Success can be defined in many ways. When I began on the path of becoming a published author two decades ago I thought there was really only one option, to get published by a traditional publisher, sell a few hundred thousand books and be a success!

I had this vague and antiquated idea of where I wanted to steer my writing career. All I knew is I wanted to be signed by one of the big New York publishing houses and become the next great American writer. I didn’t have a clue as to how I was going to do it or the extremely difficult road that lay ahead.

“Who wants to become a writer? And why? Because it’s the answer to everything. … It’s the streaming reason for living. To note, to pin down, to build up, to create, to be astonished at nothing, to cherish the oddities, to let nothing go down the drain, to make something, to make a great flower out of life, even if it’s a cactus.” —Enid Bagnold

I look back at my younger self and have to laugh at how naive and loosely defined my vision of success was but this is all part of life’s journey. Each mistake, every bad decision you make only counts as a failure if you don’t learn from it and change your approach the next time. Now I realize that one of the main reasons it took me so long to effectively launch my writing career because I simply failed to effectively define my vision of success in the beginning.

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” - Tony Robbins

Success for me now means being able to write for a living and most importantly having the freedom to live every day of the rest of my life on my own terms. Becoming ridiculously wealthy no longer figures into the equation for me. I’ve discovered what makes me truly happy is the process of writing itself and the freedom. Besides, you will learn as I have, if you wholeheartedly pursue your passion the money will eventually follow.

Today with the multitude of high quality options for self-publishing paired with the miracle of social media, success is within reach for many more authors. Still, I feel the biggest mistake that most creative people make is to take the time necessary to define what success means to them.

Ask yourself, would you like to be on the New York Times bestseller list, write as a hobby for extra income, or something in between? In the very beginning of your journey, or wherever you are on your path, take the time to decide what success means to you. Write this down and put it in a place where you’ll see it every day, hold this definition of success in your mind with a clear vision. You can’t arrive anywhere in life without first knowing where you would like your destination to be. This doesn’t mean your definition of success can’t evolve at some point later in your journey, it most definitely will.

How do you know you’re getting closer to achieving your vision of success? You know you’re getting close when your reality begins to resemble your defined vision of success and, believe me, you will instinctively feel it. Each time you achieve a goal or reach a new plateau in your writing career the nagging voice of insecurity begins to get more hushed until it eventually disappears altogether.

For me, I knew I was a came after I self-published my first novel. The process of writing that first novel was an emotional rollercoaster and many times I was filled with fear and self-doubt. I had no idea what I was doing and wanted to quit more than once. I was working an extremely demanding job during the day and finding the time and energy to write wasn’t easy but after almost a year I had a finished draft and it was one of the most satisfying days of my life. During this eleven months I discovered a secret, every time I pushed past fear and self-doubt it was as though the universe opened another door for me and whatever answer I needed somehow magically appeared.

Finishing the manuscript was only the beginning. Feeling the incredible rush of positive reader reviews was the icing on the cake. Throughout the book launch and first year after the release of my novel I’ve discovered that my readers are my boss, I work for them and earning their respect is the most important thing to focus on. With my novel I found my niche audience and it was them who helped to extinguish all remaining doubt that I was a real author. This entire experience was so gratifying and humbling, my readers will always mean the world to me.

Wherever you are on your journey, the best thing you can do for your writing career right now is to pause and reflect upon what your own unique vision of success is. Hold this vision in your mind until it’s so real you can smell, feel and taste it and then work backwards from there.

Happy Writing!

Did you miss the last post in my Indie Author Series? If so click here to read it.

(Gif sourced from Giphy.com)

*I am an American novelist, poet, traveler, and crypto-enthusiast. If you’ve enjoyed my work please sign up for my author newsletter at my website. Newsletter subscribers will receive exclusive updates and special offers and your information will never be sold or shared.