What do you view as success?

[idontknowyet]

The title says it all.

[Lex]

For me? It's being able to pay the bills.


For someone else? I think that's up to them to decide.

[RCoots]

I'll count launching my first book a success if I get five buys in a month and ANY reviews in six months.

And yet here I am, frozen and freaking out about how to launch with higher results. ;)

[Becca Mills]

Writing books I'm proud of and that at least a few people love = success to me. I know it sounds saccharine, but it's truly a source of pleasure for me, and having it happen feels like a gift, compared to the kind of writing I used to spend my time on -- esoteric and little read.

Buuuut ... in more worldly terms, earning between $30K and $50K/year steadily would be awesome, as it'd mean I didn't have to go back to teaching. Don't think I'm getting there anytime soon, but a gal can dream.

[Shoe]

$25,000 net yearly, year-in, year-out.


That's my "opinion" (you asked for opinions), but it's based on the median net of successful mid-list authors as determined by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors of America website. I don't write SF but its numbers align fairly well with metrics from other sources.


I think a full-time author who reaches that milestone within two years is a success.

[angela]

Once you've reached your "worth it" level of income, success to me is being a little bit excited sometimes about your work. Failure is when it feels like a hard grind every day.

[Cathleen]

Becca, you already said it for me as well.

[Max]

It's a constantly evolving definition/view. Once I reach it, I raise the bar.

[Simon Haynes]

1 copy sold, per day, for each of my novels, and a writing schedule which lets me publish eight-ten new titles per year.

Nice steady growth will do me just fine.

[Anarchist]

Buuuut ... in more worldly terms, earning between $30K and $50K/year steadily would be awesome, as it'd mean I didn't have to go back to teaching.

FWIW, given your posts (here and at KB), I'd have benefited from having a teacher like you.

[Post-Doctorate D]

I don't know anymore but I think there are cookies and several acres of backyard.

[EB]

Getting up at 6am
Sitting at my desk in my underwear
making stuff up
coffee until noon
gym at 2
dinner at 530
family time until bedtime
rinse and repeat every day

That is my idea of success....my little slice of heaven. Grateful every day to live the dream. 

[LD]

When all the goals are met.

[guest120]

Able to live comfortably, where I want and how I want, without requiring another job.

[Vijaya]

Getting up at 6am
Sitting at my desk in my underwear
making stuff up
coffee until noon
gym at 2
dinner at 530
family time until bedtime
rinse and repeat every day

That is my idea of success....my little slice of heaven. Grateful every day to live the dream. 

This is really sweet! I feel the same way, except I get up at 7 and steal time at night to write. I love hearing back from my readers--it's soooo validating. And I also like it when the checks roll in.

[Becca Mills]

Buuuut ... in more worldly terms, earning between $30K and $50K/year steadily would be awesome, as it'd mean I didn't have to go back to teaching.

FWIW, given your posts (here and at KB), I'd have benefited from having a teacher like you.

Aww, thank you!   You're a sweetheart, Anarchist.

[Maggie Ann]

When I used to write at McD's or any other public place, there would almost always be someone to ask me what I was doing. Writing a book, I'd say. The response was invariably along the lines of, "Oh, I've always wanted to write a book." Then I'd tell them, "So, do it. What's stopping you?" "I have kids, I work, and I'm just so busy." Then you really don't want to write a book.

So to me, success is writing that book (and over 40 more) and not moaning about it.

I really don't think so much about financially because I'm retired and have enough to live on comfortably. Good thing, because I stopped publishing and income went way down. Back in the game, though. 

[katc]

I agree with Becca.

Having people enjoy what I write and earn a steady living is a wonderful dream/goal. 

[guest642]

The title says it all.

Originally, it was just writing a book that people were willing to pay to read. Even one person would make me go, "Wow, someone wants to pay money to read my book!"


Now it's more like, writing a book that a LOT of people want to pay to read. After doing this for a while, I've gotten enough success that I know what "success" looks like, and anything less is a bummer.


Like a lot of indies, I used to cringe at the idea of giving away my books for free. I even hated to do the odd free days at Amazon to promote a launch.


Now, I've giving the first books in my series away for free.


I've gone from "I bleed for my art and I will never sacrifice it!" to "Kill your babies if you have to."


I still try to sneak the odd "art" in there, but it's harder now. But hey, it sure as hell beats digging ditches!

[DrewMcGunn]

I'm finding that what I view as success grows with me.

A year ago, success was hitting publish on KDP for the first time.
Now, I'll consider myself successful when I finish the series sometime next year.
I'll add to that success as I add new tools to my tool belt that makes me a better writer, publisher and marketer.

I'm okay with the concept of my success evolving with me. Two years from now, I wouldn't want to be stuck at the same place I was when I first hit the publish button. I want my craft to develop, my stories to evoke responses from readers and royalties to fill up my bank account.

And I wouldn't mind a banana riding Llama...

[LSMay]

For me, it was sell a book. Then sell 10 books. Then make $100. Then have a book earn out it's initial investment. Right now, the goal is to earn more money than I've put in total across all books. The ultimate goal would be being able to sustain being a full time writer, but that's a long way off...

[Lex]

Getting up at 6am
Sitting at my desk in my underwear
making stuff up
coffee until noon
gym at 2
dinner at 530
family time until bedtime
rinse and repeat every day

That is my idea of success....my little slice of heaven. Grateful every day to live the dream. 

Well said!

[munboy]

Repeat readers.
In terms of sales, I'm not quite up to what I'd call success (still have a day job to pay the bills), but I feel pretty successful when I meet readers at events who picked up one of my books and loved it, so they buy more. That's success to me.

[Post-Doctorate D]

And I wouldn't mind a banana riding Llama...

