There are so many ways to be a writer.
Just to start with, there are numerous forms for the written word: poetry, essays, short stories, novels, memoirs, philosophic works, deep reporting, journalism of many types, advertising, plays, movies, television, speeches …
In the case of fiction in particular, some types are very experimental, some are very commercial, some fit neatly into genre categories — SF, fantasy, “literary”, porn — some don’t fit at all.
There are best sellers and books that barely sell. There are books that are recognized only after the author is long dead.
There are probably many very good books that never get noticed. There are many bad books that make lots of money.
There are a few writers who get rich, a few who get famous. Some win all the prizes; some never even make the short list.
There are lots of writers with day jobs. Some of them are trying to figure out how to quit their day jobs.
If what really matters to you is wealth and fame, there are probably easier paths than the creative ones.
So working on the assumption that you’re not likely to end up wealthy or famous or a Nobel Laureate, what is it that would make you feel successful as a writer?
I think this is an important question and one that can keep some of us from descending into the sloughs of despair. It’s also useful in helping writers starting out figure out what they really want from their career, which is why I started with an incomplete list of all the ways to be a writer.
If you can define what you want, you have a metric to determine success. Continue reading “How Do You Define Success?”…