Philosophy Friday

GOOD VIEW














GOOD NEWS

My jeans are baggy!!

AFTERNOON DELIGHT has made the Bookscan Top 100 Romance bestsellers list for the past two weeks!

I've been invited to Harlequin's autographing booth at the Book Expo of America

My creative partner's book is going to be a launch title for the new Romance line


GOOD ADVICE
If you plan to/ dream of having a career as an author, there are several measurments of success going in: finalling in a writing contest, getting a request for a partial, and then a full manuscript and, the greatest milestone of all, getting the call that you sold. Once you sell, the milestones obviously change and become harder to attain: making a second sale, getting a multi-book contract, getting good reviews from certain publications, being nominated for industry awards, making a bestseller list, making a bigger bestseller list etc.

Having one of my books included on a bestseller list has been a goal ever since my first book was released. I wanted to see the proof that people liked me, that I was popular and that my writing was good [so there all of you people who never supported my dream!] In my mind, making a bestseller list- any list- would give me validation as a writer; it would make me special...

Don't get me wrong- I'm thrilled that DELIGHT is a bestseller.
But... it doesn't mean as much as I thought it would.

You see, making the list was completely out of my control. The only thing I did to possibly make it happen was to write a damned good story. That's all I can do with the next book, too, and not get caught up in being a bestseller a second time. Making the list doesn't make me 'more' in any way. If my next book is not a bestseller, that _will not_ make me 'less' in any way.

Oprah Winfrey says, "All of us need a vision for our lives and even as we work to achieve the vision, we must surrender it to the power that is greater than we know. It's one of the defining principles of my life that I love to share: God can dream a bigger dream for you than you could ever dream for yourself. Success comes when you surrender to that dream—and let it lead you to the next best place. What I know for sure is that if you want to have success, you can't make success your goal... The key is not to worry about being successful, but to instead work toward being significant—and the success will naturally follow."

How I measure success, how I define it for myself, what milestone I decide makes my 'arrival' is something I'm still working on. But everytime I feel like I haven't made it yet, I'll remind myself of all the things I've already accomplished and try to remember I'm already significant.