Defining success

Okay. It's still a brand spanking new year, so it's still time for some new year's resolutions, right?

I must admit, though, that for a long time now I've been out of the habit of setting those. Not that I have anything against them, it's just that I figure I usually have some idea of what I'd like to accomplish in a new year so there's no real need to write it all down. It's kind of like my (sloppy) approach in writing: Before I sit down at the computer and start sweating out the details for a new story, my mind has already painted broad sketches of how the story is going to unfold. I work better, I think, from that mental scratch pad than from a paper outline or plot chart.

Then just last week I was invited to join two other authors and share our thoughts on---gulp---how we define writing success and how we've been going about achieving ours. Hmm, this sounded to me like I would have to go back and tally up my past year's results and then set goals/resolutions for this new year. The thought made me cringe. I'm still very much a novice at this writing/publishing business, and whatever lists I might come up with would surely not be very extensive. But then I remembered how helpful and comforting it had been for me to learn about other new writers' experiences: their various struggles and lessons learned, and what motivated and sustained them in their journeys. In the end, I decided to accept the invitation and throw in my two cents. Hopefully, what little I had to share could be of some use to someone just starting out; if not, there would be plenty of food for thought from my fellow panelists, who are amazing authors with inspiring stories to tell.

So click on this link: http://bit.ly/15bXsGa to read how each of us defines success for her- or himself and about the different paths we have taken in trying to achieve our goals. I hope you enjoy it. Happy writing, and best wishes with your publishing endeavors.

Check out my Amazon book page at:
http://amzn.to/1ydeuP7


C.L. Hoang