What is success?
Many years ago, my husband took over coaching a team that had not seen much success—as in very few wins over many years. As part of his effort to get his players to think about themselves and their team differently, he had shirts printed that said “New attitude. New ballgame.” It helped all of them reset their definition of success for themselves and the team.
Success means different things to different people. The same is true for young kids. When it comes to sports, if they are having fun, they would probably call it a success. If your child is not having fun, there are alternatives:
Stop playing the sport and find a different sport they like better
Stop playing sports and find another activity they do find fun
Play the same sport at a different level, perhaps recreational instead of traveling
A couple weeks ago I shared that I am reconsidering how I might publish my book. For many years I convinced myself that only publishing traditionally would make my book a success, and worth spending time to market it.
Over the past year I have read hundreds of blog posts and websites about self-publishing, hybrid publishers and traditional publishing. I have spent many hours researching and vetting small publishers, and I queried several. I have been rejected by most, ignored by a few and flattered by one who was willing to publish my book, as long as I purchased 200 of them. I have been pelted with emails and advertisements encouraging me to self-publish with companies eager to make money off of hopeful authors like me. I have also read how unlikely it is that a self-published book will be successful.
But what is success?
Success for me was never about making money. I wrote because I had an overwhelming desire to do so. Writing my book was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had in my life. Finishing it was success.
And now, as in the child’s sports scenario, I could:
Put it away and write a different book
Stop writing and spend my free time playing the guitar
Publish my book in a different way
I have pretty much settled on the third option. I am learning what I need to do to self-publish and my goal is to do as much of the work myself as possible.
That means I have quite a bit to do in the coming months and will need to redirect some of my energy. So, I will be changing up my blog posts a bit. I’ll still write about youth sports twice a month, but the other two weeks, I’ll keep you posted on my publishing journey.
In the meantime, I would be most appreciative if you:
Send me ideas for youth sports topics
Let me know which posts have been helpful to you
Share my blog posts with friends via social media or email
Follow my Facebook page