Success

While I have big dreams for my career as an author, my decision to publish my work (rather than just writing for myself) was driven by the belief that words and stories matter. They can impact our lives. They can teach us. They can heal us. They can open our eyes and hearts to fresh perspectives. Or, if nothing else, they can transport us to a world where our problems don’t exist for a while.

That is the power of stories.

So then: “How do you define success?”

I was recently asked this by an instructor in a writing class, and for me, the answer was easy. Since publishing my first novel, I have always told myself the following:

If even one reader is positively impacted by something I’ve written—whether emotionally moved, helped, or simply entertained—then it was a success.

I’m happy to report that I achieved such success soon after my first book was released, when love poured in for When Love Hurts from readers and bookstagrammers around the country and abroad. My absolute favorite “success” was a surprise Instagram message from a reader who had stayed up reading until 2 a.m. and wanted to let me know how much the book had meant to her. (Never hesitate to send such messages to your favorite authors. It’s pure gold to us!)

I received handfuls of messages like those—not thousands, or even hundreds—just handfuls. But by my definition of success, that was more than enough.

Fast forward two years later… I now have two published books and a third releasing later this year. In all honesty, it’s been increasingly difficult to ignore traditional measures of success, such as money (a.k.a. book sales) and status (i.e. When will I get famous?) But I’m doing my best to remind myself every day why I do this: Because I love writing, and stories matter.

With that in mind, I think I found a new type of success today that I’d like to share. Let me set the scene for you:

I’m currently editing my third novel, When Love Holidays, and have been for months. Today, I’m at my computer, rereading the middle of the book for perhaps the millionth time, when I get to the part where my main character, Noelle, is finally reading an online message that her love interest had sent her a week prior. As I’m reading the heartfelt message sent to “everyday_merry” from “average_joe” on my computer screen, my eyes water with tears, as if I’m learning for the first time that the man Noelle loves has been in love with her for as long as he can remember. I’m going to pause right there…

Please keep in mind that I WROTE THIS BOOK. I am also the person who wrote the message from “average_joe.” It is definitely not the first time I am reading this message, nor should anything in it be a surprise to me. AND YET, I found myself shocked by his revelation and CRYING over how bittersweet the message was, given the circumstances of the scene (don’t worry; no spoilers here.)

The fact that I could be SURPRISED into CRYING over something I HAD WRITTEN can only be explained in one of two ways:

1. I’ve been editing for so long that I’ve gone crazy, or…
2. I’ve created lovable characters with emotional stakes so believable that they feel real, and it’s impossible not care.

The answer could easily be number one, or a bit of both, but number two is what I’m considering a new brand of “success.” So, to recap:

Success = positively impacting at least one reader or making myself cry 😊

Wish me luck as I continue my endless revisions and drop any questions or comments below!

Until next time,

SJ