Success Doesn’t Equal Being Published. Read This If You’re Struggling

Getting a book published is a goal of mine. It’s probably yours too. But literary agents receive thousands, and I mean thousands, of queries annually. And out of those thousands of queries, they might only choose to represent 1 or 2 authors, max. The odds are stacked against us—hate to say it.

And yet, the overly simplistic equation we all go back to is this:

Achieving a Goal = Success

Not Achieving a Goal = Failure

This is something I used to believe (and heck, sometimes I still do—I am human after all. A human with anxiety who irrationally spirals after receiving her 50th rejection).

So, I got to thinking real hard on this. Why did I think that success in writing meant getting published? Was it because I wanted it so bad? Was it because I’ve worked so hard? Was it because society puts earning money high up on the pedestal of success, which means if you’re NOT earning money from something then that something, by definition, is “just a hobby”. Maybe. Probably. Yeah.

It’s the story in my head—and likely yours too—where being published is like being chosen. The precious words you’ve written and the story you’ve sculpted has earned you a paycheck. Finally! Maybe that paycheck doesn’t pay the bills. Maybe you can’t quite quit your day job just yet, but the winning prize, really, is acknowledgement. Acknowledgement that all your effort, all your tears, and all those sacrifices and pesky papercuts have been worth it. Writing is no longer referred to as “just a hobby”. It’s no longer a “fun thing” you do in your spare time between the job and the kids and the chores. What you’re doing, what you have been doing, is worth something now.

That’s the story. That’s success, right?

But what if we rewrite the plot of that story? What if success isn’t being published. What if success is the hardcore persistence and perseverance we throw into the craft of writing day-in and day-out. I’m talking about those powerhouse ideas that come to us at 3 a.m. The problem-solving we do in the shower or while running on the treadmill. The Friday or Saturday nights we ditch our friends, because it’s the only time we have left in our week to dedicate to this thing that we love and hate so hard it hurts.

What if that’s success?

What if the sacrifice (and dare I say hustle even though I hate the word) of writing pages, finishing the book, and drafting query letters is success in and of itself? How many people do you know that have finished a book? Maybe quite a few, because us writers need to stick together—but outside of your writing community—who do you really know?

This thing that we do every day—the dedication, the learning, the financial and emotional investments of attending classes and workshops, hiring editors, awaiting the reviews of beta readers, and sifting through rejection after rejection in our Query Tracker app.

Look at what we’re doing—seriously though—look at what we are doing.

This post is meant to be a cheerleading effort to every writer who is doubting themselves right now. So, I challenge you—whenever you’re questioning yourself: Can I do this? Why am I doing this? I won’t ever make it. What’s the point? Take a hard look at yourself and what you’ve accomplished.

Success isn’t being published. Success is perseverance. And dammit, we are f***ing great at that. So, keep going. You’ve got this.