Being Honest About Success

Hello, readers! It's Kate again.

Book things are finally rolling for HOW WE FALL, my YA suspense that comes out in November. I had my author photos taken today, I'm almost done with copy edits, and I wrote my acknowledgements this past week. It's surreal, and stressful, and fun. I keep yo-yoing between thinking "this is awesome!" and "what if no one likes it? Oh no November that's less than 7 months away everyone will read this book I wrote what am I going to do?"

My CPs keep reminding me to enjoy it. To not let the stress settle too deeply, to keep my focus on productive things. And there's a bit of publishing advice that goes like this: when an awesome moment happens, enjoy it, because this is as good as it gets. Someone is always doing better than you, selling more copies than you, getting more buzz and attention than you, getting more awards and nominations than you are. Things aren't less stressful or more certain or better closer to the top. The stress and uncertainty and pressure follows you. So whenever success happens, let it be the win you need. Let it be the awesome moment that it deserves to be, because it really doesn't get better than that. Thinking about it that way really isn't even re-framing the idea of success; we might need to pause to think about it, but most of us know that's just being honest with ourselves. Success isn't numbers or checkpoints. But sometimes we forget to celebrate the real successes.

If your book comes out, and some reviewers love it, and people start talking about it-- enjoy that. It's awesome, so let it be awesome. Celebrate, and stay away from Amazon rankings and negative reviews. Don't let those things tear down a moment that deserves every bit of enjoyment and celebration you want from it.

If you landed a book deal with a publishing house and an editor who loves your story and believes in you and your writing-- congratulations! That's awesome. Let it be a moment where you dwell on nothing but how wonderful that is, and how much it's taken to get there. Celebrate your own determination and hard work, and enjoy it.

If you decided to self-publish, and take your book to the world in your own way-- congratulations! Your manuscript is going to be a real book, and that's such an incredible thing. Readers all over the world are going to read what you wrote, and you deserve to enjoy the milestone. It's a life-changing moment. Don't let worry and doubt crowd out the enjoyment. Celebrate it!

If you signed with an agent, if you finished a manuscript, if a beta reader loved your manuscript, if you wrote a scene and know you nailed it, if your work earned an award or nomination, if an agent requested pages, if someone got excited about your book and wrote you a note about how much they connected with it-- let that be the win you need. Something you created connected with someone else, and they felt it deeply enough to care, and it really doesn't get better than that. It just doesn't. This writing business is about connection, and whatever form that happens in, it's a win. It's a wonderful, hard-earned, incredible win. It's success.