In a recent post, multi-published author and writing instructor Jerry Jenkins challenged this all-too-common sentiment:
Don’t ever apologize for wanting to be published. You’d be amazed at how often I hear from would-be writers who say they just want to write for the sake of writing. “I don’t care if it gets published.” Then why not just talk?
I’m with Jerry on this. I’ve never quite understood why someone would labor over a story or memoir, only to have it remain unread. Yes, I understand the writing process can be therapeutic. But it’s writing, and writing is meant to be read.
As Dean Koontz has taught, the purpose of writing is communication, and if what we write is not read, that purpose is not fulfilled.
It’s like preaching to an armchair or performing before a dried-up creek bed. What purpose does it serve?
The responses to this range from sanctimony to defeatism. Some say, “God’s called me to write, and I’m just obeying Him.” Well, last I checked, He also wants you to multiply your talents, not bury them (Matt. 25:14-30). And I can’t think of a better way to “multiply” the story God’s given you than by trying to publish it. Others intone, “No one wants to read my stuff. It’s just my own personal doodlings.” Then why waste all that time writing it? Or as Jerry Jenkins asks, “Why not just talk?”
Stories are meant to be told. But without listeners, they are little more than sunken treasure collecting barnacles in some oceanic trench. So I ask, Why write if not to be published?
