Letters to the Editor
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Writing vs. Publishing
A beautiful response, and one that I agree with wholeheartedly. Except that it didn't answer the question that was posed.
The question was not about writing. It was about publishing. And the two are entirely different.
Writing is indeed about self-expression and exploration, as well as perhaps communication with another.
Publishing is about having your soul destroyed.
(I only partly jest - yes, I'm a writer, too.)
OK, to be serious, publishing is about trying to get your writing accepted and acknowledged in the world. And that is what this person asked about. She spoke of making many attempts to get published, to get that acknowledgment, and failing. And she asked a simple question - how do I know if my writing is going to be judged as any good out in the world?
So while all that Cary wrote about valuing your writing for its own sake is absolutely true, there's a pragmatic question going unanswered here. And there is an answer:
Find ways to get feedback about your writing.
Not from your family or friends! From strangers (or near-strangers) who have some aptitude for giving useful feedback about writing.
Seek out good writing teachers - a variety if possible - attend their classes, and get feedback from them and others in the class. Get in a good, long-term writing group that has a structure for helpful critique. Consider hiring a professional editor to read some of your work and give you feedback, but take care - the experiences of writers I've known has been very mixed in that regard. The first 2 options are better.
So, yes, keep writing. But also put your writing out in the world. Not in submissions to magazines that will never give you any feedback, but to teachers and fellow writers who will compassionately and helpfully tell you what works in your writing when they read it and what doesn't.
If you want readers, you have to find out what readers want.