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.
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Maybe the real question is not as posed
I think perhaps I may understand what is being asked, as I ask myself the same. Forgive me for my presumption, however, if this is not so. Perhaps the LW is really asking, "will anyone be pleased by my efforts?" That's really not the exact phrase, though, it's more of a "if I open my soul, will there be anyone who understands what I am saying?"
Unfortunately, it may be that only people in the future may understand; or perhaps no one. But that is no matter. People who must write, do so. Perhaps we should all just feel that we write only for ourselves. For Goodness' sake, popular culture being what it is, is not necessarily something most of us would want to contribute to. yes? That might be a bit of consolation.
Well, I'm just full of shit and don't what I'm talking about, so if I provide a bit of comfort, all is well, and if I don't: well, again, full of shit, as previously discussed.
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network
I am not a writer. But I read a lot, and often the forewards and postscripts to books. And I learn that some of the writers I enjoy got their lucky breaks not by sitting alone in their room mailing out things, but by networking.
Authors I enjoy are part of writer's groups (which as the previous poster said is very useful to hone your craft). You mentioned the university contests, talk with the people you know there for advice on where to submit.
Go to fairs, get out there, write a blog...
Actually, now that I think about it, going about the blogverse and getting involved in that network is one way to pick up a large group of rabid fans who might be able to give you the assurance you need to be confident. Or they will shoot you down. Or both! That will be an excellent time to separate your ego and get some excellent criticism.
I also understand that writers have agents that help them find their way in the publishing world.
All of these people out there are resources to help you figure out if you have talent, often by the process of learning. Try different methods if one has you spinning your wheels and having no growth, no progress. Heck, try a different type of writing, go crazy, write chick lit, vampire lit, non-fiction, poetry.
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Start a blog
Dear Writer or a Fool:
Cary's advice ("keep writing") is pretty sound so far as it goes, but it is not complete: he did not, I believe, tackle the real issue that you were asking about: what should you do with your writing?
Here are some thoughts on this issue:
1) Keep sending your writing out to the magazines, contests, and so on.
2) Explore all avenues you can find to get your writing to the notice of your potential readers.
Today, you have a great new medium available that was not there for generations past: the Internet.
Start a blog - this kind of short-circuits the 'intermediaries/ middle-men' (editors, judges, and so on), and gets more or less directly to your potential readers.
Of course, you still do have to figure out how you will make your blog known to your potential readers (this is no trivial matter!) But many have managed to figure this out; if you keep writing, maybe you will be able to do this also.
Best wishes,
-- GSC
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Get published somewhere, anywhere, and then keep moving up
Silkstone's response was right on. Cary's response to the question was beautiful, eloquent and little help to this frustrated person.
To what Silkstone wrote I'd add that the writer should make sure that they submit to publications which offer better odds for getting published. Pick up a copy of Writer's Market and start looking for the areas about which you're most passionate in either fiction or non-fiction or both. Make sure you're not aiming too high at first.
And consider other ways to get your writing recognized. I'm with a dynamite performing group for which I write parody material. So in addition to beating my head against a wall trying to place freelance articles, I get to see my work onstage and hear an audience's response to my creation.