Writerly Lesson: Success Comes in All Shapes and Sizes

We all know by now that I'm still a bit of a newb-sauce when it comes to the writerly world. Which is why I love sharing my little epiphanies with you guys. And lucky for you, I had one today.

I've been in a funk all day. I haven't wanted to write. I haven't wanted to read. All I've done is play Candy Crush Saga (I caved and joined the craze yesterday) and listen to music with the general attitude of blarg. But I haven't been able to figure out why.

At first I thought it was because I had just written a really really rough death scene yesterday. (Trust me, it's bad. Like, people might come after me with pitch forks kinda bad. Hell, I want to come after me with pitch forks after what I wrote. But I digress...) I don't think it was that, though. Yes, that sucked. But this wasn't my first death rodeo. Just my worst.

So what else could it be? Things are pretty awesome in my writerly world right now. Wattpad is going amazingly. I have over 1000 followers and votes now and close to 100,000 reads. And I was lucky enough this weekend to go meet two of my critique partners, Leigh Statham and Heather Raglin. Leigh is quite the social butterfly, enthusiastically going around to authors she might might not have even heard of and chatting them up. She would introduce me, and tell them that my book is coming out next month. And they would congratulate me, which left me turning beat red.

Why? Because I wanted to brush off the congratulations in the same way I do with my friends and family who are excited about my book being published. I want to tell them "Pfft...I'm doing it myself. It's not that big of a deal."

And that's what has hit me tonight. You see, it is that big of a deal. I want to downplay it because, in my mind, it's not like anyone has chosen to publish me. No one has picked my work out of the slushpile and said "Yes! This!!" No one chose me, so I don't deserve the congratulations.

But they did. The thing is, those Wattpad views, followers, and votes mean something. As I type this, around 1500 people have finished reading my book in the three weeks since it has been featured on the Wattpad site (only around 20 had finished up to chapter twenty-five before). Does that mean I am destined to become the next Amanda Hocking? No. But it's a pretty good start.

I suppose that is my point. Success comes in all shapes and sizes. It doesn't have to mean sales (especially if you aren't selling anything yet) or contracts. You don't have to become an overnight success. But those people that are reading your work and encouraging you? They matter more than I can say. That is how we as authors should measure our success. Because let me tell you, the highlight of my day is reading the comments people leave me and answering the messages they send. Sometimes I think my book can't possibly good enough to warrant this, but in the end, I'm not the judge of that. The readers are. And I have to say, my readers are pretty freaking awesome.

The Power of a Fandom

My husband and I recently started watching Arrested Development, and we are finally up to season 4. For those who don't know the history of the show, let me give you a brief rundown. The show aired on the Fox network for three seasons (2003-2006), won several awards and lots of critical acclaim, and developed quite the cult following as what IGN referred to as the funniest show of all time (according to the show's Wiki--give me some credit, I am a new fan so I didn't know any of this stuff until now).

And, as is the tradition with Fox and good television shows, they decided to cancel it due to low ratings.

RIP Dollhouse, Firefly, FreakyLinks, Dark Angel, Blood Ties, Alphas, Veronica Mars, Legend of the Seeker, Dead Like Me, Stargate Atlantis, Moonlight, Jericho, Farscape, The Gates, Freaks and Geeks, Don't Trust the Bitch in Apt 23, Daria, and so many more I am probably forgetting.

I'll never understand the ratings system. Anyhoo! There's always a risk with any show on television that it will be cancelled, I suppose. Unless it is reality TV, but that's a whole different soapbox that I will jump on down the road. Having one of your favorite television shows cancelled is depressing and disheartening. I used to get really involved in fandoms, even going so far as to help head efforts to get movies made or organize a fandom-written second season (here's glaring at you, Lifetime). Those efforts never paid off, which was even more upsetting. The passion would dwindle and the old adage "Out of sight, out of mind" (or in this case, "Off our TV screens, off our minds" might be more accurate) would come into play. And soon, I would give up and move on as well.

But something has happened in the age of the internet. People, distracted by shiny new things as they might be at times, remembered. And fans stood up and said "We want more." We've seen this happen a few times over the years, as with the Firefly and Farscape movies, and with fans of Jericho able to convince the network to bring it back (seven episodes is better than nothing!).

It seems this is happening more and more. Now fans have managed to bring back Arrested Development for another season seven years after it was cancelled. Veronica Mars fans have now financially backed the movie they have been begging for since 2004, raising over 5 million dollars to make it happen. And recently I have seen that Legend of the Seeker fans are trying to get their show back. Terry Goodkind's Facebook had a nice status about it, which surprised me since I had always heard he didn't like the show (In his defense, it does stray REALLY far from the books).


So what does all of this tell us? That there is a power in fandom unlike any other. Power enough to bring about financial miracles and resurrections despite how long ago the death might have occurred. It's humbling and empowering and encouraging. And not just that the fandoms have managed to move mountains, but that the actors and producers and writers are all on board. From what I've seen so far, the full casts of Veronica Mars and Arrested Development have all returned. If you ask just about any actor from SG1 if they would come back for a movie, the answer is always a resounding "Hell yes!" Terry Goodkind is supporting efforts to resurrect a show he has the right to hate. And why? Because they are all appreciative, if not fans themselves. They understand the power of a fandom, and they respect it. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they were in as much awe of it as I am right now.

There's a lesson to be learned from this as writers who hope to one day gain a fandom, or who might already be building one. It doesn't matter how many books you sell. It doesn't matter how many best seller lists you make. What matters is the fans. Honor them because they are honoring you by dedicating such passion to your work.