Observations on the retreating horizon of Success

[rolanni]

So, a couple weeks ago, I read an article addressing the ever-fascinating topic of how to rise above the crowd of voices in SF/F, how to become  A Success, defined for the purposes of the article as an internationally recognized winner of awards and rich beyond your wildest dreams of avarice.

Followed a list of five-ish Things To Do, at least three of which we -- by which I mean Steve Miller and Sharon Lee -- had, so far as we know, invented.  At the very least, we were very early adopters.

I showed the article to Steve, and he nodded and said, "Yep, yeah; do all that."

"I know we do all that," I said.  "What I want to know is why we're not A Success."

And Steve lifted his index finger and pointed at the ceiling.

"Roof," he said.  "Over head."

Which, yanno, is fair enough, and a Good Reminder that Success is a moving target; it's always ahead of you, and -- pro tip! -- you will never catch it.

Back when I was a baby writer, I thought success was selling a short story and seeing it published in a professional magazine.  And, in 1980, I hit Success dead-center.  I sold and saw published "A Matter of Ceremony," to Amazing Stories.

Only. . .to really be A Success, I had to sell two more short stories to professional venues, so that I'd qualify for membership in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and be recognized as A Pro.

Well, I hit that Success, too, and then, it turned out that, to be a Solid Success and a Real Pro, one needed -- absolutely needed -- to write and sell a novel. Anyone can write short stories, after all.

. . .And we did that.  Then, we wrote and sold more novels, because anybody can write one novel, and to be A Success one needed a Body of Work.

And, then of course, to be A Real Success, instead of a tawdry wannabe success, one had to win awards!

. . .and. . .one had to teach!

. . .and. . .be important in the media!

. . .and. . .be Guests of Honor at science fiction conventions!  No, wait -- at WorldCon!

. . .and. . .there's Success, always ahead, dancing and laughing, and taunting.

So, the point of this -- I really do have a point -- is that Success -- by which I mean Third-Party Success, envisioned by Someone Out There, and built according to their rules -- is a mug's game.  Worse, trying to catch Success opens you to the corrosive effects of envy, and self-dissatisfaction, which will leach happiness from your life, and joy from your relationships.

You're better off -- oh, so very much better off -- setting your own goals, and celebrating each one that you achieve, without reference to what Other People are achieving, or what you "ought" to be achieving in order to be a "Real Success."

This world is full of ways to make you unhappy and desperate (Once upon a time, an acquaintance said to me at a party, "So, I hear you have a new book out!"  "Yes," I said excitedly.  "Have you read it?"  "No offense," he answered, sipping his wine, "but I don't have time to read good books.").  Your job is to visualize your own happiness and success -- and work toward those goals, joyously.

It's not easy -- nothing in this life is easy -- but it's worth the effort, in ways that chasing Success will never be.

. . .and now?

I need to clean the cat fountain -- I keep cats because I enjoy the company of cats, and they make my life better, and they really prefer to have running water -- and then I need to get to work.

See you on the flipside.

Comments

[hairmonger]

Given that I'm in the process of switching roofs, if the bank actually approves, I second Steve. (I do not make my living by writing but animal care is just as ill-paid.)

Mary Anne in Kentucky

[malkingrey]

When I was but a wee baby wannabe writer (as in, somewhere around 7th grade), my pipe-dream definition of success was having my bio appear in an "about the author" note.

Which, in due course, though a number of years later, it did. And I was -- and remain -- pleased, because honestly, to how many of us is it actually given to see one of our adolescent pipe-dreams achieved?

Success

[crussel]

Excellent, and I second Steve's comment! I remember the thrill of the first contract, the first actual proof copy in my hands, and most especially, the first royalty cheque. But how do I define success? Probably most of all by the people who come up to me, unsolicited, at conferences and tell me how a chapter or section solved a problem for them, or helped them to understand a concept. But just as much by the sense of satisfaction that, yes, that was a good chapter. And yes, there's a roof over my head, and food on the table.

[jhetley]

I have come to count "success" as getting out of bed in the morning.

[mirlacca]

For me, Success means 1) being able to pay the bills 2) without anyone actively gunning for me.

IOW, Retirement is nice.

[gl48heaton]

PAID for roof over my head,
Surviving 3 go rounds with cancer,

LOVE OF A PATIENT WOMAN.

If I were any more successful, I don't know what it would be.

(Oh, and retirement IS nice)

[kk1raven]

I'd say that the fact that your books take up a large portion of one of my long book shelves indicates that you're a successful writer.

My personal definition of success is a combination of being able to pay my bills with enough left over for some fun, contributing to making the world a better place, and feeling satisfied with my life.

[mbarker]

Hum. I want to say success is the voyage, the journey, not the destination. But let me think about how to say that...