The first disappointing piece of truth you will discover about indie publishing is: there is no proven method for success.
The first exciting piece of truth about indie publishing is: there is no proven method for success.
Furthermore, with the massive surge in e-publishing and indie authors – the definition of success, must be re-written. At least for myself anyway.
Joe Konrath had an excellent post about the definition of success – here.
I’d already been thinking about it, already wondering how I would find a sense of fulfillment with the culmination of the dream if writing for a living didn’t “look” like what I’ve imagined it would look like for the last twenty years.
My dream was to be able to travel the world and meet my readers, have books signings and adventures. My dream was to be entirely self-supported by my own creative craft while still being free to live the life of adventure that brings me such creative infusion and sense of connection to people around me. I worried that if the indie path didn’t allow me to do these things that I would feel like a failure, or be embittered by the loss of something I’d always wanted but couldn’t achieve.
Go ahead. Make fun. It is, after all, the closet package-dream of most writers.
The thing is, separating the reality from decades of fantasy is not as hard as I thought it would be.
It’s totally legitimate to want to be a self-supporting artist.
It’s totally legitimate to want to meet the people you’re trying to reach with your stories.
It’s totally legitimate to want to see the world you’re writing about.
Nothing about those parts of the dream are grandiose or ridiculous. Yet perhaps it’s time to redefine in my mind’s eye – what exactly those goals will look like, while also putting them in the frame of achievable success for an indie author.
I need to divorce myself from the dream of a big, fatty writing contract with a big six publisher. Why? Partly because that dream no longer serves my best interests, and does not support my craft. But also because if I’m clinging to that vision, I might not be able to recognize the other successes right in front of me that would validate and enrich my sense of purpose and achievement. In other words, if the unhealthy dream is still my focus, all other success will pale in comparison and I will always feel that loss or failure to succeed.
Is that giving up?
No.
Here’s why.
If the goal is to meet my readers. I can still achieve that. Granted the playing field is changed, but it is still an achievable goal and therefore worthy of being included in the continuation of the dream. This will require me to be open to new ways of meeting people that I hadn’t previously imagined. Luckily, with the BlissQuest and the year on the road, I got pretty good at low budget travel and impromptu adventure. These skills will also help serve this ultimate aim.
If the goal is to be self-supporting with my art. I can still achieve that. This requires a re-definition of what is considered financially successful. I’ll work on this.
If the goal is to see the world so I can keep writing about it, this is also still an achievable goal. Travel hacking is a blast. The funny thing is, since I was working such heavy hours for so long and still fitting in my writing – I never felt like I had the time or money to be able to travel. But being a self-supporting artist will allow me more time to work this in to my schedule because I won’t be working for someone else as well.
When looking at the parameters of the dream in its basic unadorned foundation, I realize these are still attainable. Therefore, with the goals defined and simplified, the fear of feeling like a failure for taking the indie route lessens as the excitement of an achievable goal builds.
Everything beyond those goals would be icing on the cake.
Because I no longer feel the need for validation from the industry, I’m freed up to be as artistic as I want and reach for my audience.
This in and of itself is a tremendous sense of success. One I might not have were I to go with a large publishing house.
The goals might not be reached quickly, but having the simple design of what I’m actually aiming for, and realizing it’s still the same dream, just a different reflection is extremely encouraging. It’s more internal validation that I’m on the right path to be able to claim a sense of “ta-da!” and flourish in a life where I can successfully follow my bliss.
As I wrote the end of this post I started laughing. I’ve wandered off the BlissQuest trail in the last couple of year, meandering all over the place as chaos barreled into my life (as it does from time to time for everyone) But this post is the first time in a long while – I’ve felt the earth back under my feet and my internal compass reset.
The BlissQuest has established a new longitude and latitude.
Cool.
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