Why the Bother?

What motivates a writer to seek publication? Why do they go through the disappointment of getting  rejection letters? Sometimes our feet get in the door a little ways when an agent or editor asks to see a partial. Then the door slams and bruises our toes.  If we are lucky, we may get a request for a full. Rejoice! Our foot is in the door. Then another rejection comes with a 'thanks but no thanks'. Or we may get an acceptance and lots of hard work begins.

Why do we put ourselves through it?

When I walk into a bookstore and my eyes scan the rows and rows of novels, a sense of awe and longing overcomes me. It is difficult to explain the feeling. I'm sure I'm not the only writer that feels this way. The question that comes to my mind the most is this. How did all these writers get past all the roadblocks and make it to publication? There could be a hundred answers to that question, but one thing is certain...they did not give up. I guarantee you, every author you've read has had been rejected.
 
The writing process is an incredible adventure. But when I write 'the end' and have polished a story, a stark

Why do I want to be published? Perhaps to affirm that what I'm doing, all the time I've put into writing, is worth it. Perhaps it is to scratch out a bit of a living. But more so, it is because I want to take people away from their daily grind to an imaginary place where they can escape the world for a while, just as I have done while writing the story.

A stark white manuscript is not an end in itself. I can't let that document full of words and letters sit in a file. I seek publication because I am compelled to see my story as a 'book'.