Write For Yourself

If you write to please others, you are selling out. You are in the process of audience capture. This way of talking, which is how the fear in me talks, is common—as if writing for an audience and writing for yourself are at odds with each other. I really used to feel like that.

But I no longer think that it is quite right. The relationship between c... See more

1. The aim of my writing is never to make money. If there are opportunities, I will pay attention, but it is never the direct aim. I obsessively focus on other funding mechanisms such that I don't have to worry much about how to monetize writing.

2. I write for readers like me. I dislike a lot of the current trends in books. I think they dumb down t... See more

Your first audience is always yourself. You write because it’s a good idea, because you’ve wanted to forever, because memory becomes more real when you are able to capture even the smallest piece of a story. You write because maybe there will be a reader or two. Maybe not. You write not to use your piece to get you anywhere, but because you’ve live... See more