Nancy S. Reece-WRITERS AND PUBLISHERS – Our Other Family Relationship
10 Sep 2014- Details
First and foremost, congratulations to Keith Publishing on their fourth anniversary. It is a testimony to Mary and her crew of the labor and dedication they have poured into this. Because of Keith, many new voices are being heard / read and that is always a good thing.
What most readers don’t realize is that publishing isn’t just the end result of writing. It’s a relationship, between the writer, the publisher, and the readers. Each time a writer sits down in front of their keyboard, the person they are writing for isn’t themselves. We writers are closet extroverts. We set our thoughts, dreams, imagination, down on paper hoping that someone will understand those feelings and interpret them the way the writer intended.
Sounds confusing, doesn’t it? Most writers would deny it vehemently and tell you they write for themselves. That’s only our insecurities talking out loud. If we were writing for ourselves it would be a journal, not a manuscript. But even the most timid among us want to find a publisher. Someone who not only understands the words and emotions the writer has poured into their book, but sees the road for sharing those words with others. That’s what publishers do – they bring our cherished children into adolescence and eventually into the real world.
It’s not for the money or the fame. Those who write professionally know all too well the harsh reality that only a handful of us will be able to make a full time career out of writing. Almost every writer I know has a day job, and only a select few make enough money at it to make writing their primary income.