What is Success?
In the past on this blog, we’ve discussed why we write in terms of our internal motivations. But what about our external goals?
What would it look like to “arrive” as a writer? What are you striving toward? What is the definition of success?
Tell us why you’re doing this… not just because you’re a writer and you have to write, but what’s your goal?
Have a good weekend!
(c) 2010 Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent
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>Good question to consider. Success for me comes with every opportunity, however small to share what God has done in my life with someone else, be it through giving out my blog/book card, talking about my blog, or discussing my faith. Ultimately, my main goal is to get my book out so that it can encourage others in the trials and struggles they are going through in life. We all deal with similiar issues: from relationships, marriage and divorce, raising children, dating, facing loneliness and depression, addictions, overeating, etc. and we all need help to get through the tough times. We are here to help each other and to me, that is true success.
>Привет. Скажите пожалуйста как сделать так что на главной была короткая статья а не полный анонс статьи. Вот у вас я смотрела на главной http://www.www.jenniesbev.com лишь часть статьи а у меня она полная и смотреть неудобно.
Я молоденькая и еще плохо понимаю проста.
>Success is getting 100 comments.
>As I've always said–and my goal hasn't changed–that I want to entertain and make my readers laugh or cry or think. I'm an entertainer at heart. I've been on the stage as an actor and a singer/musician. Now, I want to write.
>Since you asked, and I am honest…
For some time now, my dream has been to be a celebrated internationally known author..entertaining people, making them laugh, and giving them hope. Showing others through my upbeat, true stories, that life really is a banquet and it's never too late for even the biggest of dreams to come true.
>My goals to reach my own thoughts of "success" keep changing – I'll say to myself, "If this happens, then I'll consider myself a success" – then 'that' happens and suddenly it is not enough and I have to reach the next goal…I think it may be never-ending until I decide it will end!
>I measure success as a writer by helping people and telling my story. The external motivations are, for me, a large part of what I write about: building relationships and deepening connections with those around me.
That's not to say I wouldn't love being wildly popular and widely published 🙂
>My goals are to be published by a traditional publishing house – a large one in New York with good distribution – to have my books in Barnes and Noble and the other big stores, and to hit the NYT Bestseller list. Plain and simple. 🙂 I do have intangible goals, but I don't think that's what you were asking for.
>I have no goals with my writing. I have no desire to seek an agent, or editor, or publisher.
Do I understand how the industry works? Yep.
Do I want to go down that road? No, I have no desire to do so at this point in my life. I don't feel the industry and I would be a good match.
I write for myself, and no one else. I keep readers in mind, because I do post short stories on my blog, but they are horror and fantasy pieces and I don't mind sharing them. For the rest, it's all for me, and it's between me and my God, and no one else.
I don't want success in the way the publishing industry gives it out, I don't have time for it.
>I want to be the author that readers buy and read over and over because the stories are so compelling, the characters flawed and real, the love passionate, the mysteries page-turners.
I'd also like to go sit at my local big box bookseller and admire my book on the shelf!
Money? It would be nice, but really this all about giving the voices in my head an outlet. :o)
>Honor God. What else is there?
But it was cool to walk into to Walmart today and have someone say, "I read your book. I was really good."
>It is rather interesting for me to read the blog. Thanks for it. I like such topics and anything connected to this matter. I definitely want to read a bit more soon.
Julia Benedict
kiev ukraine escorts
>I self published through my university. My book won a national book award and received an honorable mention for their highest award. I sold about 400 books – mostly through my blog. Success – I wrote for me but have received so many cards, gifts, and emails telling me my book was a message of hope.
I have learned so much and have connected with some of the best people on the planet. Nothing beats that…
>My goal is to write the best novel I can possibly write, start over and write an even better one, then repeat the cycle for as long as possible. I'm working on novel #3 and still very much an amateur, but it is going to be the best novel I can possibly write right now.
A parallel goal is to continue having a blast doing it.
