Why Do Writers Want to be Published Writers?
15 Thursday Aug 2013
Written by susanfinlay
Many of the writers I know, including me, write because we’re driven to write. We have a need to create, to put our thoughts and ideas on paper, to build a story world, and to spend months, or even years, creating a book that may never be read by anyone other than ourselves. Our minds are bursting with imagination and words. Some of us occasionally question whether it’s worthwhile, and we think about stopping. It’s a topic that comes up in writers’ discussions. Most of us, it seems, can’t stop. But why do so many of us want to become published writers? If we write because we are driven to write, shouldn’t that be enough?
Some might expect to become rich or famous, but I think most of us don’t expect that, and don’t even care about that. We would probably die of shock if that actually happened to us. And publishing brings risks of bad reviews, lawsuits, bad publicity. Publishing brings extra work such as formatting, marketing, promoting, book signing, traveling, and networking. So why do we want it? Shouldn’t we steer clear of it?
To be honest, I’ve asked myself that question many times. While I don’t have an answer, I have some thoughts about it. Maybe we seek publication because it symbolizes our graduation. Maybe it’s our way of telling the world that we’ve studied, we’ve worked, we’ve grown, and we are ready to matriculate. Maybe getting published is our way of showing everyone—including ourselves—that we are not wasting our time with the work we are doing, but are making something of value for the people who choose to read our books. Maybe we hope that we will brighten someone’s day with our stories, or will give someone encouragement or cause them to think about something in a new light. Maybe we hope we will entertain or educate or make a difference to someone in our own small way
14 Comments
August 15, 2013 at 8:01 pm
One possibility is that we want to be published because that is the final seal of approval, the proof that we actually can write. Once launched on the quest for a publisher/agent, we have to pursue it until we get there, at the risk of having to admit failure.
August 15, 2013 at 8:05 pm
I think there is truth to that, too, Jane. Thanks.
August 15, 2013 at 8:06 pm
For me, it goes beyond the thrill of seeing your own book on the shelf or in the window of a bookshop, although that is a tremendous thrill, but to have your story touch someone else, THAT is the great pay off. To have your stories inspire others as you yourself have been inspired by those before you, is simply marvellous. By ultimately, being a published writer, as opposed to an unpublished writer, simply means that your stories can reach a greater audience. That really is what most writers wish for I guess. 😀
August 15, 2013 at 8:09 pm
Thanks, Sophie. Well said.
August 15, 2013 at 9:42 pm
Well said, Susan. There’s always more learning, more creating. There’s always another graduation.
August 15, 2013 at 9:51 pm
Thanks, Marlene.
August 16, 2013 at 1:27 am
For me, Susan, having my books out there for others to see and read is another way I have of touching other people with my stories. It expands my reach beyond the tiny community that I inhabit on a daily basis, which consists of my wife and myself. But when I write and publish what I write, people around the world can and sometimes do read it, as I read theirs, and there is magic in that. 🙂
August 16, 2013 at 2:07 am
I agree with you, George. It’s a wonderful way to connect with other people. Thanks for sharing.
August 17, 2013 at 3:56 am
I think I hope other people will like my work as a sign that I am socially acceptable, even tho different to most of my friends. I do hope to be rich and famous someday, but whether or not I ever do I will still feel compelled to write. I think with my fingers ;p
To all those in the book writing gig with the purpose of become rich and famous I say buy a lotto ticket and enjoy your weekends!
August 17, 2013 at 11:47 am
Wonderful. Thanks for sharing.
August 17, 2013 at 5:31 am
Writing something without sharing it with others is a bit like talking to oneself. Now there is a role for talking to one’s self, and some of the stories we tell ourselves might be better not made public, but we are social animals so sharing ideas and fantasies is important to us.
There are two major pathways in human society – the entropy by which societies break down into often conflicting groups and individuals – and love, which is a form of communication, by which divisions are healed and creative potential is realised. Both publishing and reading can be a major part of this second trend.
I think that anytime we do anything creative the reason we do it is love. Love is that which creates beyond itself and that which forms connections between us, and for we writers that means writing and sharing writing.
August 17, 2013 at 11:47 am
What a wonderful way to think about it. Thank you for sharing.
August 20, 2013 at 9:44 am
I share so many of the truths in the comments above and can only add, perhaps forlornly, that I have a dread of being forgotten, utterly, after death, so that life has all been rather pointless.
Though the labour is intended, from heart and soul, to offer or share personal insights with potential readers, I have to confess an overweening desire to preserve myself in my work, rather as one might be freeze preserved after death in the hope that science (in my case, readers) may one day revitalise said author for his own predilection and, hopefully, that of another generation.
There, now confessions like that are usually whispered through the fine gauze of the little hatch in the confessional box, so, Susan… you are sanctified?
August 20, 2013 at 11:14 am
I understand what you’re saying, Ray. I almost put that in my article. I think the very first post I wrote on my blog was about writing as a way to be remembered. My father had written a brief memoir, and in the beginning of it he said he wanted to be remembered.