BookRix

yeah i said thanks for your opinion.

I prefer to think of writing as a craft and skill that can be mastered, rather than some illusive soul and that I am at the whim of its inspiration. When it is done right, it is the result of hard work, talent, research, and good taste.

Funny you should mention the Bronte's as well (and sorry to blow up your comment board, just think this is interesting.) The Bronte's were very marketing savvy - they even wrote under pen names so people wouldn't know they were women. If that's not writing with an audience in mind...

Also I'd like to take the opportunity to ask you to question just what "Writing for yourself" means, and whether or not it is really some golden ideal you should reach for. To me, "writing for yourself" is pseudo psychological navel-gazing.

Try being brave. Write for someone else instead. It's the process of creating a story and making it as entertaining and intelligent as possible that I get my rush to write from, not in keeping some sort of diary I'm going to refer to for spiritual guidance later.

Unfortunately, unless you're hiding from Nazis in your attic, no one really cares what you write for yourself. I would like to propose that it is much more challenging and actually a higher ideal to write for other people, and I suspect (see: know) that the majority of your favorite literary figures write with audiences in mind. From James Joyce to Emily Dickinson to Hemingway and Steinbeck, all of them were actively seeking publication and an audience. It is extremely rare that something written purely for selfish reasons is entered into Literary Canon, except the rare situation like Anne Frank, or maybe St. Augustine's Confessions.

I suppose that depends what kind of writer you want to be. Do you want to be a "good" author in your own mind or in your class, or do you want to be a professional writer? Unfortunately no one but your prof cares if you are "good.". This is just another step on a long and somewhat unsavory staircase. Also, the competition is way tougher this way - let's face it, you primarily (only) study writers in Lit class who have achieved a measure of fame.

In short... If you write purely for yourself, pay no heed. If you want the world to also enjoy your work, you gotta hustle - because there are ten thousand hack writers swarming the staircase behind you, eager to dissect your ideas and put the still-beating organs into their quivering, cursed fan fiction and vampire stories.

Nothing at all for being highest rated. I've been trying to get this novel published for a bit, and it's a strange book which I have a hard time explaining to agents who expect a certain thing. Being able to call it the highest rated novel on BookRix gives my book that tiniest smidgen of legitimacy that I might need to get people to crack open the cover.

Or do you think I'm pushing it too much? I dunno.

So, it's nice to meet you.

thanx for the welcome guys..it's just the kind to make one comfortable.. a little warm, a little detached...the best for me =)

Welcome to the BookRix community!