Defining success

What is success?

For a writer, that is a difficult thing to define. I know that my personal definitions of success have changed over the years, and vary depending on what type of writing we are talking about.

I have a few goals.
I want to publish a novel, or more than one actually.
I'd like to write a non-fiction book.
I want to be published in Ellery Queen or Alfred Hitchcock's mystery magazines.

And there are others.

I was fortunate enough to spend a couple years making my living as a freelance writer. I will consider myself successful when I can return to that, but under a different set of criteria than before.

The important question is how do YOU define success?

I remember when I got my first reporting job, making a whopping $6/hour, I thought I was on top of the world.

Maybe it is just seeing your byline in print. Or perhaps you measure it by making a certain dollar amount or appearing in a particular publication. Heck, it can even just be "I'm going to write a little every day and not care if it ever gets published!"

What is important is that you set goals so you can measure your own success. It doesn't matter what anyone else on the planet thinks about those goals, they are YOUR goals.

In the end it's all about your happiness.

And if my earnings build me a nice house and help me live a lifestyle to which I could become accustomed, so much the better.