Wanting to be a writer I think differs greatly from wanting to be anything else, except maybe an actor. But even then I think we acknowledge that there are leading roles, supporting roles, minor roles and even extras roles.
In writing, particularly fiction, it’s Stephen King (or whoever is the best-selling author in your chosen genre) or bust.
Let me explain.
As writers, we have the creative urge, ideas, imagination and the drive to paint pictures with words. We burn to express an opinion about life, or write stories that take people on an emotional journey.
And if you’re supremely talented, well connected, or outrageously lucky, a publisher might pick you up and one or two of your novels may make it to a bestseller list.
Otherwise you’ll likely have next to no chance of ever having anything published.
Enter Amazon
Fortunately the ebook, and online bookstores such as Amazon, Kobo and iBooks, have changed the publishing game. Nowadays, anyone with the idea, willpower, courage and technical know-how can write and publish a book.
That’s the main reason I’m committing to my author career now. Online book stores give me the opportunity to get my books out into the world. And with some savvy marketing I may even sell a few copies.
So where am I going with this?
When we write with an aspiration to publish, we’d be lying if we didn’t admit to wanting to be the next Stephen King/George RR Martin/JK Rowling/Dan Brown/Lee Child (substitute top selling author in your genre). But most of us are unlikely to achieve the levels of success of those at the top of our field. And because of this we do the strangest thing.
We give up.
The Lure of Top Spot
I was sitting in my favourite coffee shop just today, reading the marvellous book The One Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappeared. As I finished a chapter, my mind wandered to the author who has written 2 other bestsellers (that I know of). Authors dream of these types of lightning-in-a-bottle successes. Jonas Jonasson probably has enough money already to buy his own private island and will continue to build wealth over time whether or not he writes further bestsellers.
As I closed my book and walked back to my cubicle, it occurred to me that, even though there are many levels of success in every single vocation on earth, as writers we obsess over not just getting published, but getting to number 1.
When I thought about it further, I realised this obsession is quite odd. It’s similar to the athlete or sportsperson who strives to win the race or the trophy. Their whole focus is not on competing, but on winning. As a sports fan I don’t find this odd. Everyone remembers who won the Olympic medal, or the Grand Final in any given year, but do we remember who came second? And if we do, I’ll bet we’re hard pressed to recall who came third, fourth and so on.
Sport is competitive by nature. Other vocations aren’t. If someone becomes, say, a school teacher, do they quit after their first couple of years because they’re not considered the best school teacher in the world? Would a surgeon do that? Or a lawyer? Or a bank manager?
No. We don’t quit those things because for some strange reason we consider them “real jobs” while we consider any creative endeavour an all or nothing proposition—we are up-in-lights NY Times Bestsellers/Booker Prize Winners or we’re nothing.
University and Publishing: Is There a Difference?
Then I remembered my academic career. I returned to university at the ripe old age of 48 and completed 2 years of 6 towards a graduate law degree. I maintained a distinction average, all the while working full time across 2 jobs. I then switched to psychology and achieved even higher grades, graduating with a GPA of 6.75 (out of a possible 7) before being accepted into Honours, then graduating with Class 2A (i.e., only first class Honours sits above me).
And then a thought struck me: what if I lay my academic career side by side with an author career? What would that look like? And would I be satisfied with how that did look?
The result was eye-opening.
I have no idea how many people applied for both that graduate Law degree, and that graduate Psychology diploma, but not everyone who applied was accepted. But I was.
Equate that with writing and publishing a book online. As long as I write that book and load it up onto Amazon, I’m in the game. I’m already ahead of those who didn’t get onto the playing field.
Next consider my results: 6.75 GPA in psychology, only a smidge behind the highest possible score of 7.
Transfer that to book sales, and it places me just below the top earners. Wow.
Next consider my being accepted into Honours. This is definitely an elite achievement.
Academia bases acceptance to Honours on results, so we can compare it with making a bestseller list. Again, wow. I’m on the bestseller list.
And graduating with Honours Class 2A means I may never be #1, but being in the top 10 or 20 with the likes of Stephen King, JK Rowling and George RR Martin will do me fine.
Your Definition of Success
Of course there’s no guarantee this will happen. I may have an aptitude for academia I don’t have for writing fiction. I may not succeed at running an indie author business the way I succeeded at navigating my university studies. Only time will tell. What I do know however, is that I have drive, focus, commitment and determination; it was those traits that got me the marks I needed and the degrees I wanted. And it is those traits that will put me in the best position to write novels and publish them online with some success.
At the end of the day, my goal is to make a good living as a writer. If I am a bestseller, then bonanza! If not, as long as I can spend my days writing, publishing and marketing my books rather than slaving away at work that bores me in a cubicle that imprisons me, then I will consider my foray into the world of indie publishing a success.
I’ve never been short of creative inspiration. I have folders full of ideas for stories and books. So as long as I do the work, remain committed to learning and excellence, and am courageous enough to put my work out there, I give myself the best possible chance of repeating my Class 2A result.
But then, who knows? Maybe this time I’ll go one better.
