Stanford, CA—Dorothy Parker, the famous author and snarky critic once wrote, “I hate writing. I love having written.” It’s a quip that almost every writer inserts into conversation moments after they introduce themselves as a writer. 

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But is it the case? 

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Researchers from Stanford University set out to test this claim and came back with a resounding: not so much. The researchers studied a thousand authors who rated their love of writing before, during, and after the act on a scale of 1 to 10.

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“Most new authors give writing a 2 before they do it,” said Doug Polanski head of literary studies at Stanford. “And a 3 to 6 when they’re doing it. But by the time they get to the end of the day, depending on how much they’ve written, that number goes up anywhere from 7 to 10.”

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“It’s the hope that keeps you going,” said Jeremy Dufresne author of four YA sci-fi novels. “After your first novel tanks, you tell yourself it takes time to build an audience.’ After the second one, you say, ‘I just need to market better.’ By the fourth, you’re punching your computer and screaming at your kid for reading Harry Potter for the tenth time.” 

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“The few authors selling fifty-thousand books a year, their numbers stayed high across the board,” Doug said. “But the rest of the group averaged a hundred books in sales. Their “having written” numbers bottomed out at 1. 

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The study followed the authors’ careers for the next ten years.

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“In the beginning, I loved to write.” Jane Huller is one of those 1’s. Jane’s published five books in seven years for a total of twenty-six sales. “It’s a challenge to do something for years and no one cares. It’s my own fault. I just need to work harder. Tweet more. I’m still writing but I kind of hate it. I spend thirty hours a week doing it. I don’t get paid. I don’t get sales. Sounds stupid when I say it out loud. You know, maybe I should just stop talking.”  

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Jane’s not alone. The Stanford study still has eight hundred active participants despite nearly ninety percent of them reporting 1s. “Most authors do get bitter,” said Doug. “Despite having written hundreds of thousands of words, when an author doesn’t sell books, we’ve noticed they start scoring lower, close off from friends and family, and for some reason tend to buy more cats.” 

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Not Jeremy. He quit writing last year and is much happier. “I have an Etsy store. Give me a photo of your dog and 5.99 and I’ll give you a 4x6 abstract painting inspired by that photo. I’ve sold ten times more than all of my books combined. The best thing is I love it even while I’m doing it.” 

 

Perhaps, Dorothy Parker would approve.