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Was Emily Dickinson a success?
Success is counted sweetest
By those who ne'er succeed.
To comprehend a nectar
Requires sorest need.
Not one of all the purple Host
Who took the Flag today
Can tell the definition
So clear of victory
As he defeated – dying –
On whose forbidden ear
The distant strains of triumph
Burst agonized and clear!When Emily Dickinson died in 1884, she was unknown as a poet outside of a small circle of family and friends.
Dickinson’s poetic legacy consisted of almost 1800 poems, and no instructions about what to do with them.
The story of how those close to her battled obscurity and each other to publish her poems
could be a riveting novel all by itself!
If you died without knowing whether your novels meant anything to anyone,
would it matter if in the future they did?
Success
Is success in your writing always upping the game to your tales, always improving in your craft,
or is it merely revealed in your sales figures?
Writers struggle to define success,
for it is like the horizon, forever out of reach no matter how far you travel in your writing journey.
Tell me what you think, will you?
THE TWO WINNERS OF THE MYSTERY PRIZES FOR COMMENTS
ON
MY GUEST POST ON ALEX'S BLOG
THE CYNICAL SAILOR
who wins the audio book
and
ROBYN ALANA ENGEL
who wins the audio book
Thank You To All Who Commented
I will draw two more prizes
from those who comment tomorrow!
Great post, as always. (I feel like a broken record on here.)
ReplyDeleteTo me, while I'd love to be the next Stephen King, being a success as a writer means:
1) Being able to scrape by with my earnings;
2) Touching at least one person with my writing.
If I've made at least one person's day brighter with my books (or darker, as the case may be), then I've done my job and can hold my head high.
Holli, your definition is the same as mine. :-) I pray your writing touches many hearts in the days to come.
ReplyDeleteHi Roland - interesting about Emily ... and wasn't that a good thing ... she was published.
ReplyDeleteSuccess ... I hope to goodness I get to publish some of my blog-stories ... but who knows I must buck myself up ... it's having happiness in the writing as I go ... and enjoying the interaction we get ...
I'd love to be able to do more and open the historical ways of lore and life to many ... cheers Hilary
It was wonderful for the rest of us that Emily's sister published those beautiful poems.
DeleteI hope all your publishing dreams come true!
Well, a lot of what might be defined as success is out of our hands to some extent, in terms of sales figures and things taking off. I like to measure it in terms of small things to achieve on a day-to-day basis, like another 1000 words written or story edited. That's the groundwork you need to get anywhere. Like J.H., I'd be happy making a difference to just one person!
ReplyDeleteYes, that lightning stroke of luck that propels into the public limelight is certainly out of our control all right.
DeleteYou are right in that the small steps will get us closer to our goal of a well-written product, too.
You and everyone else agrees with J.H. Wise lady.
Success is if I made a difference to others.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Ellen and Robyn!
I was so happy when my computer program drew their names!
DeleteMore winners from my guest post on your blog to follow. :-)
And you are already a success for you have made a wonderful difference in so many lives here on the Net.
I'd love to find an audience before I die, but I'm also a severe foot-dragger when it comes to marketing. So I'm my own worst enemy in that way. Small steps are all I've managed so far.
ReplyDeleteYou and I would both to find that audience before we die! Marketing is so hard to do originally. Sigh! :-)
DeleteSuccess is when I finished something and if only 1 person enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteMe, too. Though I would not turn down being as popular as popular in my genre as was Louis L'Amour! :-)
DeleteThanks so much for the audiobook! I'm really looking forward to listening to it. :-)
ReplyDelete