As I write this, the Super Bowl is just about to begin. In our house this game is not the big party night that it is in many homes. It is just another game, but with better commercials. It does, however, make me reflect on what is the equivalent of the Super Bowl is for writers. Is it completing a novel? Or is it being published? Or securing a spot on the New York Times bestseller list? Maybe selling the movie rights does it? Just as every one’s writing journey is different, my thoughts are that their definition of success are different too.
For me, it was seeing my first book in print. And my second. But like any football win, writing success is seasonal. As my high school football coach always told the team, “It doesn’t matter what you did last season, the fans want to know ‘What have you done for me lately?’” Unfortunately, I am not a writer who can pump out a book a year. I probably could, but my family comes first. I still have two of my three children living at home so I spend most of my days driving to school, dance, music lessons, or ice skating and not in front of the computer.
But I’m okay with that, because when I’m not winning the Super Bowl of writing I might just be winning the battle to raise cool kids and turn them into awesome adults.