A Woman Once Bit Another Woman To Get My Book

How to define what success actually means to you

Photo by Miguel Bruna on Unsplash

One time at a huge book-industry event, Book Expo America, my editor brought me to my signing booth and the line for people was the longest it had ever been (back then) for a Bloomsbury author. 

"This is amazing," she said. "Look at this. This is for you. All these people."

And I said, "Oh man... It's not just for me though. It's for you, too. You're my editor; you're just as big a part of this. You just don't get the fanfare, which isn't cool. You deserve fanfare."

She brushed all that aside. To be fair, I was babbling. And then I realized that her idea of success wasn't the same as mine. She didn't need the same things. And I also realized something else.

"Oh, gosh. This is it, isn't it? This is the pinnacle for me. This is my writing peak and it's all downhill from here, isn't it?" I asked.