Comments on: Think About this One

By: Auto Sales

Auto Sales — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 00:37:57 +0000

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By: Taylor

Taylor — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 03:40:05 +0000

>Getting published is most important. This is because I want to get good at writing and all the writers I admire and consider good are published.

By: Missives From Suburbia

Missives From Suburbia — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 23:42:53 +0000

>Perhaps this makes me an egomaniac, but I'd rather be published. I'd rather have people stop me on the street and tell me how much my writing touched or entertained them, than sit in my lovely little office swooning over my own unpublished prose.

By: Barbara's Spot on the Blog

Barbara's Spot on the Blog — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:01:45 +0000

>I'm not published (yet) but my vote goes to being happy with my work.

It may not have found its way through the publishing process which is affected by so many factors, the economy being a big one as well as what's the latest trend. That can't negate the fact that I have a story to tell and a deep belief there's a least one other person on the planet who needs to hear it.

By: AJ Larrieu

AJ Larrieu — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 03:08:12 +0000

>I agree with a lot of folks who've posted here: I've got to be happy with what I write. A story won't feel "done" if it doesn't get published, but I couldn't publish something that didn't feel true to me. So, being happy with my work wins.

By: PicardyRose

PicardyRose — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 01:14:04 +0000

>I'm content to go on writing my novel. It's not good enough to be published, but I'm enjoying it, anyway.

By: Tyrie

Tyrie — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:35:27 +0000

>I would say, "being happy with my work," but only because publishing is very different in academia – it's not as "rare," I guess. I was also a journalist for a number of years, so seeing my work in print has lost its luster over the years. I would rather "perish," than to have something out there with my name on it, floating about in the world, that I was horrified with or felt did not represent my best work (actually, there is some such stuff out there … sad).

By: Amanda G

Amanda G — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:24:00 +0000

>I wouldn't try to publish something I wasn't "happy with" (i.e. something I believe is the best I can possibly make it). But I won't ever be fully happy with my writing if I don't achieve publication. So … for me, I guess they're equal.

By: Ju Dimello

Ju Dimello — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:08:23 +0000

>Great to see so many answers.. especially for a question I had asked myself long long back : http://bit.ly/aFugR3

I think we should love it when we write, be happy with it to be more productive.
But the moment it is out of our hands and with an agent or publisher, it is important to be practical, analyze revisions and their suggestions, look at it with a critical eye, to get it published !

If one was self-publishing their own work, then it is a different story 🙂

By: Gina Burgess

Gina Burgess — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 03:54:09 +0000

>I agree with Melissa...
I'm a journalist (was an editor of a newspaper and was a Lifestyles Editor)...

However, I could never let an article be published unless I was satisfied with it.

On the other hand, I was also an internet redactor, and I got so tired of writing real estate investment "ads" that I screamed "I give up!" and quit doing it.

There must be a happy medium, otherwise the writer will wither.

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:53:53 +0000

>I think it depends on who you ask.

Some don't care if they get published. If you are writing for your own happiness, that doesn't make you good so publishing may be out of the question whether you realize it or not. And if happiness truly is your only goal, then it's just a hobby. There's nothing wrong with having and enjoying your hobby. Being a hobbyest doesn't automatically preclude you from being published, some of them work very hard to perfect their craft. Others don't.

But for those of us that would like a career in writing, publishing is the most important thing because we wouldn't try to get anything we don't love published. At least I wouldn't. If changes were ever requested (which I would be okay with since it means someone is publishing me), I would hope that I'm good enough to not only make those changes but make them and still be proud of my work.

If I can't, then I may forever be forced into the hobbyest category by sheer lack of being published. I would still be happy with my work but I certainly wouldn't have a career, which is my goal. I've only recently come to accept the concept of making what you love to do your job. I love to write. I want to be published so I don't have to do anything but write.

You should be able to do both and if you can't well, then enjoy your hobby.

By: Suzette Hollingsworth

Suzette Hollingsworth — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:42:07 +0000

>Both are necessary for the dream to be realized, resulting in the realization of one's talent, connecting with one's fan base, and replacing a job which drains all of one's creative energy.
I am not tempted by market trends, and it comes quite naturally to me to be true to my voice even though my writing does not fall neatly into any niche or genre and even though being published is the most important unrealized dream of my life.
At the same time, as a creative person–and we tend to love our own work!–I am sometimes unable to identify and differentiate between that which needs improvement and that which is unique to my voice. Outside editorial input (and rejections!) can clarify this and point to where I need to grow as a writer. This is a fun process as well: banging my head against the wall for three weeks until one day I wake up and know what to do–and thereafter committing six months of my life to revisions and self-torture while working in an outside full-time job.
Looking at the finished process is worth it. Until I receive another rejection letter.
When I am truly satisfied with my work and believe it has finally arrived–I think it is all the more frustrating to have no takers. At the same time I am grateful to simply possess the gift. If I have to, I'll self-publish. So, yes, being published is necessary–as is living a genuine life as a person and as an author.

By: Lyndieb

Lyndieb — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:32:00 +0000

>Neither. I missed the funeral of a man who had been an influencer on my childhood. In the sympathy card for his wife, I wrote a note of thanks for the many opportunities they had provided me. What started as a sentence turned into a page and a half as my heart overflowed with gratitude. Through my tears as I reviewed my note, I heard God say, “Did I ever say you would write a novel? Can you be happy if this is all I call you to write?” My answer was yes and anything else is extra blessings.

By: Cherie Hill

Cherie Hill — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 13:20:28 +0000

>Interesting responses...what I've found however, (by speaking with published author friends) is that those who are NOT published say they are mostly concerned with being pleased with their writing...content with their work that "God has ordained" them to do. Then, they get published and they find out it's NOT enough. They struggle internally and start criticizing themselves because their "numbers" aren't good...they're not "selling" their work.

Back to square one...authors begin wrestling with why they're writing...they've lost focus...they no longer "write" for the "right" reasons...they begin writing for their glory...not His.

Don't think this is true...it's like taking marriage vows and believing that the "worse" part in "for better or worse" will never happen. It's inevitable.

"I'm just sayin.'" :)
God bless,
Cherie