>I want to be published and I want to be discussed. Two of my WIPs deal with religion and spirituality in a way that is not mainstream, and my YA WIP deals with a range of tough teen realities…
I dream of being banned, being read, and stirring the pot. I've said for a while that I'd like to create as much controversy as Dan Brown.
>I want to walk down Main St. in Durango (where I live) and see my published book in the window of Maria's Book Shop. It's the "vision" I have of success posted on my intention board in my office. I'd call myself a success if I could make my current day-job salary by writing fiction instead.
>Since I was old enough to read, the library has been my "happy place." My dream is to add a book to those shelves.
>Since I was old enough to read, the library has been my "happy place." My dream is to add a book to those shelves.
>Dreaming is good!
>OK, I'll admit it: I'd like to see my books on a front diplay table and/or shelf at Borders and Barnes & Noble. If that happens, then I'd love to be on the NYT bestseller list. Of course I'd want my books turned into a mini-series…LOL
We can only hope and dream!
>Assolutamente d'accordo con lei. In questo nulla in vi e 'una buona idea. Mi associo.
Condivido pienamente il suo punto di vista. In questo nulla in vi e credo che questa sia un'ottima idea.
>Right now, I just want to see my creation printed and bound, all pretty. I want to wrap it up and give it to everyone I know…and maybe a few strangers that happen by. Then I want to sit and watch them read it.
Of course my constant hovering and asking, "what are you laughing at?" and "that part's sad, huh? Oh no, just something in your eye, oh, okay," might ruin the experience.
Of course, after, and if, I'm ever published, I'll want more–cause that's how we're trained–to always want more and never be satisfied with just being.
>My major goal is to make a difference in people's lives. I may be on my way with that one because a major publishing house is releasing my devotional gift book the first of next year.
The secondary goal is to make a living with my writing to supplement my social security. I'm working on that.
>I write because I love to write. I love to challenge myself by creating a world and peopling it with believable characters. I know that sounds like all writers. My goal is to make enough money with my writing to enable me to quit my job so I can write year round rather than just in the winter. I'm not greedy. If I make more – woopee. If I don't – sigh – I keep working.
>I write the same way a person plays a musical instrument. His audience may be pedestrians dropping quarters in a styrofoam cup on a city street corner, or a sold out concert of 10,000 fans. I am going to write either way, the same way that musician will pick up his instrument…because he has to.
There are some really great answers to your question.
>I just want to be used by God to change lives…
>I want to write the novel. From beginning to end. Edit. And re-write it. And polish it up. And be able to hand it to some people to read! That's the starting point. Then, we'll go from there. After that book, my goal will probably be to write another.
>Success to me is being a working writer – bringing in enough income so that I don't also need a 'day job'. I am getting there!
>To see someone I don't know buy my book in a real bookstore.
>Given how much God has done in my life, I am praying that the book I am writing will help people come to a closer relationship with God and be able to rebuild their lives using Godly principles.
>Hey Ryan, I love your comment about opening a restaurant. I thought the same thing and own a darling little espresso shop that serves up café and characters….but profit, no so much. If you are ever in Tampa let me know and I’ll give you a great deal on a triple, white chocolate mocha and a coffeehouse:)
>Well, at this moment, success would be getting an agent. But the purpose of that step is the next step: a traditional pub contract. And the purpose of that step is my ultimate definition of success: that my work will alter the perspective of people I never meet, and that my characters will be cheered for/worried about/remembered/loved long after I cease to be here.
>Frankly, opening up a restaurant is looking more tempting each day 🙂
>Success to me, in measurable terms, would include being published. I'd like to:
•touch readers with my stories,
•validate the many people who've believed in me and my writing,
•be able to dedicate a book to my incredibly supportive husband,
•make money doing what I love, and
•prove to the IRS that I'm not a hobbyist but a professional writer.