The Llama Propaganda Brigade is getting out of hand.  It's a banana riding a bunchie.   

[A. N. Onymous]

The goalposts are always moving in that regard. At first, I was so glad to finally write more than a short story. That I actually managed to sit down and write a 90k novel was the best feeling ever. I never thought I would manage it. Then I wrote a series of non-fiction books about my woodcarving experiences and they started selling after getting a five star review. That was very satisfying. For my second novel, 100k words, I thought I had a good story, but I started learning about covers and blurbs etc.. on the 'other' forum. I had to start spending more to get those things right, which set me back further.
I have not made back any of the outlay on my books to date. I guess, for me, my success will come if I manage that. Then I will go to my next goal.
I own a business which allows me to sit in an office for extended periods where I can utilise that time to write. Always a pain when the phone rings in the middle of something good, but... I have to remember to pat myself on the back every now and then for having published at all. At fifty-seven years of age, I need to get moving if I want to make a real go of it.

[Ghost5]

Success as a writer would be abiding by a very structured routine (like the old job) where I write every week day for a predetermined set of hours. It means finishing projects and publishing them. It also means studying craft and storytelling, making sure I'm constantly improving so I am proud of the catalog I produce. Keep moving, keep writing, keep publishing until I die, hopefully.

Success as an entrepreneur means making a profit and earning enough to offset the opportunity cost of quitting my job in healthcare. It means estabiishing metrics and ruthlessly analyzing and tracking changes so I know which measures have the greatest impact. Success as an entrepreneur cannot, however, come by sacrificing what will satisfy me as a writer. That cost would be too high. And I'd always be left wondering if I could have done it "my way" (cue the music) and just given it more time.

Success also means working at home, in jeans, with coffee and a budding empire of rubber-soled shoes. Oh, and my two favorite cats co-workers.

 

[Eric Thomson]

What do I view as success?  My current full-time writer lifestyle.  I have everything I could wish for and have mercifully shed the things I hated, such as a full-time corporate job.    Even if I die tomorrow, I'll do so knowing I've reached my goals.

[Mark Gardner]

And I wouldn't mind a banana riding Llama...

The Llama Propaganda Brigade is getting out of hand.  It's a banana riding a bunchie.   

Llama!

[Pepper]

Paying off the mortgage. Being 100% debt free.

[Max]

What do I view as success?  My current full-time writer lifestyle.  I have everything I could wish for and have mercifully shed the things I hated, such as a full-time corporate job.    Even if I die tomorrow, I'll do so knowing I've reached my goals.

Preach!

[WasAnn]

I have it and I can't think of much that would make me happier than I am now. Seriously. I'm living my dream come true here. Like Eric, I've shed everything that doesn't make me joyous and write full time (which does't not mean full time hours).

Life is freaking amazing!

I got my letters and all that jazz, and I sell well enough to support my Tom Edwards cover habit. Five figures makes me happy, because I don't have to pay bills with it.

I'm very unsure if being "big" would make me happy or sad, so I'm just going at the pace I want and leaving that as not a marker of success.

[dgcasey]

When I hear my daughter say, "Dad! When is the next one coming out?!"

[Jeff Tanyard]

A viable career as an author.  That's not much, I suppose, but it would be enough.   

[Kate Elizabeth]

When I can help my husband pay the bills...and buy Nutella any time I want.  The large jar.

[guest120]

The Llama Propaganda Brigade is getting out of hand.  It's a banana riding a bunchie.   

Maybe it's a llamunchie? Or a bunama? 

[Lorri Moulton]

Writing books no one else would probably ever write.  Either because I've mixed up so many genres or it's romance based on our family history...or both.

Love this new emoji!
 

[Captain Cranky]

Making a full-time income is definitely a big part of it for me, but so is making sure I'm constantly improving my writing skills. My creative fulfillment is probably more important to me than the money, because if I can't find some meaning in what I'm doing then I get bored and peter out. Success for me would be writing books I enjoy and seeing improvement with each one, and having others enjoy them enough it provides me with a liveable income.


Once I get to that point I'm sure the goal posts will move, I wouldn't be happy if they didn't 

[Post-Doctorate D]

Writing books no one else would probably ever write.

I do that now.

[Post-Doctorate D]

I think, perhaps, you have achieved success when 1) you've learned how to use commas, properly, 2) royalties from book sales are greater than the copyright registration fees, 3) something you wrote brought someone a little bit of joy or satisfaction and 4) you've got groupies.

[idontknowyet]

4) you've got groupies.

There is such a thing as book groupies? 

[Maggie Ann]

4) you've got groupies.

There is such a thing as book groupies? 

Oh, yes there is. My father and my aunt. Well, technically only my aunt. My father is gone but I'm sure I can dig up at least one relative to take his place. Wait, my cleaning lady's boyfriend's mother is a huge fan. So there. I still have groupies.

 

[Jeff Tanyard]

4) you've got groupies.

There is such a thing as book groupies? 

Yeah, I'd like to know more about these "groupies."  Do newsletter subscribers and followers on Bookbub count?

[CoraBuhlert]

4) you've got groupies.

There is such a thing as book groupies? 

Sure there are. I knew one at university, an aspiring writer who'd attach herself to visiting writers, editors of small press mags and anybody else she felt could further her literary career. Not sure how well her strategy worked out in the end - her career doesn't seem to be going all that great last I checked.

However, some time ago I saw one of those visiting writers, now a big name in literary fiction, interviewed on TV and couldn't help but think, "I know who you slept with fifteen years ago."

[dgcasey]

4) you've got groupies.

There is such a thing as book groupies? 

Didn't William Forrester say something along those lines?

"You can get women if you write a book?"
"You can get women if you write a bad book."