Why I Want to Publish My Stories and Not Just Write Them for Me

Publishing is hard. No matter what type you are pursuing, you will face hurdles. A lot of them. Sometimes, when writers rant to others, especially non-writers, folks will ask why you are putting yourself through all that strife. 

Why can’t you just write stories for you? Why do you want to share them with anyone?

I actually think this is a relevant question. Every writer I know asks themselves this at some point. I mean, gardeners don’t necessarily set out planting, hoping the whole neighborhood will visit. There’s plenty of cooks who make meals for themselves, and artists who create but never share. 

So why do you have to publish your stories? What drives that need?   

For me, I got this answer when I recently met up with two of my writer friends. It was during our conversation that I realized where I got my love for sharing stories, not just writing them. It goes all the way back to elementary school. You see, I moved around a lot. Like, every two years. It was hard to make friends. But wherever I went, I wrote. This ended up being how I made friends. During reading time at school, I would write stories, and often, a classmate would ask me to use their name. (It was the 90’s. I didn’t have the internet in my phone to look up names. But I always had my classmates!) So, I would use their name, write whatever story came to mind, then rip it out of my notebook and give it to them. I had no desire to keep the story for myself. Sometimes, my classmates laughed at the story. Sometimes, they shared their story with a friend. Sometimes it went terribly wrong and no one liked the story, but everyone still had a good laugh. It was watching that joy take place that filled me with something akin to pride.

It was connection. Community. A true sense of belonging within each other’s joy. 

Sharing this childhood memory with my friends reminded me, not only of why I love writing, but why I pursue publication instead of keeping my stories to myself. 

The answer for you may be different, but I encourage you to ask yourself why. 

 Publishing can be a very difficult road. It’s easy to get lost along the way and question yourself. Being able to pinpoint the why for me has helped fuel my dreams. Granted, sometimes that why changes from book to book, but I think deep down, all my whys connect back to those memories of writing stories for others. In fact, when I think about my happiest times with storytelling, there’s always someone else present. Whether a beta reader is leaving hilarious reactions on my manuscript or I’m signing a book for a reader at an event, someone is there, smiling. 

And that’s pretty magical.

~SAT