>Success to me would be to keep publishing one or two books per year so I can keep affording to do this. But my main goal is to enjoy the writing–just the day-to-day sitting at the keyboard, alone with the characters, in another world… 😎
Kristi Holl
Writer's First Aid blog
>Mrs. Skinny Con Leche' I love your Top Ten Reasons For Writing.
Thanks for the chuckles. I needed that.
>Donna’s Top Ten Reasons For Writing:
10. Because it is cheaper than drinking all night and healthier than eating all day.
9. Because you can scream hysterically, using all CAPITAL LETTERS and the neighbors won’t hear you and call the cops who bring back that jacket with extra long sleeves and the zipper in the back.
8. Because the menopause-pause, mentally searching for the right word, while fanning yourself, is not as noticeable on paper.
7. Because writing includes pounding on something, even if it is only a keyboard.
6. Because too often, the folks I need to say things to have lost one of their senses. The common one!
5. Because unlike standing in the street doing my Town Crier imitation, writing gives me the opportunity to calm down, edit, revisit, and shamelessly exaggerate to make my point.
4. Because you can say, save, then delete the words you wish you had the “Pelotas” to say.
3. Because I’m a pacifist and hate the sight of blood, especially my own.
2. Because saying you’re a memoirist sounds better than being the family tattle tale.
and the number one reason I write:
1. Because I’m not spending 20 years to life anywhere I can’t take a hair dryer.
>I want to paint word pictures of Christ and watch them glitter all over the world. They won’t be pretty pictures, but then the one He painted wasn’t pretty up close either—the pouring of blood, ribbons of flesh. From afar it’s the big picture that I hope will be a thing of beauty. I just want to magnify what He did in a different light, different venue, through a different vessel. For now I’m positioning my literary talons, readying my claws for publication. I’m very excited at the prospect of it all.
>If you asked me this question last month, I would've said "getting a literary agent".
Now that I have one, it's "selling that book."
I'm sure it won't stop there because my definition of personal success will probably change as I do. Will I one day consider success as being a NYT Bestseller? A sweet film-version of my book? Emails from my adoring fans?
All in all, I think I'll be happy knowing people read and like my books.
Thought-provoking post!
>I have a story arc in that has evolved for me over more than twenty years. For now that means four books, and success for me would be to see those four books be printed by a real publisher and to have some readers tell me they enjoyed them (I already get that last part, but they are only critters and beta readers).
>My ultimate external goal is to be a multi-published author. To have the privilege of working with an agent and publishing house that love my work:)
Writing is the closest thing to Heaven on Earth!
My internal goal is to please the Father by ministering with the gift He has given~ writing.
>One of the best things I ever heard said about success came from Chip MacGregor last Sunday at the ACFW conference. It went something along the lines of this:
Success is simply meeting a goal. We say we want success, but what we really want is significance. And significance is making a difference in the life of others over time.
>Published or not, to make every novel I write at least a little better than the one before.
>I had someone critique a short-story and tell me they couldn't stop thinking about it after they read it. It provided me with a new definition of success. I want to be published. I want to Get Paid. But I want people to think about my writing, for it to affect the way they think. For me, I don't think I'll ever 'arrive.' I want to keep growing, keep challenging myself, keep writing meaningful art.
>This is going to sound silly, but success to me would be spotting one of my students (I'm a junior high teacher) taking my upcoming YA novel out of his/her backpack during silent reading time. And reading it.
Yeah. That would be wicked!
>Success to me means the book published is good enough to drive more interest. Repeat loop.
>Speaking of Little Edie, you can go here to view a photo (taken last year) of me with Jerry, "The Marble Faun." You can click on a link in the entry to read my interview with him:
http://marjorie-digest.blogspot.com/2009/10/lunch-with-jerry-marble-faun.html
>I started writing years ago just as a way to express my feelings. I showed my work to friends and I was encouraged to submit my poems to publications for consideration.
About three years ago, I met with the documentary filmmaker Alan Berliner and a visiting class from NYU. They suggested I create blogs where I could post my photos and work. Alan has been hugely supportive of my projects. My goal now is for those blogs, inspired by Alan, to be viewed and enjoyed by many people.
