Join author’s groups, and learn marketing tactics. Track your word count, and write even when the muse seems absent. “Clear, achievable goals allow the writer to build toward the objective most covet-becoming a career novelist. Every author’s journey is a singular experience.” – Stephanie Bond, best-selling author of The Body Movers series and Kindle World Warning: Don’t fall into the trap of comparing your sales to those of another author. “Without a point of reference, it’s easy to lose sight of your accomplishments. So, the destination, while important, is secondary to the steps you take to get there.” – R.W. Move the bar as you grow as a writer and change the target. It gives us a focal point, but it’s important to allow for change, too. It’s simply a direction in which to shoot your arrows. Setting a personal bar is a part of that self-examination.

It helps to expand your mind and evolve your craft. I think self-examination is a key component to writing. “You’ll never know if you’ve arrived unless you know your destination. Why is it important to set a personal bar for success for your writing?

We asked successful published authors about defining and measuring success. This will lay the foundation for your book marketing plan, regardless of whether you’re a first time author or have a prolific backlist. The first step is to define your personal bar for success. This is, if you will, an alternate universe version of The Takers.8 Author Quotes on Defining Writing Successĭefining goals for your book is an important part of the publishing process. Steve’s untimely suicide leaves only the comic books as clues to vanquishing the Takers.Ī Note of Caution: This version does not fit into the Oz Chronicles series. Afflicted with Down Syndrome, Steve created new worlds, replete with battles between good and evil, in the comic books that served as his sole refuge from the teasing of Oz and his friends. Along the way, he learns that his destiny was written by Steve, a boy from his past. In an effort to make things right, he gathers a band of survivors (a baby, an aged mechanic and a talking gorilla, among others), and sets off down his version of the yellow brick road, leading to the Atlanta Zoo. When 16-year-old Osmond “Oz” Griffith wakes from an illness on the floor of his closet, he discovers the world overrun by man-eating monsters, the Takers, and it’s largely his fault. With a new ending and 40 additional pages, this is a new twist on the classic tale. This is the tenth anniversary reimagined edition of the award winning story about a teenager discovering he is responsible for the end of the world.

The Takers by R.W. Ridley