Defining Success

Being a successful writer is my dream. But what is success?

I'm a daydreamer. And in my daydreams...well let's just say that in my head there are different levels of success.

Level 1: Being published

At this level of success, I have books on a shelf in a store. Look! That's me! Pretty sweet. I'm published, but I'm not a big seller. Writing is something I do for love after work.

Level 2: Professional Writer

I make a living writing books. To me this is akin to being a porn star or playing video games for a living. I can never wipe the grin off my face. When I go out in the backyard, forest animals come to greet me and we sing songs together. I can go live anywhere I want for months at a time. (I write best on vacation but that's for a different blog.)

Level 3: Rich and Famous

I'm a best selling author. I'm semi-famous (as in at conventions people recognize me, but I can still grocery shop without being bothered). Money is not a concern, which is nice. I don't love money, I just like not having to worry about money.

Level 4: Harry Potter Famous

I'm the male J.K. Rowling. In interviews people call me the "story teller of my generation", and the "American J.R.R. Tolkien". There are movies and video games and action figures. I have the sort of wealth that means being able to write for charity and take care of those around me.

With endless wealth and a rapidly swelling ego, I purchase on my own private island. I don't allow people to come to it by plane, because I'm so pursued my paparazzi that I've become a paranoid technophobe. The high cliffs and treacherous reefs mean that you must hang-glide in to visit me. I force my agent to do so to pick up my manuscripts.

I send out cryptic messages and hold writing tournaments, where young writers come to compete to the fictional death. In my twilight years, a young writer comes to the island to avenge a story I wrote about his mother. In our final story-battle, he writes that I'm his father just before he kills me off in a well crafted descriptive paragraph that ends with me flying into the volcano during our hang glider duel.

So yeah, there are definitely different levels of success. As of now, I'm at level zero, but I'm fairly optimistic.