Why do we write?

[Please note, this post, like every post at The Self-Publishing Coach, was written by a human – me! – Alexandra Amor.]

They were horrified that she would release a book set in Russia at a time when Russia was waging a war against Ukraine. So she ‘course corrected’, as she says in her Instagram video, and removed the book from its publication schedule.

I’ve heard Liz speak more than once on podcasts about this event. One thing she said that has stuck with me ever since is this: when her friends expressed dismay about the book not being released and were concerned about the amount of time and effort she’d put into the book, only to have the reward for that effort (i.e., the book’s release) erased, she replied to them, (I’m paraphrasing) “Please understand; I got to spend time with that book. That’s the reward.”

I got to spend time with that book.

I think of this sentence every week at least once.

AI Slop and Author Fear

Almost every week lately I see a post in one of the author Facebook groups I belong to lamenting the rise of AI generated books and discussing what can be done. There can be much hand-wringing and shaking of fists at the sky.

What’s the motivation for this? 

Money, of course. 

In years past, the seductive cry from unscrupulous sales people was, “Publish your own book and make lots of money!” Although as any independent author knows, the truth is much more complicated than that. In the present day the pitch has changed to, “Generate your own books – dozens per day – and make lots of money!”

But…is that why we write?

I confess that years ago I got caught up in the idea of rapidly releasing books (this was before AI) and ‘making lots of money’. I took classes and read books about how to write faster. I knuckled down and tracked my word count every day, only considering an hour-long writing session to be successful if I wrote several thousand words. I followed writers who were releasing books several times a month and marvelled at their productivity. I listened to these same authors on podcasts, mining for tips about how to increase my own writing production.

All of this feverish activity led exactly nowhere. The pleasure, joy, and fulfillment I once found in writing dried up entirely. I had turned the thing I love into a barefoot race over broken glass. I burned out. I stopped writing.

I realize now I was focused on the wrong thing

We get to spend time with the books we write.

Could we all use AI prompts to churn out books and maybe make some money from them? Yes, we could.

But that approach to writing feels to me like the creative equivalent of building a house out of packing peanuts and bubble wrap. The job might be done quickly but the end product won’t satisfy anyone, maker or consumer.

And, to dig a little deeper into our artistic motivation, is instant gratification what we’re really looking for from art? As a consumer of art, my answer is no. I’d prefer to engage with art that has been thoughtfully created.

As an artist I feel the same way. I want to be transformed by the books I write. I don’t just want to churn them out like french fries. I know from experience that when I dive deeply into writing a book I am a different person when I come out the other side. A better person. I want that creative process to change me.

I feel the same way about writing. 

Could I make more money if I churned out books written by AI? Possibly.

Is making money from my books a top priority? No. It falls way down the list, well after what really matters to me, which is the experience I get to have writing each one.

I get to spend time with each book I write. I get to let it change me.

That’s why I write.

What are your reasons?

^{This post, like every post at The Self-Publishing Coach, was written by a human – me! – Alexandra Amor.}

_{^{Sale window image courtesy Arno Senoner on Unsplash}}

^{Soccer ball image courtesy Vikram TKV on Unsplash}