Lack of Immediate Recognition Doesn’t Mean No Value
Over the past year (and especially over the past several months), I’ve been seriously questioning how to move forward with my writing career: Do I stick with social media, or focus on books?
Posting online has led to a modest growth in followers. I love the variety it allows in my writing. And the query rejections I’m getting all say the same thing: For nonfiction, traditional publishers want to see a following of 5,000-10,000 before they’ll give a writer a chance.
But it’s a bit of a catch-22. I don’t have time to write the books if I stay on social, but if I don’t stay on social, I can’t publish the books.
The whole situation has me thinking a lot about immediate versus long-term value. Even if I don’t get to publish everything in my lifetime and don’t make any money, does that mean my work doesn’t matter?
People often recognize value only in time.
In this video, I share the story of a famous musician whose work wasn’t recognized until long after their time. It’s a powerful reminder that impact isn’t always instant. Great work can take years, decades, and even centuries to be fully appreciated.
If you’re a writer or creative struggling with slow progress and questioning your value, this is for you. I hope it encourages you to keep going.
[Transcript summary]
Some of you out there might know that I am a bit of a music nerd. I double majored in music. And the other day, I was listening to some tracks, and I got thinking about the person that I was listening to and what his life was like. And you know, he was never — he was comfortable, but he was never really rich. He wasn’t rolling in money. And part of the reason for that was because he had a lot of kids. He had a family to support. But he also wasn’t rich because a lot of the music that he was writing was more for the church. It wasn’t — a lot of other composers. they would write more popular music that could be performed in different ways. And he didn’t really do that. He stuck to the old, traditional music. And so, it took years for somebody to really discover him as a composer.
And so, who was this guy who got discovered later?
Johann Sebastian Bach.
So, I tell this story as an encouragement, whether you are a writer, musician, whatever artist you are, whatever creative you are, because his story shows that, sometimes, the appreciation isn’t immediate. You have to kind of wait for it. In his story, they thought that he was outdated. And yet, now we come back and say, “Oh, my goodness! His music is amazing!”
So, sometimes you might be in a situation where people aren’t really that keen on music. They’re like, that’s old stuff. Or, as a writer, everybody now is like, “Oh, just use AI. Nobody really writes like Dickens anymore. That’s old stuff. You gotta keep everything for a fifth grade reading level!” Right?
So, I just want to encourage you: Do your thing! Use your voice and just trust that there is value in it, even if you don’t get the paychecks right now, even if the recognition doesn’t come in your lifetime. You never know. Your name could be like Bach’s.
Take care. Bye.