The Measure of Success

This past week on the SMFS board I asked the question, "Is anyone having much success selling their short story ebooks?" Not anthologies, but their own personal collections that they've put together and self-published via the electronic highway. All I wanted to know was if there was a readership for this type of publishing. Simple question, right? But no one answered.

One gentleman made mention that no one likes to discuss their success as they don't care to mention how much money they're making. Which made me wonder, is a healthy bank account the only way that people measure their success?

I've seen people do BSP posts when they're published online, but they're totally ignored. But let a writer mention that they're published in EQ or AHMM and everyone goes ballistic with their congrats. Which made me wonder, is the top-drawer market the second measure of success for a writer?

The Back Alley just published a new issue and every author bio included an award nomination or win. I've found the same type of bio attached to nearly every story in EQ and AHMM. And again I wonder, do writers only consider themselves a success if they've won an award?

I may be an antiquated fuddy-duddy, but I measure my success as a writer by the number of people who actually read my work. I have a story over at Sniplits and a total of 8 people have laid down their money to read that story. Yes, it's a good market, but if no one is reading, what's the point? A few bucks in my pocket and a chance at an Edgar award? Even the publisher isn't making any money with that story. Now, I have a story up over at A Twist of Noir that has been read by close to a hundred people - still not Stephen King or Michael Connelly numbers but hey, the story has an audience. For me that's success.

The point of writing a story is to have it read. And while the money isn't there, the online community is great at supporting writers. I've watched so many writers just keeping at it, getting published, being encouraged, and getting better and better. If someone drops off the grid for a while, it isn't long before someone is checking in to find out if they're okay, and asking how the writing is going and before long, they're back at it.

To me, that's the success story. People hanging together, supporting one another, and cheering every writer's success as if it were their own.

So let me toss this question out into the ether. How do you measure your success as a writer? Is it that publishing contract tucked safely in your pocket, the jingle of cash in your pocket, and an award on your mantel? Yes, those are the dreams that fill every writer's head, including mine, but if you never achieve that mountain top will you still consider yourself a success?