Always scary, I know, but lately I’ve been spending a lot of time contemplating my writing career and evaluating why it’s not where I want it to be and how to get it to where I need it to be. I don’t have those answers yet, but some changes definitely have to be made to help me get to where I want to be because I'm just not where I want to be career wise. I have to figure out how to get there.
The problem is, I don't know how to get there yet. I still have to figure that part out. It's not just about getting stories completed and out there to be read. I have books out and some coming soon. This is more about me and where I want me to end up.
As I see it, success is a tricky beast. Success is measured differently by different people. For some, success is being published. For others it’s making a living from your writing. For others it’s hitting the New York Times Bestseller list. Whatever success is for you, it might be something completely different for someone else. I know what success is for me and I've not achieved it. Not even close. My next step is figuring out what will help me reach my goals.
And I do have goals. Although I haven't reached that goal yet, I know which direction I want my career to go. Sales are a portion of that certainly, because, hey, money's important and I like to eat so selling books is an important part of my job. Could sales be better? Oh, you bet. Deadly Games! and Earthstrike Agenda were great experiments for me and they’ve been met with mostly positive results by those who have read them, but they are far from selling like I hoped they would. Such is the nature of being a small press like BEN Books.
I have to be better about picking and scheduling what I work on to help me reach that goal. Don’t get me wrong, I'm proud of everything I've accomplished. I smile every time I look at the shelf of books that contain my work. There are novels, short stories, comic books, and graphic novels there. There are thrillers, sci fi, pulp, humor, and superheroes there too. I’ve been very blessed to work on such a diverse range of genres. I’ve done okay, but I'm not the success I want to be.
At least not yet.
I appreciate the comments I’ve received on this topic today on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. It’s gratifying to hear kind words from everyone. I appreciate it more than I can say.
So, why am I telling you this, you might be wondering.
Creative people, whether they be writers, artists, musicians, actors, or whatever, at one point in their career (if not more) have these same thoughts creep up on them. We’ll each handle it differently, of course. I'm simply looking forward to the future of my writing career and deciding what I need to do to get where I want to be. I'm not depressed. I'm not thinking of tossing in the towel. I'm just thinking and sometimes you just have to say things out loud (or type them that way in this case) to really hear your own thoughts. Change is not a bad thing.
I'm excited to see what the future brings.
On another note, I need a vacation. Yeah. That's the ticket. A vacation. HA! HA!
It’s been a crazy day here at Nash Central, which means that, even though I’ve been on the go non-stop all day, I’ve not accomplished much on the writing front. I’d best get to work. These stories are not going to write themselves.
Deadlines wait for no man.
Bobby
Bethlehem, GA
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