I've had what feels like an insanely successful year in a lot of ways. I've sold more than 20 stories this year, I've gotten very nice feedback on some of the stories which have been published, I've made it 2/3 of the way to full SFWA membership, etc.
However, there are still lots and lots (and lots) of milestones which I haven't even come particularly close to reaching. So, looked at against the backdrop of those other milestones, it would be easy for me to say (were I so inclined) "Well, I really haven't accomplished much yet." And, looking at it purely objectively, there's truth to that. If I stopped writing today and published nothing besides what's already in the pipeline then twenty years from now I'd almost certainly have left functionally no mark on the word of speculative fiction literature.
So how do I look at this? Have I had wild success or am I still down on the lower rungs?
I believe the answer is that both are true. Writing is an interesting game as far as "success" goes. Unless your name is Stephen King or J. K. Rowling or one of those other Really Really Big Names, there's almost always another star to aim for. (And still, you could certainly argue that both of those authors, even after reaching enormous financial success and fame, felt they had some other targets to aim for by reaching outside of the genres which brought them their initial rewards.)
Ultimately, each writer will have their own idea of what constitutes "success." Like I suggested above, for me, that would be doing something that made it reasonable to think that ten or twenty or thirty years after I'm gone from the Earth that there would be people out there who found something of value in my body of work. (I think that the jury is out on whether this is going to be something which is easier or harder in the digital-fiction era. I suspect that it will be easier, but I also wonder how institutional libraries are dealing with electronic-only publications.)
If you define "success" as only being those very ambitious goals, it would be easy to burn out through the early years of rejections and smaller victories. Conversely, I think it's good to stay hungry and to want to reach for the next "level" even as you're making good progress. I would encourage writers to be willing to look for and be excited about successes along the way to whatever their ultimate marker of success is.
What does success look like in your world? Do you celebrate the steps along the way or are you waiting for the "final level" whatever that may be for you?
Success is such a subjective subject. Sorry for the unintended alliteration lol!.
ReplyDeleteI find success even in the smallest things. I'm a progress forward kind of person. So yeah, I celebrate the successes that may be small in someone else's eyes as well as those that may generally be perceived as successful. Always great to celebrate and encourage more progress forward.
Hey, Angela, thanks for stopping by and commenting. I like finding success in the smallest things, as well!
DeleteRe the libraries comment: JA Konrath wrote a couple of insightful posts on the subject. Here's the link to his most recent: http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2012/10/e-books-in-libraries-they-still-dont.html
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link, Esther!
DeleteThank you for this blog post. It's interesting, this is really a subject I've had to ask myself about quite a number of times, because I'm really not sure what the definitive answer is. I've written four books. I've thus far not published them. So have I succeeded or failed? If I'm still trying, still fighting to get out there in the world, does "failure" even apply? And does it matter either way? "Success" really is such an elusive thing to define because, as you said, there are always more milestones to reach. Maybe there isn't a such thing as "success" in such a terminal, you've-reached-it-and-now-that's-over definition. And maybe that's a good thing. Thank you for this post. It really kept me thinking on this question.
ReplyDeleteMegan, thanks for stopping by and commenting. I'm glad that you found the post thought-provoking. Best of luck with your own determination of success.
DeleteI've been thinking about this issue a ton lately. For me, success is one of those elusive in-the-eye-of-the-beholder concepts. So many people say, "Oh, you're published!" like that's the endgame. But for me, it really isn't. I'm still traveling down that road, trying to write the best darn book I can. I won't discount it - it is success - but I can't look simply to what I've accomplished. I must look ahead. That's where I am, and what I got from your post.
ReplyDeleteYes, that summarized very well how I feel about it. Congrats on all your successes and good luck with your future goals!
DeleteI find success when I work hard and complete the work properly. may be big or small doesn't matter. After successfully completing it, It gives some kind of happiness and satisfaction to me.
ReplyDeleteKevin, that's a great approach! Being able to view completing work to your satisfaction as its own reward is very helpful since that is ultimately the only thing you can control.
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