I have recently started a cartoon blog. The blog contains "bad art" in caption-driven pieces. My definition of success now is finding new and imaginative ways to re-invent myself.
My external goal is for people who read my blogs to want to know more about me. I want them to wonder: "is she really that nuts?" "Was she really a teacher?" "Is she really almost 64 years old?" "is she really that bad an artist?" "Does she really do stand-up?" "Who is this woman?"
I want to successfully be a kook that redefines what it is to be retired, because as I have aged I have not lost any sense of imagination or creativity. I want to have an internet presence and for people to either love me or hate me.
And… I am sustained because I do know that after I am dead all my "stuff" will be discovered and be fodder for great discussion. There is a lot there: the years in teaching, the years in stand-up, the poems, the letters from "Lou," and old photos.
I know my "bad art" will be displayed in galleries in exhibits. My goal is to be famous after death, sort of like Little Edie Beale. Because it sure is not happening now. LOL
>My writing goals are to write two books a year, at the moment I am managing a novella and a full sized novel. My publishing goal is to publish at least one book a year, which I've managed – and my financial goal is to make enough money to support myself, which I'm not managing QUITE yet, despite having a mid-list advance for Transgressions last year.
But I measure my SUCCESS by readers' letters and the pleasure they get from my gay historicals, particularly the gay men who are so delighted that FINALLY they can read historical books with gay characters.
>I want to impact people. Make them think, make them re-evaluate themselves and the way they view the world. Change lives, connect minds.
>I would like to write a book that makes a difference.
If I could touch the heart of one hurting woman and make her see that God loves her. . . I will have arrived.
>"What would it look like to "arrive" as a writer? What are you striving toward? What is the definition of success?"
My goal has actually changed since I began writing my novel almost 10 years ago. At first I just wanted to tell the story that I felt God laid on my heart, but I wanted to do that with a royalty publisher, not self-publish. Eventually I learned publishers don't want someone who wants to tell a story; they want writers who want a career, who can tell story after story just as well as the first one. So I'm working towards that.
But after I got that first story well underway, another popped into mind, then another, then ten, then twenty, then non-fiction, then articles. It seems I was bit by a writing bug in 2000, and was diagnosed incurable around 2003.
Right now I would define success, arrived as a writer, as a contract with a royalty paying publisher and having the book actually published.
>I want to give people an entertaining and satisfying read, and when they finish the book it feels like time well spent. And it would be nice to make enough money to supplement our household income. I'd love to give my kids some opportunites that weren't affordable when I was a kid.
>My goal in writing is to "build an arc"
And then take a needed rest.
Have a great weekend too!
>External success, for me, would be the ability to look at a completed, final draft and know that I have articulated, with clarity and beauty and poignancy, the truths I have learned – oftentimes the hard way.
>Personally success for me is seeing light shine a a readers eyes when they tell me how much they loved reading my books. When they tell me they feel as though they are living the story right alongside the characters and know each and every character personally I feel like I've done my job. Would it be fabulous to see my name on an actual cover rather than a printer generated copy? Absolutely!
That said, I'm willing to wait my turn. I will search for an agent and hope he/she believes in my work as much as those that back me.
Until that time I'll keep telling my story, hoping it enthralls my audience and take pride in the fact that I could make them smile, cry or pull their hair out. That to me is success.
>Success for me would be to have a best selling novel and/or a blockbuster movie hit the screen. I don't want to be a one hit wonder either, I want to have a successfull career as a writer and do great things with my fame, like help others fulfill their dreams
>This is difficult for me, because I have the constant tension of "do I want this for my own selfish reasons" or "am I truly writing to inspire others"?
But then I think, if I saw my book on the shelf (a dream in itself), would it really matter to me if nobody felt any emotion after reading it and just thought it was a nice story?
I think you've arrived as a writer, when your readers emotionally attach themselves to your characters, when they are inspired to see life in a different way than they saw it before.
