Why Do Writer's Write by Eden Monroe

  

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It all begins with the germ of an idea that comes to life under the author’s pen. Creating a story, plumbing the depths of our imagination, drawing on the complex intricacies of real life to mould plausible circumstances into sentences that become paragraphs and pages and eventually a book. The gift of story telling in motion – and for most of us the realization of a dream to see it between two shiny covers of smartly crafted artwork. We have written a book.

To the uninitiated writing a book is a literary lark, a few weeks spent putting thoughts to paper and then as routinely depicted on stage and screen the money starts to roll in. Doesn’t a six-figure royalty cheque come inside the front cover of every book? Many think so. Writers, even the most humble beginners among us, are enormously wealthy once we create a book. So (a) minimal effort and (b) huge rewards – the mindset I encounter on a regular basis. No, success for authors is not automatic. It doesn’t just happen.

Perception is often wholly disproportionate to reality in that regard. While talent is obviously a prerequisite to success, so is hard work – both in producing the finished product – and employing savvy marketing skills to sell what we’ve written, and the exciting potential is certainly there to accomplish that. After all, a publisher has very generously brought us into their fold – taken a chance on us and that opportunity must be rewarded in kind – bearing in mind the financial risk they take. A publisher is the vehicle that drives our books, brings them to the masses, and we, the writers are truly grateful that someone saw enough potential in what we’ve written to take us on. That is the extraordinary golden moment – that huge step from the hatbox to the bookshelf as the journey continues.

At the end of the day though, once the offering has been laid before inquiring eyes and all possible efforts exhausted to send the book on its way, it is the reader who has the final say. The trilogy of writer, publisher and reader is complete. No one part is greater than the total sum. Readers can’t read without writers and writers can’t possibly succeed without readers – and publishers consummate the experience for both.

A reader who enjoys our books is a traveler who has chosen to share this journey with us, and without a doubt makes any and all of our sacrifices worthwhile.

Why do writers write? Because we must, to satisfy the figurative call of the sea within us. Bad or good, it is our destiny, the drive that sees us fill another page, and another, and another….