Pausing to Publish

A friend has been pushing me to publish my manuscripts. She can’t understand my hesitation to “put it out there and let everyone fall in love with your words.” She has no idea how book sales work these days requiring authors to dive into marketing campaigns where SEOs, algorithms, and reviews gathered from affiliate online sites or posted by BookTok influencers ultimately define a book’s desirability to the public.
 
When I began writing, my dream was to have my work published. I thought that was the ultimate goal, the great reward. I decided, for marketing reasons, not to publish until I had four complete manuscripts written for the series. That took time. Somewhere along my writing journey, I realized that art – no matter its form – provides intense pleasure to the sculptor, painter, writer, or composer. The act of creating is uplifting; a passion that delivers intense fulfillment. An audience – while deeply appreciated – can’t deliver the euphoria felt when we set aside our brush/pen having completed each work to the best of our skills.
 
I used to think that publishing was the beginning of success. Now I realize that unveiling the sculpture, recording the song, or publishing the book is a door we close on a chapter in our life. Unchangeable history. We can only let go and move on. Paint more, write more, compose more because the creative arts do not sit silently within the soul.