Writing is Creative, Publishing is Not (Always)

Writing is a creative pursuit, but publishing isn’t always. Sometimes, when working toward a publishing goal, or even writing our next contracted book, we start focusing so much on the market, our career goals, and the business that we forget all about creativity. The thing that we first loved about writing.

This is both good and not. When you decide to pursue the business of publishing it’s really important that you understand and embrace the business side of it. You do need to understand the market and market trends and you do need to know what your readers expect from you. Sometimes, this can make authors feel like their in a rut.

If you’re only looking at this as a business you can lose the fun.

Keeping the Creative in Publishing

Just because you’re seeking to be published or writing under deadline doesn’t mean you need to lose the creativity and, frankly, love of writing.

I talk a lot about writing for publishing as a business, which I stand by, but that doesn’t mean everything you write has to be for publishing.

The best published writers are still writing things that might never sell, that they would never send their agents, or that they have no intention of showing anyone. They’re just doing it for fun. They’re keeping their creative juices flowing and allowing the unicorn to shine.

It’s through that creativity that they feel less stifled, or avoid feeling stifled. It’s also when they find their greatest ideas. When they discover that they can push themselves to the next level (whatever that looks like) or write a genre or age group they never thought to write.

Publishing is a wonderful business, but it is a business and I think we can all agree that there are times when work becomes work and we forget about the passion that brought us there in the first place. Embracing that passion and allowing yourself the freedom to create is also part of the busines. It makes you a better and more well-rounded writer.