Comments on: NO PAIN, NO GAIN?

By: Virna

Virna — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:03:17 +0000

Misa–I think we are very simpatico on our thoughts on this.

Lee–you’ve got a very healthy attitude. Trying your best should always be validation enough. I just lose sight of that sometimes!

Lynn–Thanks for posting! I totally agree that completing the communication circle is probably what drives most writers to seek publication. I think the fact that you would wish for pen/paper on a desert island speaks not just to your love for writing, but to your confidence in your stories–that you have something inside you to tell and tell well.

By: Lynn M

Lynn M — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:44:00 +0000

I think true writers will continue to write even if they never become published. I write because I’m compelled to do it, not because I have the goal of being published. I always say that if I were stranded on a deserted island, the two things I’d want with me are an endless supply of paper and pens.

That being said, I think for many writers the goal of being published isn’t always for validation. Writing is a form of communicating, and it takes more than one person to communicate. I can write a wonderful story, but if no one ever reads it, then the story never really gets “told”. Being published is one way to complete the communication circle. If you have a story you want to share, being published is the way to share it with the greatest number of people. If you write solely for your own enjoyment or you are content to share stories with a smaller circle of friends and family, publishing may not be necessary or desirable.

By: Lee

Lee — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:41:03 +0000

I believe you can be a true writer without publication. Like any artistic talent, its a calling. I write for myself more then anything. I’m writing a story that appeals to me, personally. If I’m fortunate enough to find publication in my future, of course I’d find validation in all my hard work. If I don’t, well, I’d find validation in the fact I really tried to share my work with others.

By: Misa

Misa — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 02:14:45 +0000

I also think you can be a true writer and never be published. That being said, if you call yourself a ‘true writer’ even if you’re not published really depends on how much you value yourself and your talent. I can tell an unpublished writer that it doesn’t matter, but if the validation they seek is publication then my cheering falls on deaf ears. I know, I’ve been there!

My husband spent too many hours telling me that I had to write for myself, not to be published. He was right, of course, and I did write for myself, but a huge part of my feeling as if this was an actual career hinged on somebody in the publishing industry taking a chance on me and believing in my writing.

Call it ego or insecurity or whatever you want, part of why we write is to be published, and unless we are not seeking that publication as a goal, then I would be willing to bet that every aspiring author seeks the same validation.