I first felt successful not when I signed my first contract but when my sons bragged about my fledgling career to their teenage friends. If my boys thought of their mother as a successful author then I was able to also.
What is your Lofty goal to measure your success? What is your own personal Litmus Test to measure your success?
Don't forget to visit the other bloggers participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge. And you'll also find lots of easy links on the IWSG Facebook Page.
Susan Gourley writes epic fantasy and also writes romance as Susan Kelley. Read her world building A to Z posts at Susan Says.
I think having readers who aren't friends or family who really like my work would make me feel success.
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Being new to writing fiction I'm willing to share, right now my test is writing something I feel confident enough it to actually submit.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Frank. My immediate goal is writing something that I feel is good enough to submit to my short story writing tutor as my first assignment.
ReplyDeleteI hit it when my first book was published. Everything that has followed has been gravy.
ReplyDeleteHaving my first story published in a magazine (and being paid for it!) made me feel successful. Keeping up that feeling of success is another thing altogether! I don't think my kids ever remember to brag about my writing - although I did hear my son once say : "My mum thinks she's a writer," so that was... heartening!
ReplyDeleteI've not really thought about it. I have given your blog a shout our from my letter L today.//rosieamber.wordpress.com/
ReplyDeleteMy litmus test has changed over the years, as I have, as the publishing industry has. I'm trying to focus on living a more creative life, focusing on and improving my craft.
ReplyDeleteMadeline @ The Shellshank Redemption
Minion, Capt. Alex's Ninja Minion Army
The 2014 Blogging from A-Z Challenge
I write primarily for my own enjoyment and would not go anywhere with out my personal journal. have a monthly wrting circle and the blog challenge good reminder on need for consistent work.,,,here is my L..http://bonnieupnorth.xanga.com/2014/04/13/l-is-for-learning/
ReplyDeleteSo a million dollars in my bank account isn't a good one to hit? lol
ReplyDeleteI think I'll feel that I've 'made' it as a writer when I publish my first print novel. Right now I have one ebook available and another coming out later this year. I'm currently writing the story I hope will be that print novel. :)
ReplyDeleteI think if I at least tried, even if I fail or no one knows but me I know that I was a success-I never gave up
ReplyDeleteHonestly? I don't know if I'll ever be satisfied. Lately I've been feeling a big bipolar. Of course, that goes away when someone writes me an email or facebook post talking about how much they loved my book and asking after the next one. That's the best, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteTrue Heroes from A to Z
Getting published this year in any fashion (not self publishing though; not that there isn't anything wrong with it, but it just isn't for me) will feel amazing.
ReplyDeleteAs the writing journey progresses, the goal posts shift, so I'm not sure there is a Litmus test... and anyway, I believe that the journey never ends!
ReplyDeleteThe series of small successes at different points in the journey... that's quite important...
Having said that, a paperback of my creation in my hands = Lofty goal!
I think having that first book published will be a pretty significant moment. And, yeah, it would be cool for all these years of my writing to finally culminate in a physical book I can show my son. :)
ReplyDeleteI felt I'd passed that Litmus test when a publisher said yes. Nowadays, my sales are dismal because I'm not doing any promoting so I suppose the next feeling of achievement will come when I get moving again and see some results.
ReplyDeleteI'm part of a tough writing critique group. A compliment from them is worth its weight in gold
ReplyDeleteHey Susan,
ReplyDeleteAh yes, here I am at the IWSG aka "I Was Seeking Gary" tribute page.
I measure my success by how much I have understood when Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet star teaches me about writing techniques. She's an acclaimed pawblisher.
Gary :)
There is a big scale for me. Just getting positive comments on my stories is a big "A" for me on the low end. In the middle would be publication in The Mag of F&SF, Analog, Asimov's, and/or Alfred Hitchcock's (and maybe Ellery Queen Mystery Mag as well). Near the end is getting a novel traditionally-published. The very end is being awarded a Hugo both as an editor and as a writer on multiple occasions. I'll be content if I reach the middle of the scale by the time I die.
ReplyDeleteOf course, signing the contract/getting published seems appropriate for a litmus test, but for me, it will be being featured on my favorite creative blog.... then I will know. :D
ReplyDeleteI agree . . . I did this to make my daughters proud :-) My 13yo doesn't compliment me to my face, but she wrote about her mom as her favorite author for a school assignment!
ReplyDeleteFor me, l wrote and self published for theraphy. That was success, then when l held my paperback, l cried. A few also got back to me and said they were glad they read it and that crowned it. I am just awakening to the marketing and sales saga but that's another world right?
ReplyDeleteMy first lofty goal was to get something published. Succeeded twice.
ReplyDeleteMy next lofty goal was to get a novel commercially published. Succeeded once.
Now my next lofty goal is to simply continue being published, which in this case is being self-published at least once a year.
A-Z Challenge at Father Nature's Corner
I felt successful when my 2nd book came out. My first was so surreal, nothing felt real. But now I'm in the clutches of a publisher who thinks of me as just another writer and I must fight the urge to agree with him. Such an important message, Susan. Thanks!
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