Is Failing Really Necessary for Success?
(A Writer’s Perspective)
In the profession of writing, success stories often seem to follow a similar arc, drafts, rejection slips, and finally, publication. This pattern has led to the belief that failure is a crucial part of the journey to becoming a successful writer. But is that really the case? The truth may be a little more complex than the popular “fail to succeed” advice suggests.
1. Not Every Failure Is the Same
It’s easy to talk about failure as if every setback holds equal weight, but that’s not how it works in writing. Some rejections or mistakes can teach valuable lessons, while others might feel like dead ends. Think about revising a story. You’re bound to cut lines, drop scenes, and rethink whole sections. Those aren’t huge failures, they’re part of honing the craft. But hitting a wall where you can’t see any path forward? That’s different.
The idea here is that if you want to keep developing as a writer, you need to look at “failure” in a way that lets you keep going. It’s not just about having a thick skin for rejection. It’s about finding ways to keep a story alive even when feedback isn’t what you hoped. Many writers who find success might not have faced fewer setbacks, they’ve just learned how to handle them in ways that keep the words flowing.
2. Failure Means Different Things to Different Writers
In some fields, failure is obvious, a missed goal or a lost game. But in the creative world, defining failure is much trickier. Success or failure as a writer often depends on personal goals and values. What looks like a setback to one person might be a meaningful choice for someone else.
Think about a writer who chooses not to follow the typical path to publishing success. Maybe they decide to self-publish instead of going the traditional route or focus on a niche that might not bring in a big audience. Is this a failure? Not necessarily. If their priority is creative freedom, connection with readers, or a unique message, then success is measured by a different standard. The idea that there’s a universal definition of failure or success doesn’t hold up in the creative world, where each writer has a unique vision and goal.
3. We Only See Part of the Picture
The stories we hear about successful writers often include plenty of setbacks, rejections, rough drafts, late nights, and lost confidence, before they hit it big. These narratives inspire us, but they don’t show the whole story. For every writer who failed repeatedly before achieving success, there are plenty who put in the same effort but never got their big break.
This is a classic case of “survivor bias.” We see the stories of those who eventually succeeded, but we don’t see the countless voices who didn’t. This selective focus can distort our view of what it really takes to succeed as a writer. If we only look at these success stories, we might end up following strategies that don’t actually lead us where we want to go.
What’s the Real Takeaway?
The notion that failure is just another step on the road to writing success sounds comforting, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all rule. Success doesn’t always come from setbacks, but often from how we deal with them and what we learn along the way. Instead of seeing failure as a necessity, try thinking of it as part of the process. And maybe more importantly, figure out how to turn setbacks into growth in a way that lets you keep writing, regardless of the outcome.
