What makes an author successful? Is it money? Fame? Quality of the work? Something else? And how do successful authors achieve success?

The longer I work with authors, the more vital I find these questions, and how authors answer them. I suspect the answers are different for every author I’ve worked with—and I know from experience that defining success is often a personal, highly fraught journey.

(“Highly fraught?” you might ask. But yes, it can be. Take, for instance, the college fiction-workshop student who begins class with the belief that only literary fiction is respectable, then realizes their talents and interests lie with genre fiction. Or, conversely, the terrifically talented literary writer with an ingrained belief that success is measured in dollars. Both situations demand the author reframe their idea of success as well as their authorial identity. The genre writer has to come to terms with the feeling that writing crowd-pleasing books isn’t something to feel bad about, and the literary writer has to accept that they might win literary prizes and plaudits without making much money or gaining much name recognition.)

From working with both traditionally published and indie authors, I’ve also found numerous commonalities between authors with wildly different visions of success. Love of writing, for instance: without genuine enjoyment of the work, most authors never get beyond the initial challenges of making their name.

An ability to market is also a common denominator. Authors may not necessarily consider what they’re doing to be marketing—they might initially build their platform as a form of socializing, for instance—but some form of putting oneself out there is generally required for success, even for traditionally published authors.

Personal Definitions of Success: Why Do They Matter?

In an environment with so many definitions of success, it’s crucial for editors as well as authors to consider all these personal definitions. Without understanding what an author wants from their career (or hobby) and how the book at hand fits into it, an editor can’t know how to best help that author achieve their vision. But if an author is conflicted about or unsure of what success means to them, an editor may not give the most pertinent advice.

Such confusion is detrimental to the work as well (and often to the mental health of the author who creates it). The author who believes only literary fiction is respectable but feels called to write genre fiction is likely to write books that succeed at being neither (even though it’s entirely possible to write genre fiction with some of the best qualities of literary fiction). And the literary author who measures their worth in money is likely to become dispirited and bitter, which can create a bonanza of unpleasant effects.

One of the most interesting aspects of the current publishing landscape, where self-publishing has become increasingly understood as a valid alternative to traditional publishing, is that it allows more authors to define success on their own terms—and achieve it. Some authors pursue self-publishing for financial gain: indie authors actually earn more on average than traditionally published authors, according to an Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) survey. (More often, of course, indie authors make little or nothing—but those who do earn can be very high earners.)

But it’s not all about money. Many authors choose self-publishing because they want to write books for an audience too niche to interest traditional publishers. For these authors, earnings might be small, but a small net income (or even a loss) may be compatible with their personal definition of success. Some authors believe in art for art’s sake and find the commercialization of writing problematic. Others believe deeply in the value of their work and are satisfied to know that it’s made its way into the world and found appreciative readers.

Introducing Indie Success Interviews

To explore these questions in more depth, I’ll be interviewing a selection of the most successful indie authors I’ve worked with. (For reasons of professionalism and/or NDAs, I can’t reach out to authors I’ve worked with via traditional publishers.) These authors will represent a range of types of success, from first-time authors to ones much more advanced in their careers.

Each author will be answering the same set of questions:

• their background

• metrics related to the success of their books (such as sales figures, if they’re comfortable sharing)

• what success looks like to them and whether they feel they’re on the road to it

• how they achieved success

• any regrets about investments they made—or didn’t make

I’ll also be asking for any general thoughts they’d like to share with aspiring authors and working editors.

Keep an eye out for the first installment, coming soon: an interview with the fabulous D.P. Clarence, author of the gay rom-com The Paper Boys and its companion novella The Silly Season. He’s shared some terrific insights and metrics, and I hope you’ll find the results as interesting as I do!