Why do writers write? For any or all of the following:

• Praise – the need to be recognised for the work
• Notoriety – the need to be respected and liked for the work
• Money – the need for success in writing to be monetised
• Posterity – the need to leave a part of oneself in the world, for future generations
• Teaching – the need to educate others
• Sanity – the need to fulfil oneself and to process experiences and feelings
• The love of it – the sheer, blissful, consuming joy of the process

I was fascinated to read an article in Mslexia writing magazine this month entitled: ‘The big question: Do you write for love or money?’ Two thousand five hundred female writers answered Mslexia’s survey, and the results were as follows:

• Two-thirds of respondents had received payment for writing at some point but
• Most women earned nothing, or next to nothing, for their writing

In the UK traditionally published authors can join a professional body, The Society of Authors. A recent survey by that organisation found that the average (median) income for an author is currently £12,330 (set against the average UK income of £28,340).

So, the facts are clear: some lucky writers make a living from their writing, but for the vast majority, it is other reasons for writing that propel them forwards.

For me, writing has always been about the love of it. The passion began in childhood, and being a writer was never a career or vocation, it was just being. I wanted to write. I needed to write. I loved to write. If I didn’t write, I felt unfulfilled.

For years, I worked on manuscripts – love stories. I enjoyed dreaming the characters and plots, and crafting the language. I had a hazy dream that some day others would read my works, but that’s not why I wrote – I wrote for me. As Toni Morrison wrote, ‘If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.’

I was delighted when I received a publishing contract, and the day I held my debut novel in my hands was a happy one. But still, it is the book itself – the thousands of words – and the personal journey that they represent for me that I love most dearly.

In recent years, book publishing has transformed radically. In excess of one million books are published worldwide each year, and the number increases year on year. That’s not because the traditional publishing industry has thrown its arms open wide and embraced many more authors (quite the contrary), but because of the explosion in self-publishing. Quite simply, more people are writing, and more people are publishing.

So we’re led back to the ‘why’ question with which we began. Are all these new authors publishing books doing so because they are writers – because they live and breathe writing, because they simply love to write? Or are a sizeable proportion writing and publishing simply in the hope of becoming a celebrity and becoming rich? For those whose reasons to write are about gain, do their books succeed as well as those authored by people with the passion and long-term commitment to the art? Time will tell.

Ultimately, it is my belief that the best writing is born of love – the unshakeable, empowering love of the craft. That love is the prize; that love is why you write. As Henry Miller wrote, ‘Writing is its own reward.’