What is Success?

As I work towards finishing my first draft of a full novel, I’ve been thinking about what happens next, beyond the editing and revisions, the submissions and rejections. Will my creation ever see the light of day? If it does, will anyone enjoy it? Will I make any money off my time and hard work?

I’ll bet most future authors have similar concerns and worries.

And yet, as I sat down to write this morning, with all these thoughts tumbling around in my brain, I couldn’t help but be grateful for the wonderful benefits I’ve already encountered while still in the process of creating this piece.

My youngest son never enjoyed writing. He would complain with every school assignment that required more than a minimal written response. Ever since I began my writing journey a little more than a year ago, he has thrown himself into his school writing with enthusiasm and dedication. There is no more whining when he is working on a long narrative piece. Instead, he shares his ideas with me and then asks how many pages I have written on my piece.

At the beginning of my writing journey, I wrote in isolation. I started writing my novel piece while at home during the height of Covid stay at home orders. I didn’t have a writing community, as I was new to writing. Over the past seven months, I’ve connected with a wide group of writers and creators. I’m currently getting ready to spend a weekend writing with a few of these fabulous and supportive fellow moms-who-write. They are my people. Having a group of peers and cheerleaders in my corner has been the highlight of my writing days.

I’ve encountered an outlet for my busy mind that I never had before. Writing has given me both a sense of peace and a purpose. It has become both my hobby and identity, something beyond wife and mother.

So, while my worries will never go away, I can take solace in the way my life has already been enriched throughout this process. Even if my final work is a commercial failure, I’ve already won so much just traveling down this path.

Success doesn’t have to mean fame and fortune, it can be an enrichment in our daily life. I’ll try to keep this in mind as I move on to the next phase of my writing journey. I hope you do too.

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