I want to feel inspired when I write. I want to write from my heart. If I do, will my work be “marketable”? Or will my only choice be to “self-publish”? I admit to feeling a wee bit discouraged by this dilemma. 

Must I choose between writing for the market or writing from my heart? Is it ever the same? Perhaps it could be.

I suppose most, if not all, writers want to be “published”…

My intuition guides me to focus on expressing through my heart as the only way to authentic creativity. It can’t be just about the “money”. 

Monica’s Book (Monica’s Mystical Adventures in the Magical Garden by Susan Lee Traft, 2009) was a joy to write. Every chapter flowed freely. Isabella, my 8 year old granddaughter and Demi, the 9 year old daughter of my friend who lives in the Netherlands, loved Monica’s Book. It was also healing for me as it mirrored my childhood challenges.

 When I hired a professional editor to critique it, she advised that it was not “marketable” in its present condition. If I wanted to submit it for publication, it needed to be re-written to adhere to certain suggestions which would make it more appealing to today’s MG fiction market.

 I started the re-write, but my heart wasn’t in it. Perhaps Monica’s Book was not meant for a wider audience. Does it matter? Is it better to write a book that reaches many rather than one that reaches only a few? Maybe the answer is….”no”…

 Angel Blessings, Susan Lee