Okay. It’s still a brand spanking new year, so it’s still time for some new year’s resolutions, right?

I must admit, though, that for a long time now I’ve been out of the habit of setting those. Not that I have anything against them, it’s just that I figure I usually have some idea of what I’d like to accomplish in a new year so there’s no real need to write it all down. It’s kind of like my (sloppy) approach in writing: Before I sit down at the computer and start sweating out the details for a new story, my mind has already painted broad sketches of how the story is going to unfold. I work better, I think, from that mental scratch pad than from a paper outline or plot chart.

Then just last week I was invited to join two other authors and share our thoughts on—gulp—how we define writing success and how we’ve been going about achieving ours. Hmm, this sounded to me like I would have to go back and tally up my past year’s results and then set goals/resolutions for this new year. The thought made me cringe. I’m still very much a novice at this writing/publishing business, and whatever lists I might come up with would surely not be very extensive. But then I remembered how helpful and comforting it had been for me to learn about other new writers’ experiences: their various struggles and lessons learned, and what motivated and sustained them in their journeys. In the end, I decided to accept the invitation and throw in my two cents. Hopefully, what little I had to share could be of some use to someone just starting out; if not, there would be plenty of food for thought from my fellow panelists, who are amazing authors with inspiring stories to tell.

So click HERE to read how each of us defines success for her- or himself and about the different paths we have taken in trying to achieve our goals. I hope you enjoy it. Happy writing, and best wishes with your publishing endeavors.