Thanks for your blog, Rachelle, and thanks for the great workshop in Indianapolis!
Angie Dicken
>Do writers ever "arrive"? Each milestone moves you toward another one: writing your MS, securing an agent, signing a publishing contract, selling enough books to make a profit or to be critically acclaimed for your work.
And the process starts over again (except hopefully the securing the agent & publisher part) when you start on your next book, because you want each new project to be better than your last.
Since I'm not a writer of books, I can only guess, but I'm thinking most writers want to make enough money so that they can quit their day jobs and to be validated as a "real writer". Having said that, I think there are plenty of real writers who have other jobs their whole lives. Most of them, if the statistics I've read are correct.
>I want to be able to reach people with my stories, which would mean being agented and published–not with just anyone but people who love my stories as much as I do and want to see them in the hands of others who will enjoy them and be moved by them.
And I second what a lot of others have said about making writing a career. I can't imagine not writing so if I could have at least one book (more would be better) out a year, ahh…yeah, that would be good.
>having a sold out book signing like the spice girls reunion tour, yes i want to have a writers concert, having deadlines to meet and travelling to places for months on end in the name of book research ha bliss.
>When I receive a fan letter or visit with someone who has read my novels and they tell me they felt like they were truly *in* the fifteenth century and love my writing. I adore my friends and family, but when it comes from someone you have not met, you know it's the writing. That's success. Thanks for posing this interesting question!
>Right now…success would mean actually FINISHING a novel. Not just clacking out a few thousand words and getting distracted by a NEW AND WONDERFUL IDEA…
Hopefully this one, though I have a good idea….
>I want to walk into a book store and see my books on the shelf. That's my idea of success.
>For me, success would be getting out of debt. It would mean being able to go out and eat a nice dinner and not worry about whether I have money for a soda or sweet tea. It would be having enough money to pay off my debts and start saving for college and retirement as well as enough to help out those less fortunate. We already tithe at church but it's currently at a far lower level than we like because we simply need the money elsewhere. Times are tough.
I am reminded of Harry Potter in book 4 when he wraps food from the Hogwarts table for Sirius. Harry remembers what hunger feels like. Having been through such experiences (though we've never gone hungry) I'm glad for the experience but saddened at the same time. I don't want to forget those experiences, but I don't want any more of them either.
So, success would be enough for me to sustain my family and lifestyle on my writing alone with enough for bills, and extra for rainy days helping out those in need. But not so much that (or if) we change and become greedy or forget where we came from. That would be too high a price to pay for something as common as money.
>I can just imagine the joy it will bring me to see my name in print, to have my written ideas out in the world, to be able to influence others with my writing.
>I am happy that I am able to make a very good living as a professional technical writer. Writing for two experimental racks on the International Space Station and any other NASA project thrown my way is gravy. Now if I can only write crew procedures and maybe someday a book, my life would be complete.
>I want to write something great.
I don’t really care is I ever get a traditional publishing contract or if it sells a lot of copies or gets an award or if anyone bothers to read it. I just want to look at it and know it’s something great.
>I want to be like Paula Deen.
There I've said it. All of my family and friends know this about me but now I am telling the world through your blog. Thank you for providing this platform.
Yes, I am a passionate cook from south Louisiana. I have been cooking and entertaining for over 30 years but that's not my main focus in life. It's only one of them.
I want to be the best I can be at the things I love to do. I have had a near two decade passion for writing. I finally took the time to write my first book on non-fiction with a co-author. It is complete and she is incredible.
I love to write because there's so much I want to say. I love people and I enjoy connecting with people. I feel I can do so through my writing. I love to motivate people and I do so everywhere I go, even when they don't ask.
At a very young age, I realized I had an overactive imagination. Not just a little overactive, really overactive.
Over time I've come to realize that it is a gift and I can create all sorts of stories observing everyday life situations.
I would be able to connect with millions through my books.
