For some, writing is a private affair; they write for their own pleasure. Others feel a need to be published. I do, and I did believe this was simply because to expend the time and effort that writing a good book takes, I needed to see remuneration. Money.
Having seen that I have neither the skills nor the aptitude for marketing, nor of creeping apologetically around publishers asking for repeated rejection, I reached the conclusion a while ago that as a money-spinner, writing wasn’t going to cut it. I found myself unable to walk away from it, though, so I told myself I could continue to write, but it didn’t need to be published.
This brave new attitude didn’t last long. I can’t take the process seriously if no-one is going to see the finished result. This seems to be entirely aside from the issue of money, which I have since realised is far easier earned by other means.
Which leaves the question: is writing, for some of us, a performance art? We need an audience, we need our words to be read, our stories to be heard. Whether that need arises from a desire to (slightly) change the world, or people’s perception of it, to provide readers with entertainment, or escape, or for the author to see approbation from reviews and sales figures, I have no idea. But I’m thinking about it.
I try to keep my audience in mind as I write, but I’ve no idea whether my work will ever reach them.
Writing IS performance art, Rachel. Nobody spends the time it takes to write a novel for just the fun of it. And if they say they do, they’re not being honest with themselves. Sure, you want recognition for your efforts. You want it to have been worthwhile. Unfortunately, in this day and age, only the most commercial of books get taken up by publishers. Which leaves self-publishing as an alternative. And not a very happy one, I fear. But at least you can get your book out there, now with very little upfront cost by yourself. It’s better than nought. And sometimes, just sometimes, the book will attract attention from a trad publisher. If you don’t try, you’ll never know.