In this blogpost, we talk about the pleasure of writing without constantly measuring what it might lead to.
At some point, writing can begin to feel like a long list of expectations. An idea becomes a manuscript, a manuscript becomes a submission, and a submission becomes a waiting game. Will a publisher accept it? Will readers connect with it? Will it receive a review, a nomination or an award? Will it sell enough copies to justify the years spent working on it? Even before the first chapter is complete, a writer may find themselves thinking about the book’s eventual reception.
These questions are understandable. Writing takes time, concentration, and often considerable personal investment. Anyone who spends months or years developing a manuscript naturally hopes that it will find readers and receive the recognition it deserves. There is nothing wrong with wanting a book to be published, reviewed, discussed, shortlisted or commercially successful. These are meaningful ambitions, particularly for writers who hope to make a living from their work.
But somewhere between the first idea and the imagined book launch, an important part of writing can get lost, the pleasure of actually doing it.
The book does not have to prove itself before it is written
Think about the early stages of a writing project. There is an idea that refuses to go away, a character whose story you want to understand, an experience you want to put into words or a subject you keep returning to. You begin with a few notes, perhaps a paragraph or two. You follow a thought, discover something unexpected and realise that the idea has more possibilities than you initially imagined.
This is often when writing most alive. There is room to experiment, make mistakes, change direction and follow an unexpected line of thought. You are not yet trying to satisfy a reviewer, impress a publisher or meet a sales target. You are simply discovering what the work might become.
As the project develops, however, the imagined audience can become increasingly influential. A writer starts wondering whether the subject is marketable, whether the genre is currently popular, whether the book is long enough, whether it will appeal to a particular demographic and whether it has the qualities that might attract awards or nominations. These considerations have their place, especially when preparing a manuscript for publication. But when they enter the creative process too early, they can make a writer second-guess every decision.
Not every interesting idea needs to justify its commercial potential while it is still taking shape. Not every chapter needs to be evaluated for its promotional possibilities. Sometimes a writer needs to stay with an idea long enough to understand what they are trying to say.
There is satisfaction in the work that nobody sees
A considerable part of writing happens away from public attention. It happens in notebooks, discarded drafts, rewritten paragraphs, research folders and chapters that may never appear in the finished book. It involves returning to a difficult passage, finding the right word after several attempts, recognising that an argument does not hold up and having the patience to begin again.
These moments rarely feature in conversations about literary success, yet they are central to becoming a better writer. The finished book may carry the author’s name, but the craft is developed through all the work that happens before anyone else gets to read it.
There is also a particular satisfaction in discovering that you can express something today that you struggled to articulate a year ago. You may become more observant, more precise, more confident with structure or more willing to explore subjects that once felt intimidating. These changes may not translate immediately into a publishing contract or a literary nomination, but they are genuine progress.
A writer’s development is not always visible in a sales report or an award announcement. Sometimes it is visible only in the next manuscript, in the quality of a revised paragraph or in the confidence to approach a difficult subject with greater understanding.
Let readers find the book when it is ready
The publishing industry has its own timelines, priorities and commercial considerations. A well-written manuscript may take time to find the right publisher. A book may receive excellent reviews without becoming a bestseller, or sell widely without receiving the literary recognition its author hoped for. Some books find their readership immediately; others are discovered years after publication.
Much of this is beyond the writer’s control. Publishers make acquisition decisions based on a range of factors, readers bring their own preferences to every book, and awards are determined by selection processes that no author can guarantee an outcome from.
This does not mean writers should stop learning about publishing, understanding their audience or thinking about how to reach readers. It means recognising that these activities belong to a different part of the journey. The manuscript deserves the attention required to make it as strong as possible before it becomes a product competing for space in the market.
A writer can work seriously towards publication without allowing the possibility of rejection to dictate every creative decision. They can hope for recognition without treating the absence of an award as a verdict on their abilities. They can care about sales while remembering that commercial performance is not the only measure of what a book contributes.
Make room for the writing life
The most useful thing a writer can do is protect some part of the process from constant evaluation. Write without checking how a passage might perform on social media. Spend time reading outside your genre without wondering whether it will help your next project. Keep a notebook for observations that may never become a book. Explore an idea simply because it interests you. Allow yourself to write badly in the early stages, knowing that revision is part of the work.
It may also help to set goals that are connected to the craft rather than only to its eventual rewards. Finish a difficult chapter. Develop a character more fully. Read and analyse a novel that handles structure particularly well. Research a subject you have avoided. Establish a regular writing practice. These are achievements that can be pursued and recognised without waiting for someone else to validate them.
And when the manuscript is ready, give it the professional attention it deserves. Editing, developmental feedback and a considered publishing strategy can help a book reach its full potential. Taking pleasure in writing does not mean taking the work lightly. In fact, it often means caring enough about the work to give it the time, discipline and attention it requires.
Write because there is something you want to write
There will always be another bestseller list, another award announcement, another author interview, and another publishing success story to observe. It is easy to look at these milestones and wonder whether your own writing is progressing quickly enough. But another writer’s outcome cannot tell you whether your work is worthwhile, just as the absence of immediate recognition cannot tell you whether you are becoming a better writer.
Writing is both a craft and an experience. It asks for discipline, but it also offers curiosity, discovery, concentration, and the satisfaction of making something that did not exist before. There is pleasure in finding the shape of an idea, in understanding a character, in making a difficult passage work, and in reaching the end of a piece that has taken you somewhere you did not expect to go.
So, by all means, aspire to publication. Hope for readers who understand your work, reviews that engage seriously with it, and recognition that opens new opportunities. Set ambitious goals and work towards them. But do not postpone the pleasure of writing until those things happen.
The book you are working on today is not merely a future publication, a potential award entry, or a sales figure waiting to be realised. It is the work in front of you, deserving of your attention right now.
Write the book. Learn from writing it. Enjoy the process of becoming the writer who could write it. Let the outcomes follow in their own time.
At Keemiya Creatives, we believe that good books are built through thoughtful writing, patient development, and careful editorial work. Whether an author is finding their voice, developing an early idea, or preparing a complete manuscript, the focus should remain on making the work as strong as it can be.
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