Friday, August 5, 2011

The Differences between Writing and Publishing

Writing is a passion. Writers delve deep into their souls and pour out their hearts onto the page. They find brilliance in the written word.

Publishing is a business. Publishers base their decisions on making money. They do have a passion for the industry, they do want to promote books and great stories, but they are first and foremost a business.

Writing is forming ideas and stories. It’s about discovery and creation. It can often be about self-gratification.

Publishing is about sharing those ideas and stories. It’s about communicating to an audience greater than one.

Writing can break rules and be as inflexible as it wants to be. No one other than the writer needs to understand it.

Publishing is about flexibility and evolution. A writer who wants to share their work has to change their thinking. They need to revise and edit and rewrite over and over again just so that others will understand what the writer is trying to convey.

Writing is personal.

Publishing is professional.

Can you think of other differences? What is it about either that you like most? What is it you like least?

45 comments:

Shannon said...

I can't think of another one to add, but I loved this. Happy being a writer right now. :)

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

Great post and solid summary of the differences between the two. I love your about me section. You are multi-talented with art and writing... that's an amazing package. I can see it pays off too because your website is brilliant.

Bonnie said...

Loved this post! Loved it!!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

The last two items nailed it.
I think writing is for you, but publishing is for everyone - in terms of who the story is aimed at.

Anonymous said...

This is great! And this is why sometimes we feel our work is worthy to be published yet a publisher disagrees x

Sarah Tokeley said...

Writing is the heart, publishing the head.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Shannon, yep, there's a whole lot of freedom being a writer.

Michael, thanks so much.

Bonnie, cool :)

Alex, yes, exactly

Michelle, so, so right. It's also why we need critique partners.

Sarah, excellent way of putting it.

Unknown said...

A post to print out and stick on my table. Thank you for sharing...am tweeting this!

Jeff Beesler said...

I'd throw in another comparison but I think you hit the nail on the head.

Valerie Geary said...

Good insight!

Shelly said...

Wow! Profound...***mouth is gaped open***

G Blechman said...

True. These are the things I remind myself of whenever I deal with agent rejection. It's not that my story is bad or doesn't have enough heart, it's that x agent isn't sure about it enough that she could see herself pushing it to publishing.

Good luck to all the other writers out there!

<3 Gina Blechman

G Blechman said...

True. These are the things I remind myself of whenever I deal with agent rejection. It's not that my story is bad or doesn't have enough heart, it's that x agent isn't sure about it enough that she could see herself pushing it to publishing.

Good luck to all the other writers out there!

<3 Gina Blechman

Suze said...

'Publishing is about flexibility and evolution. A writer who wants to share their work has to change their thinking. They need to revise and edit and rewrite over and over again just so that others will understand what the writer is trying to convey.'

Lynda, I love this. This is so, so good and really resonates with me at this point in my journey. Thank you for taking the time to articulate this to excellently. In general, a spot-on post.

Duncan D. Horne - the Kuantan blogger said...

Yes good points. And it can be hard to make the transition from writer to published work!

Duncan In Kuantan

Ellie Garratt said...

I can't think of anything more to add but I think you've made the point crystal-clear - there is a different between writing and publishing. As writers we need to know those differences in order to succeed!

Ellie Garratt

Old Kitty said...

Publishing is definitely a business!! I think these are fab points to remember - writing is aesthetic, publishing is practical! LOL! Take care
x

Theresa Milstein said...

So true. We can write with abandon, but when we want to be published, we have to look at a whole other set of criteria.

DEZMOND said...

oooh, love that "hobbity" wall from the pic :)

Rachna Chhabria said...

You said it all, Lynda.I agree with everything you said :)

Jenna Blake Morris said...

"Writing is personal.
Publishing is professional."

I think those two said it perfectly. Great post.

Mark said...

I like the give and take here, although I would say that overtime these difference get muddled together...at least for me. For instance, writing starts off personal, but once I rewrite and edit it I get more professional in my approach to it:)

Debbie Maxwell Allen said...

