If you knew that you would never be published...

Of course. I'd live in denial. Then I'd start a publishing house and publish myself, along with other swell folks.

Sure, I'd still write. I'd just produce all of it online.

Maybe a couple of chapbooks.

I would continue to write. I write it because I love it, not just to achieve publication. I wrote long before I ever thought I would even attempt to get published. It would be nice and I hope to achieve it, but it certainly isn't going to prevent me from ever writing again if I found out I would never be published.

Well, I am not published now.....

and considering the odds against ever being so, then every day that I continue answers the question

Of course. I wrote before I thought I could be published, and I'm still writing not knowing if I would continue to get published. Nothing changes.

And like C.bronco, I'd just start my own publishing company anyway. Best of both worlds.

No

Yes to that one too. for a long time I wrote and never let anyone see it. I still took pleasure it putting down the words. Even without an audience.

Of course. I've been writing since I was about 6 years old. I love it too much to ever stop.

And even if I knew my novel would never be published- at least I could give it to friends and family. If my mom thought the things I wrote when I was eight were "genius"- wait til she sees what I can do now! I mean, she's my mother. If I can't trust her to be objective....uh...never mind.

Stew21 said:

Yes to that one too. for a long time I wrote and never let anyone see it. I still took pleasure it putting down the words. Even without an audience.

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Seconded,

I STILL write without really showing many people. Some day I might think about sending something out..... maybe. (I should put that in my will)

I would. I have stories on my computer that I wrote for me, knowing there's an excellent chance they will never see the inside of an editor's office. I like them - and every so often, I open them and reread. I still like them. I just don't think they're publishable.

Yes. I'd just be less concerned with speling.

I'd self-publish.

Yep, I'd still write. I'd love to be published and read by complete strangers, sure, but I write because I'd go a little nutty (more than I am now, yes) if I didn't.

I've thought about this on and off for the last thirty-four years since getting my first rejection letter.

Writing is one of the most enjoyable and challenging things I do, so I don't think I'd ever give it up. I mean, 34 years without my definition of success and I'm still doing it. What's another 34 years of the status quo?

Now, if I knew I'd never publish, I'd probably change what I wrote and the amount of effort and time I put into it. There are venues open to me (such as fanfic) that will give me some measure of "fame" within a smaller group that are very gratifying which I'd probably pursue more than I do now. I might consider going in on an online publishing venture a couple of friends are contemplating. There are options, but not ones I'll consider now because I still have some delusion about getting a meaningful contract somewhen.

So, writing: definitely. Just not what I'm spending my time on presently.

Yes. I've been writing since I was 6 and didn't even think about publication until 7 years ago. This may sound weird, but for the longest time I didn't think of stories as things that real people wrote. I mean, intellectually I knew that someone had to write those stories, but I didn't make the connection between the writing they did and the writing I was doing. Once I realized that publication was something I might be able to accomplish for myself, then I started working toward it. But I write because it's fun, first and foremost.

Yep, but I'd switch to short stories and flash fiction exclusively.

I don't accept that I will never be published, that's the challenge that keeps me going!
Also, I get frustrated when I pick up books and find them to be lacking in some way that I find annoying and there is the second challenge of producing something better.
My first book is self-published but with an exceptionally good publisher of this type and the book has had great reviews. It will be available in a well-known chain of bookstores in the UK and Ireland by the end of the year. I've been interviewed on live radio and given at talk about it at a major event in Dublin and enjoyed every minute. This tiny glimpse of what being published could be like has spurred me on to try and get an Agent or publisher interested so that I am "properly" published for future projects. I might be banging my head against a brick wall for the next year or two but I'll have fun trying! I think.

Jenifer said:

If you knew that you would never be published... Would you continue to write?

Where is publication on your list of priorities?

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I pretty much operate under that assumption. I write because I like it and i get grumpy when I don't. I do hope I'll be published, but that is a secondary goal.

I would think that if anybody says no to this question, they're writing for the wrong reasons, and their chances of being published are less than someone who writes for the pure passion and love of it. In art, and writing is an art form, don't you think that people must have a passion for what they're doing?

I used to dance. For 15 years, I competed in regional and national competitions under a bunch of genres. When you saw someone up on stage dancing without passion - technically they were a genious maybe, but they didn't light up the stage, they were missing that...UMPH - you could see it! And that person inevitably would not win. They were missing an energy, a purpose in their movements.

I feel that writing would be that way too.

Besides that, from what I hear writing is not necessarily a lucrative occupation, so why would anyone write just for the money?

I have been writing since I knew how to write. I will keep writing whether or not I get published, whether or not anyone reads it. If I never get published, I will probably self-publish so I can hold the finished product, cover and all, in my hands. But I will keep writing. I've always loved manipulating the English language, using it to express my thoughts and feelings, yearnings, joys, and pains. And I always will.

MeowGirl said:

This may sound weird, but for the longest time I didn't think of stories as things that real people wrote. I mean, intellectually I knew that someone had to write those stories, but I didn't make the connection between the writing they did and the writing I was doing. Once I realized that publication was something I might be able to accomplish for myself, then I started working toward it. But I write because it's fun, first and foremost.

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I feel the same way. I've been writing off and on since I was a wee thing (recently dug up a picture book I wrote at a *very* young age, LOL), but I didn't start writing seriously until - looks at join date - hmm, May 2008. And since then, I've been happier and generally less likely to scream at people while driving home from my crappy day job. So, would I like to get published? Yes, sure. But I also find myself excited to get back to my characters and see what they're up to. Just as much as if I were reading somebody else's novel. And that's pretty cool.

I write with no thought of publication.

I have done so for years.

And yet, I still get published.

Funny, that.

yes, I would still write. I can't help it, if I don't write I can't sleep well.