Every writer who has been published will be able to tell you how incredible it feels when that box with author copies arrives and you can finally hold that book in your hands, seeing your name on the cover, or when you click on that article link and you see your name in the byline. There’s that sense of being able to say, “I did this. Me. Little old me.” Celebrating writing successes like this feels amazing!

Many writers will also tell you that the idea of making a big thing of it, drawing all the attention to them, is their worst nightmare. Besides, they don’t want to seem like they’re full of it.

So, should you celebrate your successes as a writer? And if so, how?

Why you should celebrate your successes

The answer to the first question is yes, you should celebrate your successes as a writer. You probably already know that writing isn’t quite as easy as they make it seem in those TV shows where the writer character has all kinds of experiences and at the end of the episode, they sit down at their laptop or old-fashioned typewriter and the words just flow. Finishing a piece of writing more typically involves hours of typing a sentence, deleting it and then typing the exact same sentence all over again; of staring at the screen or at the wall; of debilitating self-doubt and impostor syndrome, with flashes of inspiration and energy in between. Celebrating the success of getting to the end of it is something you should celebrate, because it is a big thing.

Celebrating your successes isn’t simply so you can say, “Look at what I’ve done,” though. It has a powerful psychological effect that will make your life as a writer infinitely easier. It does this in two ways:

• It increases your self-worth. Those debilitating moments of self-doubt? Celebrating your success won’t make them go away completely but will help make them less harmful to the writing process. You know you can do this because you have done this, or at least something similarly daunting. And because you know you can do it, you have the confidence necessary to actually do it. You can tell that inner critic to take a hike because you’ve got this.
• It helps motivate you. When you make a habit of celebrating your successes, you have something to look forward to. And knowing that you’ll get a treat once you’ve finished this task will keep you going. It turns out that people aren’t that different from dogs!

Which successes to celebrate

Now here’s where many authors make the same mistake: they think they should only celebrate publication. But if celebrating your successes helps you believe in yourself and keep you motivated, how will you get to publication in the first place if you don’t celebrate before then?

This is why you should celebrate each milestone along the writing journey: completing chapters, completing your first draft, signing with a publisher or agent, every time your editor sends you a revised copy and there are fewer corrections to implement than in the previous round, uploading the final version for publication. There are non-writing milestones to celebrate too: unveiling the cover design; gaining your first 10, 100, 500, 1,000 followers on your author social media profiles; your first preorder, endorsement, review; your first interview or write-up in the media.

And you should keep celebrating milestones after your book launch too: every positive review, every query you get about your book, and of course every sale. This may be just the motivation you need to start writing your next book.

How to celebrate your successes

How to celebrate your successes is up to you. When you set goals and deadlines for yourself, decide what your reward for reaching each one should be. For example, “When I’ve written 1,000 words, I can take an hour break,” or, “When I finish this difficult scene, I can go for a walk on the beach,” or, “When I’ve sent the first draft to the editor, I can take the day off and go to the museum/spa/movies.” You know what you’ll look forward to and consider a prize.

But celebrating your successes shouldn’t just be about chasing rewards. You also need to be mindful about why you need a pat on the back when you’ve reached a milestone, and how that will help you going forward. So, when you reach a milestone, ask yourself a few questions, such as:

• How did I feel about tackling this part of the journey before I started, and how do I feel about it now that I’ve completed it?
• What was the most enjoyable part of this process? And the least?
• What strengths did you use to complete this milestone?
• What were the biggest challenges, and how did you overcome them?
• What, if anything, would you do differently next time?

This will reinforce just how big a deal it is when you reach each milestone, boosting your confidence and keeping you excited for the journey ahead.