My friends and fellow readers,
Am I a writer only when I have been published? Or am I a writer when I write?
I’ve struggled with the fine line there is between writing what is deep inside me and writing what will sell. After much soul-searching and perhaps with much naïveté, I have come to the conclusion that there is no reason for writing if I can not write what stories and ideas dwell inside of me. I believe that, despite every writer’s dream of being on the New York Times Bestseller List, mine included, we shouldn’t compromise the whispers in our minds and hearts in order to write what will make the most money. Unless, of course, what is in your mind and heart will make a lot of money. Then, I say, you are one lucky writer.
It’s all very well if somehow my passions coincide with trends in publishing, but what happens when they are two universes apart? Therein lies the crux of the matter. And to this, I must trust in the discerning nature of readers. As a lover of books myself, I harbor the small flame of hope that if the writing is of good quality, there will be readers out there somewhere in the great expanse of the Earth who will not only enjoy reading my stories, but fall in love with them.
There are so many people out there, all different from each other, all with different tastes and different interests and different personalities. Is it too much to believe that there will be at least one other person in this whole world who will read what comes from my heart and enjoy it as much as I did while writing it? Because, when it comes down to it, isn’t that the whole reason why I write? Because I have a story I want to share with someone else who can cherish it as much as I have cherished it.
So, dear reader, I type and dream and type some more. Please stay a while, immerse yourselves, and enjoy the time you spend here. I hope you will come to love my stories as much as I do.
Sincerely,
Christina Tang-Bernas