Back to Paula Deen. You gotta love her because against all odds she's come out on top. She's used her gifts to the fullest!
All of us have hidden talents and she's simply an example of a person who took her talents to the top. Now she's everywhere you look! I'm even thinking about changing my blog to "I Wanna Be Like Paula Deen!"
Heck, everyone in my family knows how I feel about Paula Deen. I want to use my talents and my gifts to the fullest and see where it takes me. I want my children to do the same.
I went to Walgreen's the other day and at the end of an aisle Paula Deen's picture was on a box of brownies. Can you believe it, at Walgreen's?
I went to Michael's with my daughter this past Sunday and Paula Deen was on the cover of a Thanksgiving and Christmas issue of two different magazines at the checkout counter! I simply held them up and showed them to my daughter without saying a word. She understood completely.
Paul Deen's at the grocery store too. She's even on one of the QVC type shows selling heaven knows what! I don't know where this woman's face is going to turn up next, maybe on the face of a Halloween pumpkin or a Christmas tree ornament? I know she's gonna be big around Thanksgiving because she has a contract with Smithfield where she talks about their great hams and turkeys.
It's not that I want to be famous or have to be famous. I simply want to be the best I can be so that I can be an example to my children and millions of others. We all have unlimited potential!
I will know that success has arrived when I get the call to say that my book has been accepted by a publisher. That will mean that I have my foot through the door and I'll be able to quickly build a huge platform. I can do this with one book. My non-fiction book could help millions.
I would like to tour with my co-author and offer motivational seminars where we can help millions of people lose weight and get in the best shape of their lives. I have the marketing and sales skills to make things happen quickly.
I'm presently working on my first book of fiction. I know it will be a winner. My family feels the same way and we don't discuss it outside the immediate family. I want this book to be turned into a screenplay. It has a strong commercial appeal.
The picture of the Oscar you displayed on your post today sums up my ultimate goal.
I would like to win an Oscar.
Now, I'm off to go shopping with my daughter, where I have no doubt I will run into Paula Deen in some shape or form!
Have a great, productive day!
>I want to be like Paula Deen.
There I've said it. All of my family and friends know this about me but now I am telling the world through your blog. Thank you for providing this platform.
Yes, I am a passionate cook from south Louisiana. I have been cooking and entertaining for over 30 years but that's not my main focus in life. It's only one of them.
I want to be the best I can be at the things I love to do. I have had a near two decade passion for writing. I finally took the time to write my first book on non-fiction with a co-author. It is complete and she is incredible.
I love to write because there's so much I want to say. I love people and I enjoy connecting with people. I feel I can do so through my writing. I love to motivate people and I do so everywhere I go, even when they don't ask.
At a very young age, I realized I had an overactive imagination. Not just a little overactive, really overactive.
Over time I've come to realize that it is a gift and I can create all sorts of stories observing everyday life situations.
I would be able to connect with millions through my books.
Back to Paula Deen. You gotta love her because against all odds she's come out on top. She's used her gifts to the fullest!
All of us have hidden talents and she's simply an example of a person who took her talents to the top. Now she's everywhere you look! I'm even thinking about changing my blog to "I Wanna Be Like Paula Deen!"
Heck, everyone in my family knows how I feel about Paula Deen. I want to use my talents and my gifts to the fullest and see where it takes me. I want my children to do the same.
I went to Walgreen's the other day and at the end of an aisle Paula Deen's picture was on a box of brownies. Can you believe it, at Walgreen's?
I went to Michael's with my daughter this past Sunday and Paula Deen was on the cover of a Thanksgiving and Christmas issue of two different magazines at the checkout counter! I simply held them up and showed them to my daughter without saying a word. She understood completely.
Paul Deen's at the grocery store too. She's even on one of the QVC type shows selling heaven knows what! I don't know where this woman's face is going to turn up next, maybe on the face of a Halloween pumpkin or a Christmas tree ornament? I know she's gonna be big around Thanksgiving because she has a contract with Smithfield where she talks about their great hams and turkeys.
