroy most of it"

Sidonie Gabrielle Colette's quote offers profound insight into the nuanced distinction in between being a writer and progressing into an author. In the very first part of the quote, Colette stresses the fundamental activity of composing-- put simply pen to paper and allowing a stream of consciousness. This act is available to anyone; it's the unfiltered release of ideas, concepts, and feelings. In this sense, ending up being a "author" seems to need absolutely nothing more than the desire to reveal oneself, to let words flow unimpeded by critical idea or judgment.

However, Colette then presents an important separation: the shift from author to author. An author, she asserts, possesses the discernment and guts to evaluate their own work's worth. This is not merely about determining grammatical mistakes or stylistic errors, but about assessing a piece's contribution to the bigger narrative or message, its originality, and psychological effect. Most importantly, an author must have the ability to conduct this assessment "without pity". This implies a detachment from the developer's natural psychological financial investment in their work, recognizing that sometimes even valued passages must be compromised for the greater good of the piece.

The term "ruin most of it" recommends a ruthless pragmatism. It underscores the discipline needed to improve raw, initial outputs into something truly exceptional and significant. This damage is not an act of self-sabotage, however rather one of imaginative improvement, much like carvers who should sculpt away excess marble to reveal a masterpiece.

In essence, Colette's quote speaks to the maturation procedure of a writer developing into an author. It highlights the need of self-critique and the desire to improve or give up parts of one's work to serve the narrative much better. It shows the difficult journey from unreserved expression to disciplined craft, where the hallmark of an author is not simply in the writing, but in the thoughtful curation of what remains.