Success: Enjoy It!

Every so often, all writers will find a glimmer of success among the daily grind. Yesterday, one of the blogs where I write was picked up on a social networking site, which made my traffic soar from about 500 hits a day to nearly 2000 hits. Today, that traffic is still going strong. At 4:00 PM EST, I’m already at around 1300 hits.

Image: sxc.hu

When you have moments of success like this, it is important to enjoy it. Some writers just smile and go on with their work, but these are the gems of your career – the “pat on the back” that a boss would give you at a 9-to-5 job. You don’t have to buy a new car to celebrate! I took a half-day in order to celebrate my success. Others things I’ve done in the past when I succeeded at something involving my writing:

• Treating myself to Dairy Queen or Rita’s Italian Ice (yum!)
• Purchasing a book I’ve been wanting to read
• Going to the movies
• Making my favorite foods for dinner

It doesn’t have to cost much to reward yourself, and you don’t have to take time off from work if you can’t afford it. The basic idea is to just admit to yourself that you’ve done a good job. After all, if you are anything like me, you always think your writing could be better. I’m never 100% happy with anything, and I’m my own worst critic.

The bottom line? Don’t forget to reward yourself for success in the freelancing world. It goes a long way in avoiding burnout.