It's not that I want to be famous or have to be famous. I simply want to be the best I can be so that I can be an example to my children and millions of others. We all have unlimited potential!
I will know that success has arrived when I get the call to say that my book has been accepted by a publisher. That will mean that I have my foot through the door and I'll be able to quickly build a huge platform. I can do this with one book. My non-fiction book could help millions.
I would like to tour with my co-author and offer motivational seminars where we can help millions of people lose weight and get in the best shape of their lives. I have the marketing and sales skills to make things happen quickly.
I'm presently working on my first book of fiction. I know it will be a winner. My family feels the same way and we don't discuss it outside the immediate family. I want this book to be turned into a screenplay. It has a strong commercial appeal.
The picture of the Oscar you displayed on your post today sums up my ultimate goal.
I would like to win an Oscar.
Now, I'm off to go shopping with my daughter, where I have no doubt I will run into Paula Deen in some shape or form!
Have a great, productive day!
>My goal is freedom.
>A great question as usual, with some great answers.
For me: When I finish a draft of a novel I feel like I've succeeded as a writer. I might not be an "author" but I am definitely a writer. Have 3 different first draft successes, 60 some to go and soon I hope to have my first rewrite success. I love the process and the reward of seeing what I was able to write.
>Success for me would be to have someone say this about my writing: "We think this is good and we think other people will like it, too. Here's a little bit of money."
>At this point, I feel as if I'd be happy just to get a novel published by a major publisher. Beyond that, I'd love to be able to quit my day job and write full-time. But ultimately, if I'm honest with myself, my goal is that people should still be reading my books–and having their lives changed by them–after I'm dead.
>My long term goal is to have financial security as a full time writer. To reach that goal, I've given myself short term goals such as acquiring an agent, which I've done, secure a contract, which I'm hoping for soon, but most of all, I want to be obedient to God's will in my life.
>My opinion on success: it's when I am accepted by a traditional publishing house. That means validation by my peers and experts in the biz. I could take out a loan and self-publish, but my goal is to write well enough for a traditional publishing house to want it.
I did it with picture books and I want to do it again, but I also reeeeeeally want to see my fantasy novel in print.
When all that happens and people look at me differently (because they do) my goal then will be to keep my ego in check. 😉
>My goal is… to be published.
Yeah, big surprise.
And, like most writers, I wouldn't mind being on the NYT Bestseller list, though quite honestly, I'd just be happy if my books would sell well enough that I earn back my advances and then some. I'd say, especially in this economy, that would be success to me.
>Rachelle, we really should coordinate our blog posts better. I've thought about this a great deal recently, and addressed it just yesterday on my own blog (http://rmabry.blogspot.com). Suffice it to say, I've tried to set reasonable and realistic goals, and thus far God has given me far more than I could imagine.
>Well, I could say that my only goal is to please God in my calling, but that wouldn't be truthful. The fact is, it's much more than that. I want to leave a legacy for my grandchildren. I really do want my words in print to that my grandkids can see you can accomplish something if you work hard at your dream. My hearts desire is to make a difference with my words. In short…I want to be published. It's not going to determine my happiness or make me feel like I missed my call if I don't, but that's my goal and why I have been working so hard at my craft.
>This is probably shallow, but someday I want to sell more books than Terry Pratchett.
>My goal? Well, I hope to please the Lord, first-and-foremost. I don't want to stand before Him, naked and trembling, because I didn't use the gifts He gave.
I suppose that would be an answer most Christians would give.
In a more worldly sense, I would love to see people happy and entertained by the stories I tell…to feel the wonder of seeing my book, neatly packaged with cover art and all, for the first time…to see my manuscript become more than a Word document.
I really love my mountains and their history. I hope that comes across I my books.
I'm cheesy.
~Britt
>I want people to read my books and say, "Look how God is using her!"
