When you’re just starting out in this writing business, it’s not uncommon to imagine certain goals that will make you or break you. You know, events that, if they come to pass, will put you on a certain level and free you from the grunt work (and possibly your day job).
The goal posts move, of course. It’s sensible enough to imagine that selling a novel, or getting a positive review from a famous source, or some other event will set you up. And this does certainly happen to some folks, but for the vast majority of writers that moment doesn’t come too often. Or, better said, it comes, but it’s never as big as you think it will be.
Small Victories
When I was a kid, like a lot of writers I thought if I sold a novel I’d quit my job and become a full-time novelist, investing my money in cool sweaters, pipes, and leather-bound copies of classic literature. And when I sold my first novel I got $1,000 and a kick in the ass, in that order, as an advance, so no, I didn’t quit my job.
I used to think that if I sold a movie option on a novel, it would just be a matter of time before I was rich and entering my Truman Capote phase in life, hob-nobbing with famous folks and sitting in bathtubs filled with gold coins, as one does. Guess what? I’ve sold five movie options on my books and not only have none of them turned into actual movies, none of them actually changed my life.
And so it goes—just about every moment I thought would suddenly and dramatically change my career has … not done so. The key lesson is simple: It’s not about sudden, magical moments that change everything, it’s a cumulative effect. Every success pushes you a little further along.
Of course, some writers do get the half-million dollar advance, or have their books made into movies starring Tom Cruise. And yes, those things can change lives and careers. But the point is there are more increments on the scale than zero and 100. What happens in your career today might only be a 5, but every positive number adds to your total.
All this reminds me: There’s no shame in buying your favorite author a drink. Just sayin’.
No shame at all. I’ll remember that if I ever get to meet Gary Corby. 😉