So insightful! It really made me think. :)

~Debbie

Carol Riggs said...

Hey, this a cool post on contrast! Good points. Although there's some overlap--an editor has to love your story in order to champion it in an acquisitions meeting. It CAN be more personal than at first glance.

Margo Kelly said...

*sigh* ... YES!

M Pax said...

Great separation of the two which seem so linked.

I agree that the last one seems especially poignant.

Rosalind Adam said...

It's the financial aspect that really taints the process for me. I've heard editors complain that exciting manuscripts have been refused by their finance departments because they're only interested in big money spinners.

Talli Roland said...

VERY well said. If you want to be published, you need to care about the business side of things.

Michelle Fayard said...

Excellent analogies, Lynda! In the end, writing is personal, but publishing is public.

Jasmine Walt said...

This is a great post! However, I disagree on the one point of, "No one other than the writer needs to understand it." In my opinion, writing is just like any other art form, and the purpose of art is to communicate something. I think that it's important that what you're writing communicates to someone else-- even if it's just a few other people in this world that can understand it.

Of course something written that only few can understand won't be published by a publisher as it won't sell very well if it doesn't appeal to a mass market. I do understand what you're saying as far as that goes.

Shannon Lawrence said...

Great post! I'd say writing is joy and publishing is fear.

Amie Kaufman said...

This is a graet post that really picks out some of the differences. Sometimes those publishing constraints can seem challenging, but that's where the delight lies -- finding a way to fit your writing into the world of publishing!

Samantha Sotto said...

Writing turns you into a hermit, publishing turns you into an Amazon stalker... ;-)

Maeve Frazier said...

Great Post! Love Samantha's comment. A writer gets to say PLEASE. A publisher has the option to say NO THANK YOU! (unfortunately) :)

LynNerdKelley said...

Writing is therapeutic, too. I agree with all your points. Nice comparisons, Lynda.

Anonymous said...

Good points. Great post :O)

Charlotte Brentwood said...

You have control over the writing process. The publishing process has control over you.

By that I mean that we make all the decisions while we're writing, but we can't predict what will happen once we try to publish. Our future is in the hands of others.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Damyanti, thanks for the tweet

Jeffrey, hehe thanks

Valerie & Shelly, thanks

Gina, yes, the publishing is such a subjective thing.

Suze, wow, thank you :)

Duncan, very

Ellie, exactly

Old Kitty, aesthetic vs practical. Yes!

Theresa, indeed

Dezzy, gotta love round doorways. The pic was taken at the Chinese Gardens in Sydney.

Rachna & Jenna, thanks

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Mark, yes, I think that might be because you are rewriting to prefect your words for publication. It's a good way to do it.

Debbie, great

Carol, absolutely. That's why I think it helps to find the right match in an agent.

Margo, hehe

M Pax, thanks

Rosalind, yes, I've heard that too. It's a shame. And it's becoming worse. Publishers are less likely to take a risk.

Talli, exactly right--even though it's not the fun side.

Michelle, thanks

Jasmine, I put that in because many writers don't write to share their work. The moment we want to share it is the moment we move into the publication side of thinking.

Shannon, haha love it (and so true)

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Amie, well put! It IS where the delight lies.

Sam, hahaha brilliant.

Maeve, same. lol, love your take on it.

Lynn, oh yes! Writing is sooo therapeutic.

Madeleine & Lola, thanks

Charlotte, yes, once something is published it's out of our hands.

Jeff King said...

I agree…
I “write” my first draft, then spend months trying to make it “publishable” even though they are related they come across very differently.

DEZMOND said...

"Dezzy, gotta love round doorways. The pic was taken at the Chinese Gardens in Sydney."

You mean it's not your own garden and you don't live in a hobbity house??? :)

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Jeff, yes exactly, our approach is different.

Dezzy, oh I wish! How cool would that be? :)

DEZMOND said...

almost as cool as me living in an Elven forest house up in the trees somewhere in Lotlorien :)

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Oh! Now that would be cool! As long as you aren't a sleepwalker ;)