​Success: How Do You Define It?

by Christine Liu-Perkins

How you define success will impact how happy you are as a writer. It will influence what motivates you and where you focus your energies. What do you consider markers for your success?

My sense of success as a children's writer has changed over time. When I first started, I was thrilled just to play around with ideas and capture them in a draft. Then I moved to seeking publication. I celebrated milestones along the way: personalized rejection letters! requests for rewrites! publication in children's magazines! book contracts!

But I also thought more than once about quitting – was I beating my head against a wall? Was it worth the frustration and disappointment? Fellow critiquers were publishing, and although I was genuinely happy for my friends, I just wanted the same for me. I felt immense relief from the pressure to prove myself when my first book was accepted.

At this point, I'm happy concentrating on two things. One, I love doing research. (Confession: I chose to specialize in nonfiction when I realized that, whatever I was writing, I always looked for excuses to do research.) Two, I choose projects that hopefully will inspire readers to love learning and to understand others better.

Two perspectives I found helpful are:

• Agent Erin Murphy discussed markers often overlooked in "Success is Like a Snowflake" http://shrinkingvioletpromotions.blogspot.com/2011/02/literary-agent-erin-murphy-success-is.html
• Author Kelly Milner Halls said, ". . . the real measure of success are those readers and their ability to feel a little less alone because of something you’ve given them," in her interview at https://lauriethompson.com/2012/02/14/interview-author-kelly-milner-​ halls/ )

If you're ready to ponder how you define success as a writer, here are some articles that might help:

• Joanna Penn described seven common answers to the questions, "What Is Your Definition of Success? How Do You Measure It?" https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2014/03/01/definition-of-success/
• Jami Gold discussed six steps in "How do you define success?" https://jamigold.com/2017/10/how-do-you-define-success/
• Luke Reynolds talked about redefining success along your writing journey: https://cynthialeitichsmith.com/2012/06/guest-post-giveaway-luke-reynolds-on/

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