What Does Success Mean to You?

I can't define it. I have tried, but the definition changes because whatever I pointed at and said, "that's success," it turns out I was pointing at something that was only slightly out of reach.

maybe that's the idea. you want something, and then it happens, so you adjust your view and want the next thing.

 

To me success would be completing one book. I don't care about money, publishing, target audiences, other people or the moon being in the right position. I'd just like to actually complete something since I never have been able to.

 

I had one while shopping for groceries after work. Thought maybe it was heartburn or something. It lasted 3-4 minutes until I left the store and was sitting in my car. Over the next week it happened 2-3 more times, although not quite as bad. So I decided to see my doctor. A blood test confirmed I'd had a heart attack. (Very high troponin levels indicating I'd had a heart attack sometime within the last week or so.) The good news is that I took proactive measures, at least didn't wait for a more serious heart attack, and my heart suffered very little damage. Ended up with a stent placed in an artery and on 6 daily medicines. I hadn't actually been to see a doctor in two decades! (The expense of American healthcare...nvm.) So although not the worst kind of sudden heart attack, the experience has altered my life and outlook greatly. I'm still adjusting. Having my head in some fantasy realm hasn't been an easy option, heh. So I've not even pretended to write anything over the last few months. Success? Well at least I'm alive.

 

Sorry yo hear it fifth. You've much to contribute. Don't disappear.

i seem to be permanently stuck in my current sequel book. So finishing it would feel like success. But, doing college stiff. I cant see having time for any of it till im out.

 

That's a good start in my book...

 

I don’t feel successful when in the middle of things, but when I step back and take a look, I see the movement forward and the successes.

 

Ye olde book a month club writing guidance, heh heh. Not that I can’t chunk out 60k or more per month, but that’s certainly not the route I’m shooting for and I’ve always thought it the fast road to writing drivel, LOL. Rapid release does make sense, because when you work hard to get people to read book one, and so many people are apt to forget you exist by the time you release book two a year later... I get it, goodness knows, but book a month certainly sounds a great way to fry one’s brain. Good to hear you iced the burnt noodle and are ready to roll again.

 

They won't forget. Ask me how I know.

I was told this at the outset, too, and I was left scratching my head as to how I could turn out another book in 30 days when it had taken me three years to write the one I was about to release. I was told in 2016 that it was career suicide to hire Big 5 talent and stick to a Big 5 production schedule of a book every 2-3 years. As some of you know, I went on to hit my debut into the lights and the sequel, two years later, did well enough that now I'm moderating panels on business models for indie/small press fantasy authors and speaking at university writing programs. (I'm moderating a panel at an upcoming con entitled "30-Day Cliff, My Ass" about exactly this.)

A book a month works great if you're writing formulaic romance or PNR (which I guess is technically fantasy) and you've developed your own spin/niche, or if you're writing erotica with a specific kink. The problem is that, for a very long time, these were the only indie books that were making money, so it followed that this business model was the only profitable one.

There's also a whole other thing going on here where "fantasy" is often an indie euphemism for "porn." This is why you often see a proliferation of "BBW Navy SEAL Billionaire Reverse Harem Shifter Alpha Romance" novels in Kindle "Military Fantasy" and "Fantasy Thriller" genres. I'm not bagging on porn; whatever pays the bills. But it's not fantasy, and the models aren't analogous. (Also, when hanging out with other indie authors, be sure to delineate your brand of fantasy: "I write epic fantasy / high fantasy / etc." Telling other indies you write fantasy often doesn't mean what you think it means.)

For SF, epic/high fantasy, and even most YA, you're not going to get a fully-formed, fresh, well-researched idea out the door in 30 days. That's not how this works.

 

Readers don't forget, per se, but there is a theoretical advantage to having book one knock it out of the park, the second ready to roll at interval X, and then the third at interval Z whether those are at 3 months, 6 months, or a year without waiting 2-3 years. I don't think there is a Big-5 model that states 2-3 years, that's just how long it often took for mammoth epics to get written and released. Sanderson can kick out big assed novels in a year. I can kick out 250-300k in a year not even doing this full time (but this might be near max before I'd burn out, I'd need the breaks anyhow), there just isn't a reason for me to not put out a large novel every year until I branch into doing multiple series or pull a GRRM with HBO series, heh heh. The Lord of the Rings movies are something of a large scale example of this timeframe... Yes, it lowered production costs, but it also kept momentum high. Harry Potter followed this model well, even if I couldn't stand the wand waving dork. But, I doubt there's a publisher out there who doesn't want a faster release schedule, for multiple reasons.

And there is another blunt point to be made... many of those making money in the rapid fire marketing style aren't making money because they're great writers, the books are going to be formulaic and forgettable in a large % of cases, once you have readers in those high churn genres you don't want to give them a reason to jump ship.

Slow can work, no doubt, but there's no advantage to it.

I was never told the book a month thing, I just read it somewhere along the line and said "ppffft." But I'm lining up straight at the Epic Fantasy crowd, I'm not "niching down" to some market beyond that. I'm not following the find 2000 faithful readers and sell them a book every month model, but hell, if that works, it works, heh heh.

That said, there are writers writing pulp in genres where that crap works and works damned well... lawyer thrillers written by ex-lawyers comes to mind... high dialogue content, simplistic writing, and wham-bam-thank-you-reader and see you in three weeks with the next release can make stupid amounts of money (in theory) and God knows I've spoken to a couple romance writers who are doing just that.

 

For me, success has always meant money. I'm trying to change my thinking since becoming a full-time writer/mother, but it's difficult.

 

I always smile when I hear this. I was the same. I think every writer has some variant of this dream when they publish their first novel. The reality (as almost every writer who has done this knows) is very different.

Someone averaging about $40 a year might see it as success.

For me success is completing stories to the best of my ability and having people around the world reading them. People telling me how much they enjoy the stories helps me keep going.

Financial success is earning enough money to live without the need to do any other job. Ultimate (financial) success would be to earn enough money to go anywhere, do anything, at any time I want.