by Christy Barritt, @christybarritt
This may seem like a strange topic, but it’s not one that I’ve seen covered before. But how to handle success is something important we should talk about.
This year has been a great year for me writing-wise. I’ve sold more books than I’ve ever dreamed about, expanded my audience, and in May I made more in one month than my husband and I made with combined incomes the first year we were married.
That’s great, right? Absolutely. I’m thrilled. But with the changes and successes have also come some stressors that have snuck up on me. I realized that for the past 18 years I’d learned how to write a novel. I’d studied how to plot, to develop characters, to edit. I’d educated myself on how to market and create newsletters. I’d figured out how to target my covers for specific genres. But no one had ever told me how to handle to success.
There are a few specific challenges I’ve had to deal with myself, and I wanted to share them you:
Reader management:
As my audience has increased, so has the amount of correspondence I have with people. I can expect an incredible amount of emails from readers every time I send out my newsletter. That’s not including messages from Facebook or through my website, etc. I love answering emails myself, but this does take up a lot of time, and it can feel overwhelming
People management:
Also, as you grow (especially if you’re an indie), you’ll hire more people. Designers, editors, assistants, audiobook narrators, accountants, lawyers, agents, etc. But managing people is no small task. Best case scenario, they’re easy to work with and they do their jobs. Worst case scenario, you must prepare yourself for the downside of being the boss—to let people go, to correct them, and to manage conflicts.
Money management:
I know this seems like a good problem to have. And it is. But any kind of stress—even good stress—can still be taxing. What do you do when you’re suddenly making in one month what you used to make in a year? What’s the best way to use that money? It can be a great blessing, but also a great responsibility.
Expectation management:
I didn’t expect to feel so much pressure as my books grew in popularity. But, even before I could fully acknowledge what the feeling was, this heaviness lingered in the back of my mind, silently pressing in on me. Readers anticipated my next book. They had expectations about how my series would end. I didn’t want to disappoint them. So stress set in—and stress can affect creativity. Then there was the pressure I put on myself to keep momentum going and to not waste this wonderful opportunity.
Life management:
Balancing my time with writing and family and church and friends can also be challenging. Being a successful indie can be like running a small business. There are always demands. Always emails to answer, schedules to coordinate, and deadlines to meet. Overworking can be like cooking a frog—it occurs so gradually that you don’t even realize it’s happened.
I’ve given you the scenarios and the challenges. But how do you handle success? For starters, begin thinking about these scenarios beforehand—be proactive. Surround yourself with knowledgeable people. Find a great financial advisor and lawyer and agent. Find other writers who are ahead of you in the game. Maybe they can’t mentor you, but you can follow their blogs or be a part of Facebook groups they manage.
Most of all, relax. I know I probably can’t sustain the level I’m at right now. And that’s okay. There are seasons for everything. If the success continues, then that’s great. But I came into writing for the love of story, and I never want to lose sight of that. You shouldn’t either. Enjoy the blessings when they come, but don’t put all your hope in your success or your failures.
And, in the meantime, write on!
You can take the detective out of the investigation, but you can’t take the investigator out of the detective.
A notorious gang puts a bounty on Detective Cady Matthews’s head after she takes down their leader, leaving her no choice but to hide until she can testify at trial. But her temporary home across the country on a remote North Carolina island isn’t as peaceful as she initially thinks.
Living under the new identity of Cassidy Livingston, she struggles to keep her investigative skills tucked away, especially after a body washes ashore. When local police bungle the murder investigation, she can’t resist stepping in. But Cassidy is supposed to be keeping a low profile. One wrong move could lead to both her discovery and her demise.
Can she bring justice to the island . . . or will the hidden currents surrounding her pull her under for good?
Christy Barritt
USA Today has called Christy Barritt’s books “scary, funny, passionate, and quirky.”
A Publishers Weekly bestseller, Christy writes both mystery and romantic suspense novels that are clean with underlying messages of faith. Her book, Hazardous Duty, is currently being made into a movie, and her Worst Detective Ever series has been optioned for film.
Christy spent six weeks straight as the #1 author on Amazon in the Religion and Spirituality category, and she’s sold more than 1.4 million copies of her novels. Her books have won the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Suspense and Mystery, have been twice nominated for the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, and have finaled for both a Carol Award and Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year.
She’s married to her prince charming, a man who thinks she’s hilarious—but only when she’s not trying to be. Christy’s a self-proclaimed klutz, an avid music lover who’s known for spontaneously bursting into song, and a road trip aficionado.
Christy currently splits her time between the Virginia suburbs and Hatteras Island, North Carolina.
For more information, visit her website: www.christybarritt.com.