To Publish a Book or Not to Publish This Book-- That is the Question

Someone is always asking me two things: Why do you plan on publishing a book, and sometimes, followed by when are you going to get a real job? The first question is most important to any writer. Why I write hinges on so many answers I'll list some of the answers I give to people. It can be in humor or in seriousness, or simple sarcasm, but I do answer. Why I answer the way I do depends upon the person, and when they asked in terms of the context of the discussion. Here are some of my more or less regular questions and my answers ( or my better ones)

"So do you make tons of money as a writer?" this question usually gets the best answer of all, "Well I make enough to keep me happy and writing. yes enough money." In other words the best non-answer I can give. As many writers will tell you, if it pays the bills, and gets some form of income to them that's great.

I am this way.

"Why does writing take so long? You've been working on a book for a long time." My Answer: "Do you really want to read something that is full of errors both grammatically and factually?" When they answer "No" my response is "that's why it's taking me longer than 6 months."

"When do you think you'll find a real job?" (this one is my snark answer, no matter what the context) " I have a real job I am a writer. And yes people read my work." I don't mention how much time it takes to write a blog or a hub. You can go to my blogs to see what I do,Yes they've been up for a while. And yes, I write them myself. Yes, they are self-published and, yes, they do make money.

In many ways these sort of questions encourage me, since people are asking them, sometimes it is about making some money or publishing a book, normally when I'm in that phase my writing takes a nose dive, but then I realize what I am doing. Why I write. Why I want to publish.

The True reason I write?

For the love of writing, yes it's enjoyable for me, and I love it. The important thing is the writing encourages people to learn. Of course I write non-fiction so that might be why I'm so big on writing to share and to learn. I suspect that this will become a book, a lasting legacy. I also think of my writing as a business so I want focus on something I enjoy.

Yes, publishing a book is a part of this equation but it is not the whole reason for my writing.

My other reasons?:

I want to be a published author which means publishing a book or four. Creating a legacy within the writing community, one that I can be proud of and one that my family can be pleased of. A monetary Safety net will also be nice. It's all about...

Creating something special for me, for friends and family, and for my reading audience, which is you! Getting an audience is great, akin to getting traffic to a hub I love, but that also means that I need to be aware that in getting an audience if I lose sight of why I write, is it worth it?

It is about making some money, otherwise I would simply be writing for my own joy and pleasure of writing, but it is about having something published to the community which will make the reader feel valued. 

This can mean writing online or offline, but it means that at the end of the day I do "publish."  I do not believe in vanity presses, but rather, sharing good quality writing to others.  This does mean editing my work, but it also means that I improve my writing as I grow as a writer. 

It isn't all about me, it's about you.

So Why do you write?

Do you write from your heart to an eager audience?

or do you write with an end in mind?

or do you plan for money?

Do you write with passion?

Do you plan various books only to stop after a while?

Or is it something more?

Is it a business for you, a business which is fun and exciting or hard at times?

What's you next step?

My next step is sitting here and making a business plan for my books something that I will enjoy and something that I will be proud of and something that is well written and eventually will make me enough money to keep writing until I'm too old to write on the computer or whatever is there.

Publishing a book is something that most writers need to do, and it is also something that most writers must focus on. There will never be a time when there isn't a mistake with editing, but there does come a time when the book is ready or needs to be published. The key is understanding the right time.

With my business plan I shall use it to publish works that are both useful and readable. This might seem like a paradox to some, but I also want to self-publish my works since this means I can learn the inner workings of being a publisher of books.

My first step was writing on hubpages. That is a great way to write, and a great place to write. It is however the first step in a publishing journey.