Often our dreams as writers are VERY outcome based. We dream of publishing deals and book launches and bestsellers and seeing our name on a cover etc etc
And when we see others having all these things, we naturally hope that they will one day happen for us, too.
But I suppose it’s a little like the iceberg metaphor, where we only see the tip of it, the part above water, and that’s the outcomes of all that have come before.
And it’s only once you follow the progress of a published writer, or read an account from those who are most honest and open to sharing, that you begin to get the sense that the outcomes, while great, are not really what matters.
It’s like that old saying about ‘enjoying the journey, not the destination’ and that’s so true as a writer, I believe, because the journeys are sooooooo long and often the destinations are fleetingly quick.