Writing Life

What Do You Measure Writing Success By?

"There are some who measure the worth only by actual, hard numbers." - James Scott Bell's "Self-Publishing Attack!"

When I read those words this morning, I saw them in an entirely different light than he intended. Bell is talking about advertising. I saw them in regards to writing success, and it got me thinking - how do we measure the success of our writing? Is it in numbers? Or the responses we receive from those who have been touched in some way by our writing? Or is it in dollar signs? Or, perhaps all three?

Each one of us has a different idea of what writing success looks like, and no one's idea is wrong. It's a personal thing. You might write for the sole purpose of earning a living from it. Until that happens, you won't feel successful. Some may not feel successful until they've sold a certain quota of books, or made a certain amount of money. Regardless of what we view as success, we write for the sheer love of writing.

For me, I hope to pull in enough money that I no longer struggle to get by. That's my goal. But, success for me is the response I get from those who are being touched in one way or another by my books. If what I'm saying isn't reaching someone, helping them in whatever way, opening their eyes up to a whole new world they knew nothing about, makes them curious - then what's the point? It's rather like Anne Perry says about our characters, both protagonist and antagonist, "if they do not change, what was your story about?"

Writing success can be a lot of different things, especially for those just starting out. Success could be just getting a story finished, again, and again. Taking up the pen and writing for the sheer love of writing! That too is success! Think of all the people you know who "talk" about writing, but never do it.

Success isn't something that's stagnant. It's something that's alive and constantly growing in the form of milestones we reach along the way. I started out writing stories as a child. As time went by, my stuff was published in the local rag. I did a stint as a reporter for a while. I eventually discovered Nanowrimo. From there, I went on to self-publishing. It's been a long slow process. It took until I was 58 to publish my first book. But, I've done it! And, I'll continue to do it book after book.

What is your idea of writing success? Share it in the comments!