What rewards are there in writing a book?

By Dennis Mellersh

Many new writers say they want to write a book.
 

But, aside from fulfilling that desire, what do you want to get out of:  the learning-to-write process, the writing process, the completion of your book manuscript, and hopefully even seeing it published?
 

Perhaps you have not asked yourself that question.

First off, as writers we need to accept a few realties:

• Few writers make a lot of money from their books
• Even fewer writers become famous for their books
• A minuscule number of writers become famous and make lots of money from their books.

So no, there will not likely be fame and fortune awaiting us as we take our pens, pencils, or word-processing devices in hand to write our books.

 

On top of all that, writing is tough work, requires a lot of personal discipline, and can be a lonely pursuit.

 

What then can we expect to gain from making all that effort in our creative writing efforts, and in becoming a writer?

 

Here are just a few of the rewards:

• The writing in your book may help improve the lives the readers in important ways that you did not even consider when you were writing it.
• The learning to write process, and then act of writing in itself can provide a great deal of personal satisfaction and deserved pride in personal accomplishment
• Writing your book will give you a platform to express your innermost thoughts and feelings in a disciplined, clearly thought-out manner
• Your book may answer important questions in the minds of your readers and add in significant ways to the global knowledge and comprehension base.

And, perhaps most important – you should get personal fulfillment.

 

The novelist John Steinbeck struggled in his early literary development and had to wait a long time before gaining recognition, a broad audience, and being able to support himself finically through his writing.

 

However, the difficulties did not deter him from writing his books, because he was getting a great deal of inner satisfaction from it.

 

In a letter to his friend Carl Wilhelmson, during his period of struggle, Steinbeck wrote: “I work because I know it gives me pleasure to work. It is as simple as that, and I don’t require any other reasons. .. A couple of years ago I realized that I was not the material of which great artists are made and that I was rather glad that I wasn’t. And since then I have been happier simply to do the work and to take the reward at the end of very day that is given for a day of honest work.”(1)

 

 (1) Quoted in John Steinbeck: A Biography, by Jay Parini, A Minerva Paperback, published by Mandarin Paperbacks, 1994