Every author is different. We all measure success differently so how do you determine your Author’s Purpose?
An Author’s Purpose and Measuring Success
Being asked how you measure success is a difficult question to answer. Honestly, it’s a question I sometimes dread because it is so abstract and variable. As our author businesses continue to grow, our measurement of success changes. But to indicate our goalposts for these measurements, we need to know what our author’s purpose is. Why are we writing?
Determining Our Goals Based Off Our Personal Situation
Every author begins their business at a different point in their life and for different reasons. There’s the retiree who is writing to fulfill a bucket list dream, and they will have a different goal than the person trying to make a living from their writing. But, it’s important to remember that no goal is worth more than another. All goals are meaningful and fulfill individual needs for success. However, they do need to be treated differently with different expectations and different approaches to our marketing and businesses.
Setting our Author’s Purpose Benchmarks for Success
Often times when people are asking about success, they’re asking about financial success. That might be valid for the author trying to make a living, but is that necessarily the best measurement for the retiree fulfilling a dream? This is important to consider because these two different authors might have different outlooks. And those should not be measured the same way. Remaining true to your authentic author’s purpose will help you set individualized goals that work for you.
We must also remember that success can be measured in many ways, aside from just financially. For that retiree, they might want to measure it as just getting the book published and out there. Or in the hands of readers outside of their family. That reader trying to make a living might look at trying to hit a certain monetary number or some other marker for financial independence.
Creating Realistic Benchmarks for Success
One thing that is important to note, is just like in any goal setting, you want to make sure you are setting attainable, actionable goals rather than abstract BIG goals right off the bat. For instance, I want to be financially independent and living off my writing is not a good starter benchmark for success. One, it’s setting you up for frustration and “failure” because that won’t happen overnight from one book launch. And two, it’s very difficult to measure.So, make sure you’re coming up with specific examples and measurable goals when creating your benchmarks.
Another important thing we need to remember is to include benchmarks that measure our success along the way.It’s good for all of our mental health to measure how far we’ve come rather than just focusing on where we want to end up. And this should also not be solely focused on financials. Perhaps you could measure success by the amount of reviews posted. Or making your return of initial investment. These are HUGE accomplishments to celebrate as well. Basically, make sure you enjoy the ride along the journey. And keep patting yourself on the back often. Writing is not easy, and remember just by completing a book you’re already ahead of many.
What are some benchmarks YOU’VE used to measure success?
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