Did you ever see, read, or hear about something and immediately think I want that for myself?
It happened to me this week.
Writing fiction is, for me, a joy and a privilege. I feel very lucky to have the resources to pursue my passion, and the time to build a successful indie author business on my own terms. The key word here being successful š .
Joanna Penn, in her book Business for Authors (How to be an Author Entrepreneur), suggests that itās important to identify your personal definition of success, and to know how you will track and measure that success.
She offers some possible options:
- I want to create something Iām proud of
- I want to see my book on the shelves of a bookstore
- I want to reach readers with my words
- I want to sell x copies of my books
- I want to win a prize and win literary/critical acclaim
- I want to make a full-time living from my writing
- I want to create a body of work that Iām proud of over my lifetime
The most important definition for me is the last oneāto create a body of work that Iām proud of. I will feel I am on the way to achieving it when I have published my remaining Elan Intrigues prequel book andĀ the five-book fantasy series that succeeds it. I guesstimate that may take me another five years or so.
I have an ambitious writing/publishing plan, but I never set myself an ambitious financial goal. I treat what I do as a business, and over time I intend to make it profitable, but thatās always been about being able to afford quality professional services to make my books as good as they can be. Necessities, if Iām to create a body of work Iām proud of. Not luxuries.
Until last Wednesday, when I saw this post on Ilona Andrewsā blog.
The authors commissioned a family portrait of the Baylor sisters, the heroines of their bestselling Hidden Legacy series, and it is absolutely gorgeous. It captures the sisters and the tone of the books perfectly, and it includes lots of small details that make it extra special. I love it.
So now I have an extra benchmark of writerly success. I still want all the things I listed above, but I also want to make enough extra money from my writing to commission an artist whose work I really admire to create a portrait (portraits?) of my favorite characters. How cool would that be?
So how about you? Is there something youād really, really like, not because itās necessary or useful, but because it would feel amazing?