>Well, when I'm really thinking about it, not pouting, complaining, or fantasizing, I want to write to reach people. I want my stories to show the Truth I have to those who don't have it. I want to change one life. The thing about that kind of goal is that you can't ever really know if you've reached it or not. I guess it, as everything worthwhile does, depends on trust in God and what he's doing.
I write because I feel like I am called to it. I need to let Him handle the rest.
>Success for me would be to make a living doing what I love. Working 40+ hours on a day job, and trying to balance it with the contracts and the expectations and responsibilities … that is becoming more of a challenge as time goes on. I will have ARRIVED when my books make enough income to treat writing like the professional mainstay I believe God meant for it to be in my life while keeping me in the manner to which I've become accustomed. 🙂
>Success for me would be to have reader’s groups all around the country in lively discussions about my work(s). For me, success with writing is about reaching people.
I write because I long to inspire fresh thoughts in others and to make a difference in this world. I write out of obedience and because it wakes me up and feel on fire for living. Writing drives me to appreciate the small things and then prods me to find ways to introduce the wonder of those small things to others.
I want to snap dialogue awake with my words.
Love this question!
~ Wendy
>Oh yeah, and winning newbies to Christian fantasy wouldn't be bad either. ;0)
>My ultimate goal is to reach people who love Christian fantasy like me, and provide them with great, empowering, edge-of-your-seat stories.
As for money, I'll take whatever I'm given. The plan was never to support myself and my family, but to supplement my husband's income.
>My immediate goal is to find an agent who believes in me and my work. The next goal is to find a publisher. The ultimate goal is and will always be sharing my work with as many people as possible, hoping that my work makes a difference in their lives. I'm not asking for much, am I? (smiles) Oh, and my day job, my goal is to help my writers and designers and editors do the best work of their lives each and every day. I will go to the ends of the earth for them. I want to see them succeed, and it's a great joy being their mentor and a part of that process.
>What Katie said. 😉
(**waves hello to Katie**)
>It's not the money. It's not the fame. I just love to write – to develop stories and characters and to celebrate the joy of beautiful words – and I have since I was a child. As an adult I've also discovered that I love to give talks/speeches – another way to touch hearts with words. I write for fulfillment and affirmation.
>My long-term external writing goal would be to come to a place where I'm having at least one book a year released. Hitting one of those bestseller lists would be awesome too. *grin*
Short-term goal is to get my current manuscript fixed up!
>Funny. That picture you have in your post is one of my goals (maybe not my most realistic goal and one I should definitely take more seriously, but it is a dream…).
I also want to be a bestseller. Not just for the money or fame, but…I'm not that much of a avid reader. When I do read, I GET OBSESSED and read nonstop for days, but I don't buy many books.
The books I do buy and read and love are usually the very successful ones. So I want to be a very successful book so I can have readers go crazy with my stories as I have been crazy with others' stories. 🙂
>To have a published book to my name … and then another … and then another. I want to build a career as a novelist.
>My ultimate external goal?
To be multi-published and make money doing what I love.
But first I need to get a contract.
>To have as many followers on my blog as Rachelle!!! (and you guys can help me fulfill this ambition!!;))
http://downandoutinprimrosehill.blogspot.com/
>Success for me would be to earn enough financially from writing that I could support my family AND earn enough recognition to be offered chances to postively impact teens.
>Hmmm. Okay, I'll just be honest and say it. Success for me (as a writer) would be to have my book hit #1 on the NYT bestseller list.
>Success will be when I know for sure that I've done something that's made a difference. Even if it's nothing huge. It's something.
>I don't have goals. No… seriously.
I stumbled upon blogging a year ago and had no clue I could even write. For right now, I'm just unfettering my wings and learning to fly.
Someday, I'll actually lift off and maybe get a book published.
But until then? I'm just going to enjoy the little I do in the little way I can. 🙂
>For twenty years I've longed to tell my story. I am finally ready.
Success, for me is reaching people who suffer self-esteem issues.
Published is one thing. Read, understood, heard is another.