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This has an evolutionary benefit as it means we are always striving, always creating, always building. But it’s important to recognize your achievements, so whatever you decide you want, you also need to establish how you will measure this success.
I’ve also been thinking about it in the wake of the discussions around the Author Earnings site, which has had the industry blogs all aflutter and brought out the agent and publisher big guns to discuss the impact of self-publishing. Some have said that the report is turning the focus to money, that writing should be about creativity and the rewards are in the work themselves.
But it’s important to remember that we are not a homogenous bunch, and we all strive for different things, for different reasons.
For me, it comes down to three questions:
- What is your definition of success – for this particular book and for your writing career?
- How will you track and measure that success?
- What do you want to do with that success? What is the point in your work?
It will also tend to change over time as your definition of success will be dependent on the progression of your writing career. In this article, I outline some of the more common responses to the question, as well as potential options for measurement.
(1) I want to create something I am proud of and hold my book in my hand
This is perhaps where we all start – with the desire to finish a project and create something tangible. This is also why most first time authors want a printed book.
I helped my 9 year old niece publish her first book, which led her to win national prizes speaking publicly about the experience. I also helped my Dad with his historical thriller, Nada. Neither of these are really commercial prospects, so the focus of success is more on creativity, which is a totally brilliant reason to write a book!
If this is your goal, check out this article on how to self-publish and look at print-on-demand options. If you don’t want to DIY, I would also recommend you read ‘Choosing a self-publishing service,’ by the Alliance of Independent Authors so you can avoid the (ever-increasing) scams in this growing industry.
(2) I want to see my book on the shelves of a bookstore
We have shopped in bookstores all our lives and for many of us, the bookstore is a place of solace as well as adventure. When I was most miserable in my job, I would go to the bookstore at lunchtime and indulge in retail therapy to escape my life for a time. To see a book with our own name on it on those shelves must surely be every authors dream.
This is easy to measure but the truth is that it is extremely difficult to get into bookstores as an independent author. It’s also costly even if you can manage it because of discounting and returns.
I’ll admit that this is still a dream of mine and I’m definitely open to print only deals with traditional publishing, but it is no longer a definition of my success.
(3) I want to reach readers with my words
This is fantastic but I always challenge this definition of success, because it is so intangible. If you want to reach readers, then just put your book out for free and on every platform in the world, as Seth Godin did with ‘The IdeaVirus’ a few years ago. But most people don’t mean this kind of ‘reach.’
So be more specific – does it mean 10 x 5 star reviews on Amazon? Does it mean a fan email from a reader you have never met and who isn’t your friend or family member? Or should you measure this reach in book sales?
(4) I want to sell 10,000 copies of my book/s
This is a better definition than (3) because it is measurable and you know when you get there. The number is obviously dependent on many things: the genre you write in, as a children’s picture book will sell far fewer copies than a commercial romance novel; a literary novel will generally sell less than a commercial thriller. It is also dependent on how many books you have, as you will more easily reach higher figures with more books.
This volume type of definition will also change over time. I started off with 1000 books as a goal when I only had one book. Then I moved to 10,000, and I am just about to crack 100,000 so now my goals have changed again.
(5) I want to win a literary prize and receive literary/critical acclaim
You can achieve this as an independent author. The Alliance of Independent Authors has an Open Up To Indies campaign, which will hopefully mean that more prizes and festivals are open to self-published books over time. There’s also been the recent success of A Naked Singularity by Sergio de la Pava, which started out as self-published and won the PEN/Robert W. Bingham prize and has been shortlisted for the Folio prize.
But you’re still far more likely to win a literary prize if you go through the traditional publishing route. It’s the goal of most MFA programs to produce books capable of winning prizes. As for critical acclaim, again, you’re more likely to get that through traditional publishing and reviews in literary journals.
If this is your goal, you should also be aware of recent research that shows literary prizes can make the book less popular. So this definition of success may be incompatible with making a full-time living as an author.
(6) I want to make a full-time living with my writing
Again, I challenge this because the definition of ‘full-time living‘ is different by country, even by region, as well as the huge difference between income needs from a family with kids to a professional couple or single writer. Try and be specific about the actual figure you are aiming for, and think about how that may grow over time, based on how much you are writing over the next few years, as well as your own financial requirements.
Making a full-time living became my goal in 2009, and in September 2011, I left my job as an IT consultant to become a full-time author-entrepreneur. I make about one third of the income I used to make back then, but downsizing, paying off debt and changing my own definition of what a ‘full-time income‘ was meant that I could leave the job I hated and start this new creative life.
An income goal is not necessary for everyone, and for many, creativity alone is the reward.
But I have been challenged on my own focus so I have been thinking about it a lot recently. My desire to earn (very) good money stems from my upbringing by a single Mum who worked long hours to provide for me and my brother. I am married, but my financial independence as a woman is incredibly important to me, and I’ve had paying work since I was 14.
My lifestyle is also important, with travel being a part of what I define as a good life rather than ownership of physical
things. Last year I had several weeks cycling through South India, and this year I will be in Canada, Spain or Israel, as well as back in New Zealand. So the ‘why’ behind my definition of success is around my self-esteem as a financially independent woman, as well as wanting to live life on my own terms.
(7) I want to create a body of work I am proud of over my lifetime
This is the definition that will keep you honest about your creative output. You won’t rush a book to publication. You won’t put a book out without a professional edit, or a professional cover. You will strive for the best this particular project can be.
