My Success

I read a great blog post recently about how to measure your success.  I hope you will give it a read >  http://www.writingwenches.com/ive-made-it/.  I then started thinking about my own success or lack of it. I wasn’t  sure what or even how I should be measuring.  I will share with you that my book is not a New York Times bestseller. I haven’t  sold millions of copies or even thousands—or even hundreds. If I give any credence to how much money I made last year, I should then assume I must put an end to my writing career posthaste!

Instead of focusing on what didn’t happen, I decided to feel good, no, feel great about what did.  First, and this is the most important to me, I wrote and published a novel!  I also wrote a textbook, which I tend to forget because my timing was really bad on when I published it, but that’s another day and another blog post, and still something I consider a success. In writing this novel, I learned so much about my mom that I didn’t know before or never gave much thought (or more likely, took for granted). I also learned a lot about my dad and other members of my family, some through simply the writing itself and some through research on ancestry.com. My second novel is about my mom’s parents and grandparents, and throughout writing this novel, I have learned with great pride that I come from a long line of very strong women.

My family and friends loved my first novel. I have had a handful of strangers read it and loved it as well.  I’ve had 20 wonderful reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Since I started writing, I have made friends from all over the world. I have had readers from all over the world. I have even had people tell me they enjoy the posts on my Facebook page, since I tend to write a lot about myself or how I hope to inspire others to write about their families, even if it’s something they keep only to themselves.  I’ve had many tell me they can’t wait for my second novel and the third.

Did you count the successes? I could go on and on, but I’m not going to bore you. The point is that success does not have to mean money or fame or a thousand 5-star reviews.  Don’t get me wrong. I have had failures, too, but I try to learn from them. If I can’t find something positive from it, then I accept the fact I goofed up and move on.  Obviously I still hope to increase my sales, and I wouldn’t turn down a movie option, but if those things don’t happen, that’s okay. I am so fortunate to be doing something I love.  If you have read all or most of my blog, you know I was forced out of my former career. It wasn’t  my choice, and at first I felt like I had failed.  I think that was just part of my grieving process. It was a job I dearly loved.  Now I spend my days writing, researching, facebooking, twittering, blogging, reading, reviewing, more writing. I’m loving every minute of it. If that’s not success, I don’t know what is. 

As always, enjoy your day. You can catch me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/pmseitz and my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/PattySeitzWriter?ref=hl which I hope you will check out and give my page a like.  I appreciate your support and thank you for hanging out with me.