8 Ways Writing Has Improved My Life (even though I'm not published)

patricecarey8
Nov 12, 2025
3 min read

November: a time for thanksgiving—and reflection. As another year ends and I still have not achieved my goal of being traditionally published, I’ve been considering why I write. Why do I keep pouring myself into this black hole of time, energy, and money? A few books ago, I started tracking the hours I spent writing, revising, etc., so I can tell you that I’ve spent at least 1,145 hours on my novels in the last five years, and that’s not counting the books that came before. As for money, I’ve been paying to attend writing conferences, keep ownership of my website, domain name, and business email, and hold a membership to an online writing education platform. (If I were already published, I’d add expenses for marketing, discounted books to sell at events, booth space at those events, etc.)

So it can’t possibly be worth it, not from a time or money perspective. Unless I’m the next J.K. Rowling, I’m never going to make that investment back.

I’ve also realized lately what a big role luck plays in becoming traditionally published. Your book has to connect with an agent or editor at the specific point in time that it’s a good fit for them AND they feel confident they can sell it, and if those stars don’t align, you will not get traditionally published, no matter how good your book may be.

So the question becomes, “What does writing bring to my life, even though I haven’t yet and may never achieve traditional publication?” As I thought about that question, this is what I realized:

Writing has pushed me to develop intellectually, artistically, and professionally. I understand how stories are constructed. I continue to craft more complex plots with better characters, themes, and world-building. I can offer valuable feedback on others’ writing.
Writing has taught me to be kind to myself and flexible with my dreams. I can back away from writing when I have less time and get sucked into it when I do. The stories will always be there, and there’s no age cap for publishing my debut novel.
Writing has provided a place to utilize my skills with organization and structure via daily word counts, detailed revision plans, and agent data spreadsheets. I crave a way to mesh creativity and organization, and writing provides that outlet.
Writing gives me a way to create the stories I want to read that don’t yet exist. And the process of discovering how those stories unfold—being the person to bring them to life—is satisfying in a way nothing else is.
Writing has brought me a community. My critique group have become some of my closest friends, and I love that we’ve expanded our friendship past writing and books but also that we have that basis to fall back on.
Writing has helped me build an area of expertise, not just around writing but also publishing. I like helping others understand what the publishing industry entails, and by knowing how hard it is, I can more sincerely appreciate what each published author has achieved.
Writing pushes me to be confident. For years, I was embarrassed to tell people I was an author—I felt like a fake since I hadn’t published anything. In the last five years or so, I decided to change that, and now that’s the one thing people usually know about me. Publicly labeling myself as an author makes me take charge of that part of my identity, and it’s also been rewarding to see how many other authors there are in my life.
All little Patrice really wanted to do was write books. So even if those books are never published, writing fulfills a dream I’ve had my entire life.

There you have it: Eight ways writing has improved my life, even without publication. This Thanksgiving season, remember that you might not always achieve your goals, but you’ve always gained something by reaching for them.

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