What Does "Success" Mean To You?

When I was supporting myself solely by writing.

At this stage of my game, I'd just like to be published and have the book fair well enough to get another one out.. and another. grin

I don't dream of riches or fame. I just want to share my stories.

I've only been writing for the past 14 months, after a 20 year, life enforced hiatus. All of my writing up until recently has been here.

For me, success was starting to write again.

Success was having people tell me they looked forward to what I wrote.

Success was being able to express myself better, verbally, after honing the writing skills again.

Success was having the local newspaper publish one of my columns recently.

Success was having friends and neighbors tell me how much they enjoyed reading it.

My success is on going. I don't know if any one of these minor accomplishments could outweigh another.

Wherever this takes me, I will feel success.

"My success is on going."

I like that. I really do. :)

~~Becka

Briane, AMEN, sista! LOL I think that's the hope for all writers, aspiring or published. It takes a LOT of hard work, however, to support yourself, as you must write book after book.

Wendy, I'm the same way. Getting a fan letter is almost better than getting a royalty check. Authors LUV fan mail, btw. In case you were wondering. :)

Jim, I would call your poems a success, because you're touching people's lives, not just the people who chose to pin up your poems, but also the people who read them in their cube at work or in their bathroom at home. And touching lives, evoking feelings in readers, that's what writing is all about, to me, anyhow.

Tom, I think you and I decided to be a writer in the exact same year. :P Actually, I think I decided in '81 or '82. But I was seven years old at the time. Throughout my schooling, I took as many creative writing courses as I could, learned the keyboard so I could type, and handed out my stories to classmates. Heheh It sounds like you've done a lot of soul-searching and I wish you the best. I don't know if you have your eye is solely on New York, but my publisher Samhain Publishing (http://www.samhainpublishing.com) publishes more than just romance, they publish EVERY genre, and every book over 50,000 words goes into their print program. They sell both eBooks and print. Their print books are distributed by Ingrams and Baker and Taylor, which means they are in Borders and Waldenbooks nationwide. We're also just starting to break into Barnes & Noble. Our books are online at Amazon.com and many other online venues. Perhaps you can submit to them.

They are one of the most influential "small press" publishers in the business, probably second only to Ellora's Cave (if you're familiar with romance). In fact, they just signed a deal with Kensington books for their very own "Samhain" line to start coming out in Sept. of '08. So even New York is noticing them. It's food for thought, and this publisher is VERY close-knit, like a large, extended family.

True, they're not Del Rey or TOR, but just give them time. In five years, I think Samhain Publishing will be a force to be reckoned with.

~~Becka

I am not an author. However I would like to answer. I think success is finding yourself........your real true self.......and being ok with that person.

i think i found a little piece of success when i handed over one of my short stories to a customer at work that said he was interested. ever since, he's been calling himself my fan, and helping me edit the work that i do. :)

to me, the greatest success ever at this point would be to distribute my stories. i would love to someday see my book not on a shelf, but in the hands of a stranger. i just want to be read :) (making money off my stories doesn't matter to me that much, writing isn't about the money for me.)

oh, and if you'd like to, come check them out.. Meatloaf and Pink and White Flowers are my first ever short stories and i have them posted on gather. i'd love for you to stop by and tell me what you think. :)

In other words, when would YOU consider yourself "successful" as an author?

When I get more than one two book deal to a major house. ;-)

Just to complete a book ... bonus would be seeing it on the shelf to be sold.

I am not a writer and I have no aspirations to be one. So in terms of writing I can't define what my success would be.

In my personal life my success revolves around raising my daughters to be intelligent and strong women.

To me it means writing something that makes a difference in someone's life...by giving them wisdom, giving them comfort, helping them to know God, etc.

Being on the "other side" of the business, in publishing and book reviews, I have seen authors straining for some type of minimal recognition. I think if I had published a book that meant a lot to me, personally, I think I would feel successful. There are so many books on the market that it is harder and harder to be a "known" author. I have noticed, however, that authors for whom I have said I considered their book a must read...consider me a fan and keep me abreast of their work...So, having fans, I believe, is success...

Me, I enjoy seeing my "stuff" published on Gather and other sites...so I guess I'm already successful! LOL