I am trying to balance this with (6) above and it can be difficult. Part of me wants to learn to write faster and produce more words, but my books are characterized by deep research and a sense of place, both of which require a longer writing process. I also want to live a life of research and travel so I want to honor that part of my process.
In the end, I want to write for the rest of my life, hopefully another 50 years, so I’m in this for the long haul. How about you?
I want to hear from you on this important topic. What is your definition of success? How has it changed as your writing has progressed? Who are your role models for success? Please leave a comment below and join the discussion.
Top image: Flickr Creative Commons Clouds by Jonathan Kos-Read
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1 2 3 4 Next »Great article! I think that many people hear the word measurement and assume it means sales, you've shown that it can mean more than that. Some of the non-sales goals can be tricky to measure but if it's important, you can find a way. I also love your own example showing that goals aren't achieved overnight (goal set in 2009 achieved in 2011 yeah!) and they can be accomplished with balancing multiple areas.
Hi KD, absolutely :) My goals are moving every year now. I'm not sure when I will consider myself a success - I think perhaps when I match my previous income with writing :) so it might be a while as I was in IT for 13 years
Thank you, this was helpful to a brand new author trying to decide where I want to go with my writing. Ultimately I really want to make a career out of writing, however I already have a demanding career that I cannot leave due to financial constraints. Because I am already working a lot of hours I do not have the time to dedicate to my writing that I should. I need to look at setting some short-term goal and some long term goals before I decide what I will do with my first book.
Hi Amanda, when I was working fulltime, my goal was to finish the book I was writing and sell 1000 copies of it. That was non-fiction ... then it was to write a novel ... then another one ... I was working all that time as well. So go slow and don't be too hard on yourself. You have time!
May all your wishes come true:)
I've always believed its important to set measurable goals, and your suggestion to also determine our own meaning of success falls into line with that thinking. Understanding and accepting that our meaning of success can/will change over time is a good one. Reading this post I realized I too have many definitions of success. Thanks for the reflective thoughts.
Thanks for the encouragement Joanna. Great food for thought!
I just wrote a book about exactly this :) Question 3 is one I spend a lot of time trying to get people to reword - who are those readers? What effect do you want to have on them? You can make those answers very specific, and that makes them much more measurable.
Personally, my goal is very clear - I want to enable those whose voices have been marginalised to speak and be heard in their own voices
I'd challenge you on that Dan :) It's still not measurable enough! e.g. how will you enable them to speak? will 10 books from that target group have you in the Acknowledgements of their books? will you empower 10 to speak publicly? or 100?
Ha, yes, you're right. Specifically for me it's about enabling those who find their voices marginalised through mental health issues to feel that they are able to speak and not be spoken for . And it's measurable mainly by personal contact - emails, tweets and messages. Just one person would be a success.
What a wonderful post Joanna! When I started writing again in 2006, my short-term definition of success was landing an agent and a traditional book deal; my long-term definition was to be able to write full time. When I started self-publishing in 2012, my short-term definition of success was getting people I didn't know to buy my books; my long-term definition remained unchanged. Two years on, people I don't know are buying my books :) Currently, my short-term definition of success is to sell more than 1000 books this year and negotiate contracts for some of my foreign rights over the next 18 months. My long-term definition remains unchanged.
Congrats on the success so far!
I want to connect with people having an affinity with my way of feeling, and my books are the best way I know to make such a connection. Success for me is being able to make more connections like this. So the number of this kind of feedback is more important to me than the total number of copies sold (or other numbers, like money).
Of course I also have other bigger ambitions but whether they become reality or not is not really important.
Hi Carla, but how do you measure "connection"? Number of Facebook fans? or email list sign ups? or what else?
Direct feedback like reviews, people interacting with me publicly (like social networks, blog post concerning my books, people asking the "right" questions while interviewing me, etc.) or privately (I receive a lot of emails) who, speaking about my books, seem like they have read my mind. So I don't just mean general positive feedback, but a kind of feedback (which can also include some critics) that shows how the reader see my "message" the same way I've intended them to see it. It means to me that I've been good in transmitting that "message" but also that there are people out there with a kind of sensitiveness having some points in common with mine.
I hope I'm explaining correctly what I mean ( I'm Italian). :)
Actually I'm getting this from time to time, and every time I'm amazed.
Last time it happened two days ago when I was mentioned for the first time in an "authoritative" web magazine (the Italian version of Wired) together with other nine indie authors. There was a brief review of my sci-fi series and the reviewer in the last line of it highlighted what really the series was about, I mean, what I wanted it to be about, which wasn't actually so evident for the reader. It was like he read my mind.
You should have seen my face! :D
Joanna, you've raised some interesting questions. So many of us have vague goals instead of establishing concrete indicators of success. I blogged about this a few weeks ago, as well. As for me, it comes down to this quotation from St. Francis of Assisi: "Preach the gospel every day. When necessary, use words." In my case, words are what I've been given to use, and that's what I need to do. The rest is in God's hands.
A fantastic analysis of what success may mean to different people. I always feel that my love of writing is what calls me to write and that my books may, in some way benefit the reader. That is why I write and what feels right to me. If I'm honest though, yes, its nice intially to at least 'break even' financially and then make some money as well! Its also great when people really appreciate and love my books. I am perhaps in a different situation, in that my career is being a therapist for over 30 years so I am not a full time writer or dependant on those earnings. Process Psychology is my passion but so is writing. I like to encourage a paradigm shift of success and failure to 'what am I learning?' and am following my path with heart?