The Silent Audience: What Writers Don’t Talk About Enough

Let’s be honest—most of us write for people who never tell us if they read a single line.

You go for hours to days trying to perfect your little piece of poetry, but when the time comes for you to release it to the world and hit "publish," you're enveloped in silence—the kind that's loud enough to deafen (literally).
That part hurts. If I could search for more pain-filled words, I'd have done so and filled a whole paragraph with them.
And honestly, that's something so discouraging that it makes you want to go back into your shell and stay there forever.

In this angle, I speak mostly for myself.
You get that anticipation, that elation you have while working on a beautiful piece, and finally congratulate yourself with a pat on your back, becoming a watchman for yourself—only for you to check in, ranging from hours to days, with two or three reads, worst case zero. Or when you maybe post a story on an app—let's use TikTok—and you see about a hundred-plus views with just two likes, that's one of the things I dread. That moment wants to make you go through all that you've done and try to find out what the problem is. You begin to ask yourself a lot of questions, things like "Am I not good enough?" "Did I not leave a catchy hook in the end?" So many questions just keep coming and going without a break interval.

You just seem so invisible, like there's no one else in the world but you to just do what you love and be your only and number one fan.

It's at this moment that one of the top three questions clouds your brain—I'm talking about the "Is this worth it?" question. And trust me, this part isn't even funny at all. It can mess with your sanity and lead you to depression, especially if you've gone months with the same "no result to match my efforts" issue. And the super painful part is that you're trying your best, advertising yourself on so many platforms, and joining writers' groups just for you to see that same lack of progress.

Not having your ideal audience is heartbreaking. It's like continuously filling up a basket with fluid and expecting it to retain that liquid. You start comparing yourself to big writers, wondering what they've done that you haven't.
Well, I should remind us that EVERY SINGLE WRITER HAS GONE THROUGH THIS PHASE, with thoughts of quitting to find something more eye-catching and appealing that looks like a heaven-on-earth deal, not knowing that you still have to build to be able to sustain yourself. So, if you relate to this, don't quit.
I chose not to, and look at me now—I feel more motivated and determined to exceed my limits and capabilities. And it's not like I have that much audience. No, I don't. But I know that I will. That's the power you also can have if you decide this very moment to keep pushing.

Starting from somewhere is always the first step to someplace great.

We shouldn't let the beginning of our story—no matter how difficult and patchy it seems—rule our remaining chapters. Let me diverge a bit to other career paths. Is it businessmen? Artists? Just name them. Everyone has gone through that "stuck in my starting phase" problem. The solution is to never give up. Yep… even when it seems like gigantic rocks are being targeted specifically at you, just keep striving, because I believe that one day I will, and you will also get to your goal—and more.

Thanks so much for reading!
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