“Am I wasting my time writing?” the client asked.

Recently, a prospective client reached out to me regarding their manuscript that they were still writing; they were approximately a quarter of the way through the first draft. They were seeking quotes for editing (which is hard to give without having a full manuscript to consider), but more specifically, they wanted to know if I thought their story would be good enough to get published. (They actually asked this in their initial contact email.)

Let's ignore the fact that the story wasn't written yet, because any story that isn't written can't be published. I knew what the writer was asking. They wanted to know if I thought their writing style was good enough to be published.

That particular question is incredibly difficult to answer, because there are so many factors involved—and many of those factors are subjective.

So, I evaded the specific question (yes, evaded), and carried on like I do with any other prospective client under normal circumstances. I gave my thoughts about what I saw in the writing sample and proposed a path forward.

For this writer, I suggested that they just write. I would be more than happy to work with them on any story that they wrote (I liked their natural writing voice), but unless they wanted mentoring or coaching, there wasn't much I could do to help them until they had a finished manuscript. I suggested they finish their manuscript, get some feedback from other writers and edit their story to the best of their ability, then come back to me for a manuscript assessment. It was the most cost effective option for them.

But they really wanted the answer to their question, and their persistent email trail would not let it rest. "Do I have enough to make the grade and get this [story] published or am I wasting my time?"

As a writer myself, I understand the motivation behind such a question. We spend so much time pouring our heart and soul into our writing, and we want to know if we have a shot at breaking into this business with the manuscript that we're working on.

But for the first time, I had to push back and challenge a prospective client about their motivations for writing.

Motivations for writing NEED to be personal

The publishing industry is incredibly subjective and filled with negativity. At every turn, there is another agent or editor handing out rejections by the bucket loads. There are readers who seem to be more like haters and will totally trash a book in reviews, even if you're a best-selling author. (In truth, I'm always a little suspicious if a top-selling author who doesn't have negative reviews.)

It's not because the writers are not any good. It's just that there are so many stories out there, and we only have so much time.

Agents and editors will only take on the stories that capture their attention and won't let go. They have to become an advocate for a manuscript they believe in.

And the readers… They want the captured-imagination feeling too.

The trick to capturing attention doesn't come with magic formulas. It all comes down to hard work and knowing exactly who your audience is. In the end, all we writers can do is to write the story that makes us proud of what we've created. If others like it too… Bonus!

But not everyone is going to like what you write. No matter what you do, you can't please everyone.

Writing is like every other form of art in existence. While one person might love it, another person will loathe it. But does that mean that a writer should give up before they've even taken a chance?

If you have been following my blog for some time, you'll know that I strongly believe that no writer should give up if writing is their passion. But that was exactly why I had to question the prospective client's motivations.

The push back on motivations

Here is what my email said: (This is a first for me, because I don't normally share my email communications with the public.)

As a writer myself, I do understand your motivation for asking another person whether they feel that your writing is publishable. While I would be happy to read something you wrote (and I wouldn't be offering to work with you on your story if I wasn't), whether or not a story is publishable comes down to sooo many factors that are completely out of our control. Dare I say it, this includes things like our ethnicity, locality, and the number one factor: timing. No one is able to answer why one story gets published when another, just as good if not better, does not.

In many ways, I feel that you're asking the wrong questions.

You want to know if you are "wasting your time." Let me ask you this: Do you feel like writing, in general, is a waste of your time? Where is it that you hope your writing can eventually take you? Where do you want your writing to take you? And if you were to never publish your story, would you still want to write?

I ask these questions not because of any negative reason — I honestly do think you have what it takes to write an amazing story — but this industry is filled with sooo much rejection that if you are focused on the publication target, you might run out of steam before you get there, particularly if you are heading down traditional publication roads.

I went on for a bit, pointing the prospective client to the resources on my website on this topic and to an accountability group on Facebook that I run for writers. (Edited to add: Sadly, the accountability group on Facebook was archived after NaNoWriMo 2021. However, there is a group on Discord that I'm involved in that you would be most welcome to join instead.)

I ended the email with this:

I know that's not the answer you want to hear, but only you can decide if writing is a waste of your time.

I have never had to push back regarding a writer's motivations for writing before, but I've also never been asked if I thought a client should give up either. That idea would never enter my mind.

Only the writer can decide if the effort is worth it

I've been saying it for years. "Writing the story is the easy part. Turning it into something that others would want to read is where the true talent of the writer lies."

That saying is right up there with those who say that "good writers are good rewriters."

Anyone can tell a story. The ability to tell a story is something that we are born with. A six-year-old can tell a story that captivates you, making you want to know what happens next, but they do that in oral storytelling. Would I want to read a story by a six-year-old? Probably not, because they have yet to learn how to write. But that's my point.

While anyone can tell a story, a writer needs to learn how to write that story in such a way that it captures a reader and never lets go. And anyone can learn those skills IF they are willing to put in the time and effort. Only the individual writer can say if that time and effort was worth it.

Self-doubt is common

Every single writer I know struggles with self-doubt. We write because we want to write, but there is always that lingering doubt if our writing is actually good enough.

For some writers, that self-doubt will mean that they never share their stories with others, for fear of what another person might think of them. And when they finally do share their stories…

MAGIC! A level of confidence sprouts up and they keep going.

For other writers, our self-doubt drives us to keep tweaking those manuscripts, even if there is nothing left to tweak. We never seem to be finished with our edits.

Yeah… Guilty as charged sitting right here! But J.C. Harroway (a sexy contemporary romance writer and writing buddy of mine) makes me laugh every time she leans over to whisper in my ear. "You know a manuscript is finished when someone takes it away from you." Yep… I know that feeling sooo well.

But no matter what happens, I have to believe in the stories that I put out into the world. If I don't believe in them, then why should anyone else?

And was the effort worth it? Well, the smile they give me when I read through something that I wrote… Yeah, I think so.

But my primary motivation for writing is the way it makes me feel. And I keep trudging forward on the dreary publication path because I believe I have stories worth sharing.

When I saw that initial email from the prospective client asking if I thought their writing was good enough to be published, I knew that their question was being fueled by self doubt. I only pushed back because if publication was their sole motivation, then they would likely burn out and give up before they reached that goal.

Define your own success

I'm passionate about writers defining their own measures of success, because only you can decide if writing is something that you were meant to do.

This is why I started the Writer in You project. It's a program that's designed to encourage writers to look at their careers and to work out what they hope to achieve from those careers. It's about helping writers fight the self-doubt monster and take control over their own writing.

In 2021, I released the full The Writer in You program to the world, with exercises to help develop writing habits that work for the individual writer, using their own personality quirks to their advantage. There are even tips for building support networks and reinvigorating your non-writing life too.

You can find out more about the Writer in You project here.

At the end of the day, there is only one person who can determine if writing is a waste of your time.

If you believe in yourself, then just get on with it and finish that manuscript!