When It Feels Like No One’s Reading

You hit “publish.” You wait. You refresh the page.

Nothing.

It’s that strange mix of hope and silence that every writer, or whatever I am, knows too well. You pour hours into a post, a chapter, or a thought that actually meant something to you… and then watch it disappear into the void like it never existed.

No likes. No comments. Not even a pity emoji from your wife.

You start to wonder if the words fell flat, or if you did. Maybe you should’ve been funnier. Maybe you should’ve added a quote. Maybe people just don’t care.

But here’s what I’ve learned: most of the time, someone is reading. They’re just quiet about it. Maybe they’re not sure how to respond. Maybe they’re scrolling on their lunch break and your words hit them harder than they expected. Maybe they’ll message you months from now and say, “Hey, I read that thing you wrote… and it stuck with me.”

The silence doesn’t mean the words didn’t matter.

I’ve realized that writing, like healing, faith, or growth, isn’t about instant validation. It’s about putting something out there that you believe deserves to exist, even if no one claps when you do it.

So yeah, sometimes it feels like no one’s reading. But that doesn’t mean you should stop writing.

The author at work. Deep in thought. Totally not questioning every life choice after hitting “publish.”