Here’s a little anecdote: Last week, I overheard one of my students telling her friend that I (their teacher) was not a real author because I didn’t have a book published. I just liked writing. 

I knew she was just stating a fact, but man did it hurt! After all the years of grappling with my self-doubt before getting to where I am today, it felt like ten years ago Julia was ready to make a comeback. 

However, as I reflected upon why this hit me so hard, I realized that the expectations for success are already being passed down to our children. This student believed that a writer isn’t “successful” unless they’ve published a book.

If you search the internet, you’ll find numerous articles on how to gain success as a writer as if there’s a cookie-cutter formula that we can follow, and bam! we’re at the top of every booklist with acclaim worldwide.

This singular focus on the materialistic vision of ideal success is detrimental to so many creatives. It forces us into a box and the fear of failure can paralyze us from forging our own pathway toward our dreams.

Today, I’d like to deconstruct the meaning of success for writers. And, with this blog post, I want to give you the space to reflect upon what success means to you.

In the end, I’ll leave you with a self-reflection worksheet to help you redefine success in your season of life.

Take a moment to jot down a list of characteristics that you think make up a successful author.

• On a bestseller list
• Published under a well-known publishing company
• Achieving renowned literary awards
• Writing is your sole financial income

These characteristics are just some of the traditional views of success that society has labelled as the definition of a “real writer.”

Many are choosing to self-publish their works. Others are writing flash fiction on social media. Writers are now their own publishers and PR crews. 

And, with this expanded playground for writers to live in, that traditional view of success is beginning to shift.

Success varies from one writer to another. We must reflect upon our personal understanding of self-fulfillment. You may find that you still want your work to become public under the guidance of a publishing company. And, that’s okay!

It’s also okay to forge your own path to success. Not all of us need to roar our literary prowess at the world.

If we are looking at success from the viewpoint of self-fulfilment, you may be considering…

• Personal pride in the creation of your literary work
• The impact your work has on readers
• Achieving your writing goals (ex. Writing a book vs. publishing)

Take a moment to consider success again. Do some free-flow writing. 

Ask yourself: As a writer, what is the one thing that will make me feel fulfilled? 

Use the prompts below to help you uncover your definition of success.

Reflect upon what parts of your writing journey are the most engaging for you. Consider when you feel the most satisfied or complete. Is it the writing process itself or witnessing your developing skills? Is it hearing from readers who’ve connected with your story? What fuels you to keep writing?

Use what you’ve learned from the above question to determine one large goal that you want to achieve. Then, break that goal down into smaller milestones. What individual tasks need to be completed to achieve that goal? Clarifying your goals ensures that you easily have a path toward achieving your writing dreams.

Recognizing and affirming your accomplishment of the above tasks allows you to develop a widened mindset for success. It’s difficult to maintain motivation when the finish line is so far away. Breaking down your tasks allows you to celebrate small wins frequently, keeping up the momentum.

Seek out those who are excited about your successes- friends, family members, readers, or other writers. Building a group of cheerleaders and mentors in your corner encourages you to remain confident in your ability to achieve your goals. They will see your success in where you are now, not just in your future achievements.

Look at the writer’s journey from the micro-level for a moment. Consider where you feel the most joyful, peaceful, or expansive when writing. Allow yourself to put into words why you truly love the craft of writing. Not everyone writes for pleasure- what a success that is on its own!

The 5 steps that I’ve given you for redefining your success, hinge on self-fulfilment. That self-fulfillment is what will lead you to true success– the kind that feels worthwhile to you.

Once you’ve defined success for yourself, you can take steps toward accomplishing those goals.

Developing sustainable methods to measure your success will allow you to recognize and celebrate your achievements.

Represented by a ranking or numeric value, it’s often easily recognizable when you’ve accomplished your goals if you’re using a quantitative measure of success.

For writers, this may include:

• Number of books sold
• Writing word counts
• Ranking on a bestsellers list

Qualitative measures of success are descriptive and observable with a focus on how they impact you.

You might decide to measure:

• Positive reader reviews
• Recognition of your writing skills development
• Sense of satisfaction in goal completion

Now that you’ve discovered what success means to you, figure out how you want to measure it. 

Remember, if you start by tracking your small wins- the mini goals that set you up to accomplish your big dreams- you’ll be training your brain to recognize your achievements, thus motivating yourself to keep on going.

What does success as a writer look like for you? Share in the comments below!

Download the reflection worksheet to help you redefine success and begin to feel confident in your accomplishments!

Talk soon!

Julia