Measuring my success

Now that the process of getting this book ready has finally reached its end, and a new period begins, with people reading it, I find myself wondering how I measure success. Some would say, "If you're book hits the Best Seller's List, it's a success." Others might say, "If a lot of people read and like your book, that's success."

Perhaps.

Those are certainly measurements of success, but I have to think about how I feel about that. Am I looking to make enough money from selling books to retire from teaching altogether? Am I looking for a supplemental income? I think the answer here is: No.

Twenty-five years ago, give or take, when I first started "The Olympus Corps.," the original story behind Task Force: Gaea, I had envisioned a Star Trekkian adventure in outer space, with the gods being more like space aliens, inhabiting planets, rather than omnipotent beings who govern the world of Man. The hero (whose name now escapes me) and his crew traveled in a starship of sorts, encountering mythologically-inspired monsters. Well, that was 1985.

Now, in 2012, my story has taken on a more intricate appearance, weaving together a few different ideas into one tapestry, if you will. I'm proud of what I've accomplished over the years, despite my own apprehensions and misgivings long the way. The fact that I've managed to bring this whole project to fruition makes me very proud of myself. And, I should be. Not everyone who sets out to do such a task, succeeds at it. The original ideas, back when I used a more archaic computer in the 80s and 90s, blossomed into a type of flower whose scent intoxicates me.

Am I the next Tolkien, Rowling, or Riordan? Hardly. I'm a man whose dream was to write a novel, telling the kind of story I wanted to tell, with the characters, settings, vocabulary, and overall feelings I wanted to convey. And, I have done just that.

So, whether or not people buy (and like) the novel is of little consequence ultimately. If I sell 100 copies or 1,000,000 copies, if my novel perks the interest of a film or TV person, if I gain fame for this -- it truly doesn't matter. That's not why I did this. I wanted to tell a story.

And I have succeeded in doing just that. That's how I measure success.

And, that's all that matters.

And now I wait...

Today, I finished uploading the text of the novel to CreateSpace, where it will be examined carefully for printing. I finished the cover, and uploaded that as well.

Now, I just have to see what happens from CreateSpace and make sure that there are no major issues.

So, it's done. All of it.

Patience is a virtue that I'm not sure I have much of... but I have no choice :)

Acknowledgments page

Sneak peak at pages 1 - 2...

The final book cover image!

Here it is, the real artwork. Thanks to Michael Hamlett once again for an amazing piece.

Group shot sketches!

My friend, Michael Hamlett, the artist doing the cover art for the book, has sent me two group shot sketches that are out of this world! It's just so inspiring seeing characters you created "in the flesh", so to speak. Now, if I could get someone to make action figures of them, I'd be in heaven. :)

I can't post them yet as I don't own them. Once the final work is paid for, I'll show a sneak peak of some kind.

More sketches!

I know it's a tease to talk about sketches I'm not posting, but I want to wait until things are more finalized before I share, in case they change.

But, I've seen sketches for Brandon, Aleta, and a revamped headshot of Dan.

Nice. Very nice.