Success!

I think society places too much emphasis on failure, instead of each step of our success. For me, just sitting down and writing the book, saying I can do it, and then doing it, is the first step of being successful.
Success should be taken in baby steps.
1. Writing the book. If you told yourself you were going to write a book and you do it,
Pat yourself on the back.
You've just taken your first step and you were Successful.
2. Family and friends read you book and say, "WOW, you wrote this? This is awesome!
Be prepared, not everyone will like what you wrote. But don't forget to give yourself a pat on the back!
3. You get published or you publish it yourself. Either way it's out there now.
That's one of your baby steps, right? Give yourself Another pat on the back.
4. Your first copy sells! Awesome!
Boy my back is getting sore from all these pats,
 Oh wait, personally, I am still at step one, but to me, I am successful, so far anyways.

5.You will find naysayers along your way to success.
They are the ones who ask,
Are you making any money at this?
Is it worth your time?
Have you sold a million copies yet?
Are you rich and famous?

Success is what you want from what you do.
If you are writing that book to make a million dollars, or sell a million copies,
 then I have to say you are setting yourself up for failure.

Let's go back to step 2. Be prepared, not everyone will like what you wrote.
We all have our own tastes in life, whether it's what we read, eat, or watch on TV.
Not everyone will love Chinese, Italian, or even Indian food, nor does everyone read romance, paranormal, history or whatever genre that's out there.

I think the success comes from people liking what you create and coming back and asking for more.
Picture a very successful pizza joint in NY. Let's say they get Rave reviews and people are telling you,
"You have got to try their pizza! It's the best.
Yeah well maybe it's also expensive or you don't like pizza.
 (What! You don't like pizza? What is wrong with you?)
And there you have it. Not everyone is going to eat there, but their success doesn't rely on everyone.

Bottom line, "You can't please everyone."

I think that as a writer our success is sharing something that we enjoy. We want people to read what we write, we want to share our emotions, our thoughts and feelings. Give them a little glimpse into our heads, or share with them the beauty we see through our eyes.

So I'll leave you with this thought;
Take your baby steps, pat yourself on the back, and know that whatever you do, you are successful.

Happy Hump day everyone!

Oh and here is the link to read about Heather's success into self publishing.
Thanks Heather for sharing, because you helped me write my blog today and gave me inspiration  to succeed at whatever I do. So give yourself a pat on the back!

http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2011/11/notes-from-a-self-publishing-success-story/

Had to share another link! http://www.genreality.net/stephen-king-fear-is-at-the-root-of-all-bad-writing/comment-page-1#comment-12407