Be Gentle - Part 2

The other area I need to be more gentle with myself is within my career goals.  I will never be the caliber of the writers I attended the conference with last week.  I have to remember my limits and be okay with that.  I hate limits!!!  But I am not in my twenties and thirties.  I am not healthy.  I have a crap load of other responsibilities to perform with limited amount of energy resources.  I miss the days of being hard charging, taking control of a situation, and conquering all the tasks set in front of me.  Yes, I conquer what I do in small, slow spurts, but not like I used to when I wasn't in pain.

Some of the experts say that you have to write a book every month or at least every other month.  You have to do all this marketing that would take a good twenty hours a week or more.  You also have to manage your sales, format your book, do your book covers, and the list goes on and on.  You can look at licensing your book rights to make t-shirts, water bottles, and that list goes on forever.  How do I be gentle in this type of world that I want to be successful in?

I redefine what success is to me.  (I have to do this at least once a year and twice if I spend time with other writers.)  What do I want out of my writing career?  Sure, I want the success of a JK Rowling or George R.R. Martin.  However, neither of them seem to be writing much anymore.  I don’t think I want that.  I want to write until the day I leave this earth if physically possible.  So, maybe I don’t want that success.

I think I want a quiet success.  I would love to supplement my income enough to give me money to travel.  I believe twenty to thirty thousand would be a nice number per year to give me a big trip somewhere and a few smaller trips.  I enjoy my house and pickup.  I don’t need bigger and better.  I am content with my life.  But what if I can’t get even that?

My ultimate goal is to leave a body of work for my descendents.  I want my grandchildren and great grandchildren to be able to read my words, to see a glimpse into who I am.  At some point, I would like to write my memoires so they can see even more of who I am.  Yes, this is my goal.  Soon, I will have one series finished for them.  I am working on my second series.  I have one stand alone historical fiction.  My body of work is growing.  I am leaving a legacy.  I am excited by that.  And hey, I even have some amazing fans.  Someday, I may have more fans.  I would love that too.  Until then, I am doing fantastic.  I mean really, how many people do you know who have written more then one book?  Yes, I am a success.