The Cost of Success
Success is a strange word. It is used to describe people who have succeeded at a given task, but what does it really mean? How do we know when we have succeeded?
The Oxford (online) English Dictionary gives the following definition for Success.
1 the accomplishment of an aim or purpose:the president had some success in restoring confidence
the attainment of fame, wealth, or social status:the success of his play
[count noun] a person or thing that achieves desired aims or attains fame, wealth, etc.:to judge from league tables, the school is a successI must make a success of my business
2 archaic the good or bad outcome of an undertaking:the good or ill success of their maritime enterprises
but what does this really mean. How can we measure success? Is it possible to quantify this achievement that we all crave. Can you be a small success or a great success? Sure these words are used, but are the people using them not merely comparing the subjects 'success' to their own interpretation of the word?
I don't believe that it is possible to be a partial success, you either succeed or you fail. This of course is dependent on your own valuation of the word. That is where success is measured, not in the dictionary definition, but in the numerical translation of it.
Success in itself is not a singular event but a number of continuing success that simply build like a snowball rolling down a mountain. You could easily say success is always achieved, and that we never fail. It simply isn't possible. All failure means is a temporary halt in your chain of success. A plateau which just means a new approach or a strong shove in the same direction is needed to get that ball rolling once more.
The first success is as simple as a word. Writing that first word and that opening sentence are the first two successes. You state your intentions with the first, and set the tone with the second. Then completing the novel, the first draft is another success. So it grows until finally we succeed at writing (including editing and all other parts of the writing process) a novel. By my own reckoning, that makes me a success in its own right.
But let's face it, success in the modern world doesn't begin until after this stage. Success is about sales, and about money. Whether we admit to it or not, money drives us all, not in a greedy I want to be mega rich way, but simply putting a roof over my families head way.
What is the magic number that we should set ourselves to call our novel a success? Do we judge it by sales along? Reviews, its position on the Amazon best sellers ranking lists?
Personally I think that the magic point is that breakeven figure. I know that if I sell 100 copies then I will have broken even on what it cost me to make, after that everything is a profit, which ultimately in my eyes means I have succeeded. Sure I would like to be able to retire from my mundane office existence, to live writing everyday and be able to say I can support myself, and one day I will, but that has no real measure on how I define myself.
It is important as a writer to have these personal goals and success milestone, because the world will judge us in the hard and unforgiving way it always does, and if we ever stop to listen, we will always hear failure, because you can never give the world enough. It will always demand more from you.
Don't get me wrong, demand can be a good and very motivating factor, just so long as you have these personal markers to guide you. To keep you grounded and to keep you aware that you are a success. With each day we simply add to an every increasing list of achievements.
