K. asks
When do you know you’ve become a successful writer? When you have a lot of fans or money?
I think definition for every writer is different. Let’s take a poor doctor in Bosnia. He saves lives every day. He’s wildly successful, even if he makes no money and receives no recognition for his work. On the other hand, let’s take a plastic surgeon in California, whose turn-over is in the millions, who is welcome at society functions. Some would say he’s also wildly successful.
My personal definition of success is relatively simple. I love writing, and as long as I can continue doing it full time while providing a solid living for my family, I consider myself successful beyond my wildest dreams.
A lot of people seem to enjoy the books, and I’m very flattered that people like them. I’m glad I can steal our readers away from their problem for a few hours. But, and don’t take this the wrong way, all of the attention we get as authors isn’t a driving force for me. I don’t mind it, but I don’t thrive on the prestige. Some authors love it, some don’t and in a way I’m glad I’m a writer. We don’t really reach celebrity status. I could go to a con and sit in the audience and nobody would know who I was.
I love seeing positive reviews and critical acclaim and awards, but they don’t seem to factor into my success criteria either. I don’t want to be universally reviled. I want to be well reviewed. I think that’s perfectly natural. But in the end, reviews or no reviews, I write mostly for mnyself. My standards don;t change that much, no matter how many reviews I read.
Nope, for me, sadly, the deciding factor is sales.
I don’t want to say I grew up poor, but we always counted every dollar. My parents were academics, and their paychecks were very modest. I remember my mother sending me into the basement to gather glass bottles so we could turn them in and get a little bit of money – I think I was about eight or nine. We were never desperate, but we couldn’t afford to waste anything. Still, I was a pretty sheltered child and in Russia it’s completely normal for parents to help children and support them way past the point of 18 years old. I never expected to fend for myself.
When I came to US and graduated from high school, I really didn’t have any financial support, and Gordon didn’t have much either. Lo and behold, I had to fend for myself and I made a bit of a mess of it. We both worked and we still ended up up to our ears in debt. I remember a period of time, right around when my mother in law’s cancer returned, when creditors called every day. Bill collectors can get pretty nasty. I’m still proud of the fact that we back then we never had our water or electricity shut off. We always found the money.
I still get flashes of it once in a while. I’ll stand at a check out line and have sudden irrational fear that we are not going to have enough money in the account. The breaking point was having a huge fight over a fifty dollar bonus check on of us got and we both misplaced.
This may sound materialistic, but to me success means selling enough books that I never again have to fight over a $50 check. It’s pedestrian and prosaic, call it what you want, but to me it means I can continue doing what I love doing. I wake up in the morning, and I think, “I am going to get up, drink coffee, send the girls to school, work out, and then Gordon will get home and we get to work. I can’t wait.”
I don’t know. That sounds like a healthy measure to me, not materialistic. I’m glad you guys are able to do what you enjoy, and your fans (me) are lucky to benefit from your success.
Ilona, although some people might call you materialistic, those of us that live in the REAL world understand that completely. We all, after all, have to eat, keep power and water on in our houses, and support our children. None of us that live in the REAL world are independently wealthy. Your readers want you and Gordon to be able to continue to write and support yourselves while doing so. I, for one, think that the quality of the writing would suffer if one, or both of you had to work at a full time job outside of writing. So, who cares what those others think?! I say keep on doing what you are doing exactly how you are doing it now, and exactly for the same reasons.
I think you have a healthy attitude towards it all.
The ultimate job is making money doing what you love.
While it would be nice to be altruistic and have only the happiness of your fans matter.; last time I checked the bill companies didn’t consider good reviews a form of currency.
And having been there, wondering how to make $40 stretch to feed a family for a week,I personally like money.
Makes sense to me. Do what you love, as long as you can support your family modestly on it.
Just chiming in to second what all the commenters before me have said. Keep up the good work, so we can buy more books, so you have more money for your family.
I like money way more than you seem too, lol! Don’t have any as, I’m in school, and soon to be in debt because scholarships only cover so much and I feel bad getting any more help from my parents, as they are in a crossroads pretty soon…makes me remember how fortunate I am, thank you~
May you have much more success, in all forms!
I love your attitude towards money and your career, sounds healthy to me!
It seems to me that the people who disparage money as an indicator of success are usually the ones who have always had money. When you grow up taking showers in the school locker rooms because you can’t make the watered down shampoo stretch any further and washing your clothes in the bathtub because you don’t have four quarters for the laundromat, well, financial stability becomes a much higher priority, and achieving it becomes a much greater success.
I second that! As my mom always said, money may not buy happiness, but at least while you’re unhappy you can be well-fed and comfortable! Being able to make a living at something you love is awesome. (And pays off well for us fans, too.)
And I don’t see wanting to be able to feed and clothe your family (and even have a few little extras, like shockingliny expensive dolls) as materialistic.
I’d class wanting matching his and hers diamond ‘grills’ as materialistic
What you describe in the last paragraph sounds nice, and I think most people with families have a similar aspiration.
I’d say doing what you love is its own success – that you can support a family comfortably is bonus. Wishing you the best of luck in your move.
I don’t think there is anything materialistic about considering yourself successful based on the fact that you can live on doing something you love. Most people have jobs that allows them to live comfortably, but honestly hate their jobs. On a personal level, that probably doesn’t make them feel successful. True, success is a relative term, and what “living comfortably” means is also very relative. Be that as it may, I think your post indicates the reality of most creative jobs (writers, artists, etc.). In order to keep doing what you love, you must find the time, drive and yes, finances. I’m so incredibly happy for your family that you and Gordon get to do what you love and can live on the income it provides. It probably also is a great example for your children. It also benefits us readers greatly, since if you didn’t get paid doing what you do, we probably won’t get to read what you write.
So I hope they keep paying you (and paying you well!), you keep writing, and we get to keep reading your books!
sounds reasonable to me. That’s why I work. I’m grateful for my job which pays bills and lets me buy books!
It’s not at all materialistic. It’s realistic. You’re a mom, you have responsibilities-I’m the same way.
I base my ‘success’ the same way. My writing is ‘my’ job and I measure ‘my’ success on whether or not it’s allowing me to provide for my family. If and when the time comes that it doesn’t allow me to do that? Then I’m not succeeding and it’s time to re-evaluate.
The people who think that writing should be it’s own reward-that’s a lovely, utopian thought but we don’t live in Utopia. Perhaps these people don’t have others depending on them-who count on them to put food on the table, a roof over their heads, clothes on their backs, provide medical insurance, etc, etc, etc. Life is expensive and when you’ve got little ones? It’s even more so. Writing isn’t it’s own reward when that’s the case. I’m successful as long as I’m able to provide for my kids with my writing-that’s me, and it’s not about materialism at all. It’s about reality.
I think what you say about it being defined by each writer is very true. My writing is not intended to ever be a career but rather just me having to write these ideas that I have. I guess at the moment successful would be to actually finish anything, and then to have something published and have one person read it
But as for other success your definition is pretty much the same as mine. I believe that if I earn enough so I don’t have to stress about whether I have enough money to buy groceries or pay my rent or other utility bills then I consider myself successful. Just because its about money doesn’t make it materialistic.