What is the Opposite of Success?

loserI’m blogging at Books & Such today. Here’s a preview:

The business of publishing gives us frequent opportunities to feel like a success or … not a success. At every step of the journey, we receive feedback and results that tell us whether our efforts are working. It’s an uncertain path riddled with possibilities for disappointment.

→ We pitch our book at a conference and nobody seems to want what we’ve written.

→ We search for an agent, to no avail.

→ Our book is being submitted to publishers, but none are biting.

→ Our book is available for sale, but the numbers aren’t good.

→ We arrange a booksigning event at a bookstore, and nobody shows up.

When things happen that don’t make us feel exactly like a “success,” the instinct is to brand our efforts a “failure.”

I’ve been thinking a lot about this, and I no longer believe the opposite of success is failure. Instead…

Click HERE to read the entire post at Books & Such.

 

Rachelle Gardner

Literary agent at Gardner Literary. Coffee & wine enthusiast (not at the same time) and dark chocolate connoisseur. I've worked in publishing since 1995 and I love talking about books!

2 Comments

  1. Cherry Odelberg on September 19, 2013 at 7:34 PM

    Sigh, perseverance is so tiring. But, I do love learning.



  2. Mjke on September 18, 2013 at 6:53 PM

    Me! LOL