Success

How do you know when you’ve made it? How do you know when you have succeeded? What is your definition of success?

This can be with anything in your life: your marriage, your full-time job, your tennis game, whatever! But, of course, what I’m talking about right now is your author career.

What is your definition of being a successful author?

You might not think it, but not everyone has the goal when they decide to become a professional author. Yes, many do go into it thinking that they would like to earn a lot of money and become famous like Stephen King, George R. R. Martin, David Baldacci, or Nora Roberts. But there are some who go into this business for other reasons.

Grace Burrows famously says that her definition of success includes being happy while she’s writing. I have to say I’m with her on this one.

If writing (or, as Dorothy Parker would say, having written) makes you happy, does it matter if you earn a six-figure income from your books?

I can just hear some of you saying, “Yes, yes it does!” And that’s fine! That’s wonderful. Now, how are you going to do that? (Or if you are already doing it, can you maintain it? For how long must you do so to remain successful?)

Or, perhaps you don’t necessarily need the money to feel successful, but you want to hit the top of the…