Writing is hard. Writing a series is harder. Being successful as a writer is nearly impossible.
And I love the challenge.
I want it to be difficult, because then, only those most committed will make it. And I’m committed.
Sure, there are some things that also come into play… talent, luck, timing, communication skills, marketing savvy, to name just a few. But the top two things required to be a successful writer is a commitment to the goal and the persistence to see it to the end.
I have both of those. I’m in this for the long haul. This is all I want to be doing in a few years. I have a multi-book series in my immediate future. Then another series after that. And then another one.
I have ideas churning in my head all the time and I want to share them with the world. It’ll take hours of writing and rewriting, but that’s cool. That’s part of the process.
I want my stories to give the reader a good time and, maybe, make them consider aspects of their lives they hadn’t thought about before. I want them to provoke thought and even prayer. Most of all, I want them to be a hell of a lot of fun.
And I want my success to be a pain in the ass to achieve, because good things are difficult and easy things attract lazy people. And I’m not lazy. I was when I was a kid. Epically so. My dad used to say I wasn’t afraid of work… I’d walk right up and lay down next to it. That all stopped when I held my daughter in my arms for the first time. I grew up. And I started working hard at everything I did.
I have a goal. A plan. It’ll take five years to get there. Maybe ten. And that’s if I do more things right than wrong and continue to improve my craft.
When people look back on their greatest successes, they are always tied to overcoming difficulty because that’s the way God wired us. We were built to challenge ourselves and push ourselves and learn more and try things.
Being the next Dean Koontz or Brad Meltzer is as difficult as riding a meteor. The journey ahead of me is full of long hours of work no one will see so that, when opportunities arise, I can take advantage of them. And if God throws in a little luck and timing and viral momentum, that wouldn’t hurt either.
Until then, bring on the hard stuff. I’m up for it.