Mike Lynch | Is It Worth It?

To quote from the classic novel, A Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” This in large part has been my experience with the topsy-turvy, take no prisoners world of publishing. Like many aspiring writers I fanaticized for years what it would be like being a published author, such as seeing my novel proudly sitting on the bookstore shelf, or greeting eager fans waiting to get my autograph, or going on talk shows to share pearls of literary wisdom in front of enthusiastic audiences. But like most dreams, the reality has not quite lived up to the fantasy.

How many of us have toiled in front of our computers for months and years,
honing our work, polishing it to a high sheen, hoping our story grabs the
attention of an acquisition editor. After receiving one rejection after another,
in the mail comes THAT letter, the one that says The Really Smart Publishing
House wants to publish your story.

I've had the privilege of getting that letter. When it finally happened for me,
I felt like I was on top of the world. A publisher actually wanted to publish my
novel. But the euphoria soon fades, and the hard work of getting your novel
ready for print is beset by the inevitable setbacks. This is the part most
writers never think about when they envision what it’s like to be a published
author.

We've often imagined excited readers turning the pages of our tomes, sinking
their teeth into our story, but never once were we disappointed with the book
because the cover art looks horrendous, and you have little say in the matter.
Or the book distributer has gone out of business, which means your novel is put
on hold until they sign with a new one. In my case, the release date for my
first novel was delayed fourteen months as a result of that unforeseen setback.
Or when your novel is finally released, the publisher does next to nothing to
promote it. This then begs the question—Is is worth it?

I suppose it depends on what day you ask me. There are times after a long stint
on the computer I’m all out of words, what I’ve written is no good, and it
probably won’t get published anyway. In those times of despair, I want nothing
more to do with writing. At that moment, my answer is an emphatic—NO. All this
hard work is definitely not worth it.

However, after a night's sleep, I wake up feeling a whole lot different. My mind
has been recharged, story ideas are flowing again, and when I re-read the
previous day’s work, it's usually much better than I remembered. I start to get
excited about the story again, and have a renewed desire to finish it. Ask me
that same question, and my response is an enthusiastic—YES, it's definitely
worth it.

For those fortunate few who land a publisher, the up and down experience
continues: where do you cut 10,000 words because your word count is too high,
what should the book blurb say, how will you market your book? And on and on.

Then that glorious day finally arrives. Your book is officially released. What
this really means is switching your writer's hat for a business one. Bookstores,
local newspapers, radio stations, online blog sites, book reviewers—you contact
them all. There's also creating your book's website, setting up a publishing
party, e-mailing friends and family, again, all on your shoulders. And after
months of almost non-stop promoting, you will have some sales to show for your
efforts, though probably not what you had hoped.

I don't intend to paint a grim picture, but this is the typical life for
first-time authors, and second time, and third time. It's a lot of hard work.

Is it worth it?

That depends on why you write. If it's to be a New York Times bestselling author, chances are that’s not going to happen. If it's to make enough money so you can quit your day job and create one literary masterpiece after another, again, not likely. If, however, you write novels because you're a storyteller at heart, and you want to take your readers on wonderful journeys, then you have a very good chance of fulfilling that dream. And if that truly is your dream, then I say yes, it’s definitely worth it.