Success Happy

Am I successful?

I'm not trying to brag; just trying to understand if I'm moving in the right direction to reach my goals. I've recieved payment for twenty articles since Dec. The pay's not much [only $120 all together], but it's a start. I published a book two yrs. ago, but it didn't sell much. I've written over a thousand poems. I've placed several times in poetry slams as well as featuring at slams. But am I successful? Do any of these things count on my journey towards being a writer? It doesn't seem mentioning them helps me much when trying to publish. Why?

Public Comments

1. Yes you are successful. Why? Not because you published a book or made 120 dollars selling articles, but because you realize that life is a journey not a destination. Good luck to you. Pax - C
2. Well I'm not expert, but I think that's a great place to start! All you need to do now is get a big seller going and you're set. Perhaps first you should try gearing a book or two to a large audience of people, and if you can get it in a bookstore people will start to know your name. Then I'd make sure my next book got heavily advertised, like send a manuscript or something a little fancier to one of those review places. Also, I hear Amazon.com is great when it comes to self publishers! Whatever you do, your already a writer, and your accomplishments are proof of that! Good Luck!!! =+)
3. Publishers are looking for strong book sales, and evidence a writer has a growing fan base. Mentioning what you've done doesn't help you because it doesn't provide proof that you're on the up and up. What you've done are great personal achievments, but that doesn't get very far in the publishing industry. When writing an agent or publisher, you're better off not telling them about what you've accomplished. They don't care unless it's a strong sales record, a national honor, or some other strong sign that you can make money. Telling them things like how many poems you've written and that you've been published but add that the book didn't make much money, you're only giving the publisher or agent the sense that you don't know what you're doing. So if you haven't accomplished anything professionaly (as opposed to personally), then don't say anything about your exploits. And where were your articles published?